Exploding Bubbles
Playing with fire is never a good idea. In fact, when it is done indoors, it becomes a horrible idea. Thus, I decided it would be appropriate for my “horrible” blog post.
To link fire with my ISP topic, bubbles, I decided to devise a way to make flammable bubbles. Flammable bubbles are traditionally made with hydrogen from either a chemical reaction (such as hydrochloric acid and zinc) or from electrolysis (passing electricity through water), both of which are quite difficult and finicky, and would’ve required several additional purchases.
Still, I wanted to make flammable bubbles, and so I perused my house for possible materials. I wandered into the garage and a blue canister of propane with a torch attached caught my eye.
After reading up on the dangers of propane, I realized that it was even more volatile than hydrogen, making this a doubleplusgood idea.
So, I busted out my faithful container of bubble solution, stuck the torch in, opened the valve, and blew some bubbles filled with pure propane:
Then, I did the most natural thing to do, which was to procure a lighter and ignite the bubbles.
It was a very impressive display until I realized that the flame was continuing to burn well past the duration that it should have. Upon further inspection, I realized that propane was denser than air, and so all of the empty space at the top had most likely been filled with pure propane, and so after all the bubbles had combusted, the leftover propane continued to burn. The effect can be seen clearly in the third pictures - the bubbles have long since disappeared yet the flame remains. For obvious reasons, this is not safe, thus making it perfect for this blog post.
I then decided to attempt to blow a propane bubble on my hand. I dipped the torch into the bubble solution again, to form a film across the opening, and then slowly opened the valve. The flow of the gas was very turbulent, causing the nascent bubble to burst as soon as it inflated to a reasonable size. Several tries later, I was able to form a large bubble, at the expense of filling the room with the sulfurous odor of propane.
I reached for the lighter to ignite the bubble on my hand. Fumbling with my soapy grip, I finally managed to defeat the child-proof mechanism and ignite the bubble.
The resulting image made me feel like a character from Avatar, highly skilled at firebending.
To link fire with my ISP topic, bubbles, I decided to devise a way to make flammable bubbles. Flammable bubbles are traditionally made with hydrogen from either a chemical reaction (such as hydrochloric acid and zinc) or from electrolysis (passing electricity through water), both of which are quite difficult and finicky, and would’ve required several additional purchases.
Still, I wanted to make flammable bubbles, and so I perused my house for possible materials. I wandered into the garage and a blue canister of propane with a torch attached caught my eye.
After reading up on the dangers of propane, I realized that it was even more volatile than hydrogen, making this a doubleplusgood idea.
So, I busted out my faithful container of bubble solution, stuck the torch in, opened the valve, and blew some bubbles filled with pure propane:
Then, I did the most natural thing to do, which was to procure a lighter and ignite the bubbles.
It was a very impressive display until I realized that the flame was continuing to burn well past the duration that it should have. Upon further inspection, I realized that propane was denser than air, and so all of the empty space at the top had most likely been filled with pure propane, and so after all the bubbles had combusted, the leftover propane continued to burn. The effect can be seen clearly in the third pictures - the bubbles have long since disappeared yet the flame remains. For obvious reasons, this is not safe, thus making it perfect for this blog post.
I then decided to attempt to blow a propane bubble on my hand. I dipped the torch into the bubble solution again, to form a film across the opening, and then slowly opened the valve. The flow of the gas was very turbulent, causing the nascent bubble to burst as soon as it inflated to a reasonable size. Several tries later, I was able to form a large bubble, at the expense of filling the room with the sulfurous odor of propane.
I reached for the lighter to ignite the bubble on my hand. Fumbling with my soapy grip, I finally managed to defeat the child-proof mechanism and ignite the bubble.
The resulting image made me feel like a character from Avatar, highly skilled at firebending.
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