What you need:
- Regular flour or corn flour
- A candle
- Matchbox A straw
- Two dishes
- Goggles
- Adult supervision
What to do:
1. First off, be very, very careful with this experiment as it involves fire and heat. Make sure you are wearing goggles to protect your eyes and that an adult is present with you. Also make sure there is no one standing around the table, especially in front of it, while performing the experiment.
2. Light the candle and stick its base in one of the dishes. Place the dish on a table with space cleared around it.
3. Place a handful of flour in the second dish and hold it level with the flame of the candle.
4. Place one end of the straw in your mouth and hold its other end close to the flour dish.
5. Holding the flour dish at flame height, blow hard into the straw.
What happens:
Your floury breath turns into flame! Congratulations! You are the flour dragon!
Why?
While the idea of being a flour dragon is very appealing, you’re more of a science dragon, really. Or a science human.
Flour dust is highly flammable. In fact, there are several materials that can be dangerous in dust form. For example, coal mining often gives rise to coal dust which stays suspended inside the mine. One stray spark can cause a big explosion. Harmless everyday items such as milk powder and powdered sugar can also form deadly inflammable dust.
Dust particles are usually suspended in the air. That means that they have a larger surface area than when they were lumped together in one place. It also means that each particle is surrounded by enough oxygen that can help combustion. They are also quite close to other so that if one particle catches fire, it jumps to the next and the next causing a deadly chain reaction. That’s how the flour particles you blow into the candle bum rapidly, creating a flame.
Picture Credit : Google
