SCIENCE IS MAGIC: How To Burn Ice

This is a video of how to set ice on fire by adding ice cubes to a layer of calcium carbide. Except the ice isn't really burning -- it's just providing the water fuel that calcium carbide needs to produce acetylene gas, which will burn like a lit fart.
Calcium carbide consists of two carbon atoms stuck onto a calcium atom. Add that to liquid water (H2O) and the carbon atoms will grab hold of the two hydrogen atoms and produce C2H2, or acetylene gas. This is the gas that's the fuel in many a welding torch. When you toss in the match the gas will fire up.
As long as there's still calcium carbide and water reacting, flammable acetylene gas will be produced and your fire will stay burning. Man, this is gonna make a great centerpiece at my holiday party. Speaking of -- why haven't you RSVP'd yet? "I never got an invite." *smiling slyly* No? "I wouldn't have come anyways though." *sad face*
Hit the jump for the video.
Thanks to Amy, who told me she was witch and can set ice on fire WITHOUT science. But can you make me handsome?
-
This is a video of DARPA's latest alien technology, a sonic fire extinguisher (just kidding, it's actually just two speakers). It puts fires out with sound. Me? I've actually seen a fire MADE with sound before. I'm serious, one time my buddy held a lighter to back of his sw... / Continue →
-
This is a slow-motion video of a match lighting at 2,000 frames-per-second, which ends up taking two-and-a-half minutes to watch. It's pretty neat, but not nearly as neat to think about as how the hell they managed to slow down time. *shaking videographer like a ragdoll* TELL... / Continue →
-
This isn't the first video we've seen of somebody inhaling sulphur hexaflouride and then talking, because we saw Mythbuster's Adam Savage do it in this video (way back in 2008!). This is just another one. It's like watching videos of cats trying to fit in boxes that are way t... / Continue →

