Lighting things on Fire Safely

[deleted-353806]

I want to know how to light a tile floor on fire safely. Should I use a low temperature burning chemical like alcohol? Also, if I put alcohol in a spray bottle and spray it on top of a flame, it would light on fire right? And if it did, when the alcohol fluid hit the ground, with hit the ground (grass) on fire? Thanks!

[deleted-289675]

Tile floors, if they are made of ceramic, don't light on fire. So unless you already have alcohol on the floor, you won't get a flame. The fire will go out as soon as all the alcohol is used up in the combustion reaction. However, I would not advise lighting a fire indoors. And yes, if flaming alcohol hits the ground, the grass will light on fire. Therefore, you should only perform this experiment in either a fireplace or firepit. You can easily build your own firepit if you do not have one: http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/outdoo ... d-fire-pit

I don't know if this answers your question, so feel free to ask me to clarify. It would also help if you explain what sort of experiment you are conducting.

-Karen Zhang

[deleted-2131]

Hi explosionsandfunstuff,

I want to emphasize that what you are asking about is *very dangerous*. You could get very, very badly burned, you could injure other people, and you could start a severe fire. DO NOT do such a thing without first clearing it with your parents, teacher, and scientific review committee. DO NOT perform the test you are talking about without direct, qualified supervision (e.g., fire department). I would advise you to avoid this project entirely! It's not safe.