Combustion of ethanol

An image of a cork flying from an explosion effect created by a sparkler against a black background

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Illustrate the large energy changes that take place during the combustion of alcohols with this spectacular demonstration. Includes kit list and safety instructions.

In this ‘alcohol gun’ experiment, students observe what happens when a mixture of ethanol vapour and air is ignited using an electric spark inside a corked plastic bottle. The resulting minor explosion fires the cork across the room.

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