A water bottle and sunlight are used to start a blazing fire.

See the step by step tutorial here: http://youtu.be/QwQJ-3pZfwc

See the full project video: http://bit.ly/WaterBottleFire

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“Quick Clips” are clips of random experiments in a minute or less.

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Music By:
Music by Jason Shaw (RP-Clattertrap)
http://www.audionautix.com

Project Inspired By:

An idea a co-worker gave me, suggesting her boyfriend once burned a hole in paper with a water bottle.

WARNING: Under certain conditions, an open flame can grow to an uncontrollable, blazing fire. This may result in serious injury, burns, property damage, forrest fires, grass fires, and even death. Use of video content is at own risk.

Project History & More Info:

When a co-worker heard I was experimenting with strange science concepts, she mentioned her boyfriend once burned a hole in a piece of paper with a water bottle. It sounded like a crazy idea, but I wondered if it really could work.

I tried using different parts of the water bottle to act as a “liquid lens” and focus the sunlight like a magnifying glass. The concept seemed plausible, but kind of far fetched at the same time.

With her suggestion planted in my mind, I practiced for weeks trying to get it to work. And while occasionally I’d get a puff of smoke, it was hardly anything impressive, and certainly not a fire.

I kept practicing and experimenting over a period of 3 months, and finally figured out some important factors. Like black absorbs the heat better, so focusing the sunlight on black paper makes a world of difference.

I also figured out that folding the paper over and layering it a few times helps build a little nest for the developing embers, and keeps the heat. This makes a huge difference when trying to blow the embers into a flame.

My ultimate experience is that yes, you can light a fire with a water bottle, but you need to spend a lot of time learning the art of how it works first. You can’t wait until a survival situation and just hope you can do it first try.