How fire responds to the gases around it is not often observed in a way that can be fully appreciated. For example, one doesn’t think twice when lighting a match, but the combustion reaction that occurs on that tiny match-head is highly complex and beautiful, if shown in just the right way.
Scientists at Stanford University filmed a “strike-anywhere” match, capturing the reaction though a combination of high-speed video; and schlieren imaging, which visually differentiates between gases of different temperatures by recording fluid dynamics. The two-and-a-half minute video only took two seconds to film, which will give you a sense of how much more complex and turbulent a combustion reaction really is.
But what happens when someone tries to blow it out and fails? Watch the spellbinding results below.
—RealClearLife Staff
This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. Sign up now.
