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
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