Geekery

Cash to burn

Posted on 20. May, 2009 by Jake in Experiments, Unusual

Ask a friend (to be safe, try make it one you don’t really like) to lend you a R200 note. Any note will do, but the R200 will produce maximum impact. Now set the note on fire.

If all goes well, the cash will set alight without burning. If not, well 200 bucks is a small price to pay for expanding the sum total of human knowledge

For this experiment you will need a solution of half water and half isopropyl alcohol. If your local Woolworths has run out of isopropyl alcohol, you can use ethanol instead, which is available at most chemists. But you may need to experiment on paper first to get the mixture of ethanol and water just right.

Most importantly, you will need a large bucket of water.

Soak the note in the solution. Hold it in a scientifically approved mechanism for handling combustible materials (I’m thinking braai tongs).

Light the note.

Allow your audience to gasp in amazement and then quickly douse the flames.   

Either bask in approval or run, depending on the outcome of the experiment.

What’s happening?

Alcohol burns at a lower temperature than the paper note, while the vaporisation of the water protects the cash.

Remember, you’re playing with fire so be careful! Like this guy:

Tags: cash dont burn, unburnable money