Fire Water
Action: You pick up a glass of water, appear to drink some of the liquid and spit it out. The liquid falls on the table with a great burst of flame.
You need
glass containing ethyl alcohol
a few grams of dry, red, chromic anhydride.
Why: The powerful oxidizing agent chromic anhydride reacts with alcohol. Heat generated results in rapid combustion of the alcohol.
How: On a metal sheet on the demonstration table scatter a few crystals of chromic anhydride. When the alcohol strikes the chemical, an immediate reaction gives rise to flames that rise a foot or more in the air.
Suggestions and CAUTION: Try this variation of the experiment. Place some crystals of the chemical in a 500ml flask. Now add a few ml. of alcohol. The resulting reaction causes a fire to burn in the flask with a greenish glow.
DANGER! All fire experiments require caution to protect the demonstrator as well as the audience. Alcohol must be expelled from the mouth very soon after sipping it or it will cause dehydration.