Effect:
The contents of two beakers are mixed back and forth until a gel forms and the beaker can be held upside down without the contents escaping. Some of the solid is scooped out into a porcelain container and ignited.
What You Need:
- two 500 mL beakers
- calcium acetate
- water
- ethanol
- a porcelain dish
- heat-proof pad
- a match
What You Do Before the Show:
- Prepare a solution of 12 g calcium acetate in 40 mL of water
- Place the calcium acetate solution into one beaker.
- Place 300 mL of ethanol into the other beaker.
What You Do During the Show:
- See effect.
- See patter.
What is Happening:
- The calcium acetate forms a gel in the presence of water and ethanol.
- The ethanol in the gel burns.
- This product is sometimes sold commercially as canned heat or "Sterno"
Hazards:
- Ethanol is flammable.
- To demonstrate that the gel can burn, scoop some into a heat-proof porcelain dish (e.g. a laboratory evaporating dish). Put a heat-proof pad between the dish and table.
- The flame is nearly colourless.
Patter:
- The wizard has been asked by the government to investigate the problems that may occur when two areas are combined into one political entity.
(One has to use judgement here - for several years the Wizard used as an example Ottawa, Ontario and Hull, Quebec, which are directly across the Ottawa River from one another; for political reasons the Wizard had to find new examples. These included Canada & the USA under NAFTA, or western and eastern Canada, etc.)
- One problem may occur when water supplies are combined.
- The Wizard will demonstrate what will happen if the current water is used from the two jurisdictions without treatment
- Point out that the volumes are not the same because he had to take samples proportional to the two populations.
- After the gel forms, show that it will burn.
- Leave it to the audience to decide which population is full of "fire water"
- Since the flame is pale blue and virtually colorless, it may be necessary to "prove" that it is indeed on fire. Use it to light a candle, or use it in the DRY CLEANING or COUNTERFIT MONEY tricks that could follow
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