How to Make an Fire Carbon Snake?

The Black Fire Snake is also known as Black Snake or Sugar Snake. Make a black fire snake rise from the ground, Using simple household ingredients sugar, baking soda, and alcohol. This Fire-Snake Experiment is a good idea for the science fair project.

Ages: 8+          Est. Time: < 30 mins

 Safety 

1. Adult supervision.
2. Operate it in an open space with no flammable or explosive materials around it.
3. Wear protective gloves and goggles.
4. Prepare a fire extinguisher in case of fire.

 Materials list 

• 40g sugar
• 10g Baking soda
• 25ml 99.5% alcohol
• 50ml Beaker
• Spoon
• Tray
• Sand
• Lighter
• Gloves
• Goggles

 Instruction 

Step 1/3 –Put 40g crystal sugar and 10g baking soda into the beaker and mix them together.

Step 2/3 –Using the sand to build a volcano-like shape on the tray, pour 25ml of alcohol onto the volcano, and pour the sugar-soda mixture into the volcano.

Step 3/3 –Light the alcohol and wait a moment and then you can see the “Black Fire Snake” come to life. This process lasts for about 20 minutes.

 Troubleshooting 

Why does the black fire snake swell particularly slowly or only for a short period of time?

– It may be due to the use of powdered sugar. The gap between the powdered sugar and the baking soda is too small, which is not good for burning. crystal sugar should be used.

What if I cannot light the alcohol?

– Use a higher concentration of alcohol, 95% alcohol, or absolute ethanol.

 Scientific Description 

The burning of alcohol creates a high-temperature environment. Under a high-temperature environment, the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), decomposes to release carbon dioxide gas while the crystal sugar will first become a molten syrup. The generated carbon dioxide gas leaves a lot of bubbles in the syrup and enlarges it. At last, the syrup is burned into carbon with many holes in it. Sand is used not only for safety but also for dispersing the alcohol.

 Extensions 

We can make many volcanoes at the same time to obtain a breath-taking scene.

 Disposal 

Use sand to completely cover the fire. After the sand cooled down, pour it into the trash. Do not forget to wash what you have used.