Hooked on Science: It's easy to make a flash fire with an orange peel

Materials

* Orange

* Candle

* Grill lighter

Instructions

STEP 1: Peel the orange.

STEP 2: Place the candle on a saucer and, using the grill lighter, ignite the candle.

STEP 3: Hold a piece of the peeling with the outside close to the flame and squeeze.

Explanation

The orange peel contains oil. This oil gives an orange its smell and is flammable. As you squeeze the peeling, the oil squirts into the flame, creating a flash. This oil is used for flavoring, insecticides, in air fresheners and in cleaning products.

Jason Lindsey is a science outreach educator with Hooked on Science. Check out his website www.hookedonscience.org for webcasts and experiments that might get you hooked on science. Send him your science questions at jlindseyhookedonscience.com. More science experiments can be found at www.semissourian.com.