How Does It Work
Most flames require oxygen, fuel, and sufficient heat to ignite and stay lit. These three components of fire are referred to as the fire triangle or combustion triangle. Removal of any of the three components will cause the flame to extinguish or “go out.”
In the instance of the popsicle flame, the three necessary components are present during the initial lighting of the fire. The heat generates from a separate flame, the lighter. The wood of the popsicle stick provides the fuel. Finally, the oxygen level present in the atmosphere is enough to sustain a flame.
When you stick the flaming popsicle stick into the first graduated cylinder it extinguishes. That means one of the three components of the fire triangle is missing, but which one?
The secret lies in the bubbling mixture in the cylinder. The baking soda (also known as sodium bicarbonate) is a base. The vinegar, or acetic acid, is a weak acid. When baking soda and vinegar are combined, the immediate acid-base reaction creates carbonic acid. Carbonic acid is unstable and decomposes into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). The bubbling that you see inside of the cylinder is the production of the CO2 gas. When you dip the popsicle stick into the cylinder, you’re exposing the flame to concentrated CO2 gas. The lack of oxygen extinguishes the flame.
Upon placing the popsicle stick into the second graduated cylinder, the ember begins to glow more intensely until the flame reignites. The invisible property at work is the reintroduction of oxygen (O2). The high concentration of O2 in the cylinder makes the heat source more intense until the flame ignites again.
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is fairly unstable and always trying to decompose into water (H2O) and oxygen (O2). When yeast is mixed with hydrogen peroxide, it acts as a catalyst to the decomposition. This creates oxygen at a much faster rate which you can see bubbling inside of the graduated cylinder. Placing the partially glowing ember into the concentrated oxygen completes the fire triangle and reignites the flame.
