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Living in a Material World
Fire Resistance
Magicians show the trick of setting fire to a handkerchief and then reveal that despite the flames the handkerchief isn’t damaged!
This is done by soaking the handkerchief in vodka, which is 40% alcohol and 60% water. The alcohol burns off first and the water remains preventing the cloth from charring.
Fire resistant materials work in a similar way so that when they are heated they release water into the cloth to suppress the ignition of fire.
An alternative is to make fabric from non-combustible fibres such as asbestos — but the downside is that tiny fibres of asbestos can be breathed in and cause damage to our lungs.
A cloth is soaked in a mixture of alcohol and water and ignited |
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A cloth appears to burn vigorously but is unchanged once the fire goes out |
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