phil@saber.UUCP (10/10/86)
An easier way of making pretty colors and noise involves freshly emptied beer bottles and butane lighters. I did this many times in college, but am of course far too wise and mature to try it now. 1. Darken room. Set empty 10-16 floz. bottle upright on table. OBSERVE DISCLAIMER BELOW. 2. Fill bottle with butane (try about 1 sec/floz). Your mileage may vary. 3. Ignite bottle mouth. 4. Observe pretty colors and "vooping" noise. A wide variety of effects can be obtained by adjustment of the mixture. Rich mixtures yield an almost silent disk of colored fire that may take several seconds to reach the bottom of the bottle. Lean ones give a brighter color and more melodic noise. Each event fills the bottle with noncombustible byproducts. Pour them out before trying again. Or fill the bottle with water and empty it. Or try a fresh bottle. DISCLAIMER AND WARNING (Don't try this at home) I have done this many times without injury, property damage, or ill effects besides damage to my reputation. You may not be so lucky. I am not responsible for burns, injuries from flying glass, or any other damage to person or property resulting from attempts to voop bottles. Don't use plastic bottles. This message does not endorse or condone excessive drinking. -- --------------------------------------------------------- All opinions except attributed quotations are mine alone. Satirical comments may not be specifically identified as such. -- Phil Gustafson Voice: (408)435-8600 Saber Technology Corp. 2381 Bering Drive Mail: decwrl!sun!saber!phil San Jose, CA 95131 idi!saber!phil
berry@solaria..ARPA (Berry Kercheval) (10/14/86)
In article <2051@saber.UUCP> phil@saber.UUCP writes: >An easier way of making pretty colors and noise involves freshly emptied >beer bottles and butane lighters. This works even better with 5-gallon GLASS carboys and rubbing alcohol. Use about a tablespoon of alcohol, roll the bottle around to distribute it and drop in a match. With care and experience you can get a nice oscillating flame propagation front with neat sounds. Get stoned first. Need I add a disclaimer that this may be dangerous? Wear eye protection. Kaleidescopic scuba masks are trendy. --berry
alanj@orca.UUCP (10/15/86)
>Use about a tablespoon of alcohol, roll the bottle around to distribute it >and drop in a match. With care and experience you can get a nice oscillating >flame propagation front with neat sounds. Get stoned first. > >Need I add a disclaimer that this may be dangerous? Wear eye protection. >Kaleidescopic scuba masks are trendy. When I was considerably younger I had a chemistry set (didn't we all?) and was always running out of alcohol for the alcohol lamp. So my older brother went out a bought a gallon of cheap anti-freeze. This was in the days when cheap anti-freeze consisted of plain methanol. (There may have been some rust inhibiters in it but that is not germane to my story.) The stuff came in a 1-gallon tin can with soldered seams. I punched a couple holes in the lid using a bear can opener and decanted the stuff into a gallon jug (so I could stopper it tightly and prevent evaporation). At this point I remembered the neat "foop" noise an empty alcohol bottle made when I lit the fumes inside. Now, I was doing this out in the back yard so any spillage won't do any harm other than killing some grass. Big brother was in the house --- what trouble can little brother get into in just five minutes??? The explosion blew the gallon can across the back yard. The lid of the can was folded into a tent and blown off the can. The lid _had_ been folded and crimped the the can and soldered. The blast tore the solder joint apart and neatly unfolded and uncrimped the seam. The bottom seam held but the bottom of the can was bowed out. I was lucky in that the lid bounced off my thumb knuckle instead of my face. Y'all be careful out there! Alan Jeddeloh Tektronix Wilsonville, OR tektronix!orca!alanj