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Fiery Steel Wool


Safety equipment needed:

  • Protective goggles
  • Protective rubber gloves
  • Fire blanket and/or fire extinguisher

Children under the age of twelve (12) must be under direct supervision of an adult in all areas of this experiment.
 

Introduction

The busking activity is to show how to start a fire by using a 9-volt battery and steel wool.
 

What Do I Need?


What Do I Do?

  1. Put the steel wool on the aluminium foil.
  2. Rub the battery terminals on the steel wool.
  3. Blow slowly to light up the steel wool. 
     

What happened?

This 'fiery steel wool' works by sending an electric current through the tiny steel wool, which in turn gets superheated and produces light. This is similar to how the wires in light bulbs and toasters operate. This method of starting a fire is useful as it will catch fire even while wet.

 
 

 

Teachers Fellowship Program 2007/COL/Busking
Prepared by : Hashimi Bin Ismail

 

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