Mel Science . Chemistry – Igniting Iron

The Igniting Iron kit.

The next Mel Science kit plays with fire in an ingenious way — by providing a spool of iron with which to be lit up!

The ignited iron spool stays lit for quite an amount of time (see the video of the dry spool lit up). Separately, I also tried dousing the spool with ethanol, acetone and water. No fire is lit with water, while ethanol and acetone certainly burn, though with different intensity (not recommended to try at home!).

Iron powder in a plastic cup with magnet underneath. See how the magnet is attracted!

The kit also contains a setup for visualizing the magnetic effects of iron (by placing a magnet nearby to iron powder).