The first question that comes to mind at a magic show is if the magician indeed has mystical powers, or is simply using equipment specifically crafted to that end? With a little hair-splitting, you can guess the reason behind the illusion. Yes, that is right; Science! Today we shall watch this tutorial video for a rudimentary array of fire tricks. Some of the tricks are downright outrageous, but some are nifty enough to fool the unsuspecting.
All of these tricks involve fire, so be careful as to keep some ‘Burnol’ handy, just in case, however the target is to practice it live only when the trick has been perfected to a zero-risk point. A good step would be to try it on the terrace or the backyard if you will!
As lofty as the name sounds, the trick is equally simple to master. The objective is to make it seem like one’s palm is on fire and the fire is burning perpetually without burning any part of the body. The trick requires a hand sanitizer. Squeeze a portion of the sanitizer on the floor or on a solid surface (preferably not wood or plastic). Smear it around but ensure it still remains as a thick coating. Hold a lighter near the chemical, and the compounds in the mixture do the rest. You can even smear the liquid after you light it, the process should not hurt your fingers at all. With practice, you can convince most that there was no chemical aiding the process, it’s all in your anatomy!
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This trick involves lighting a matchstick using another matchstick and a rubber band. Fold the rubber band, as instructed in the video into two and slip one end through the other. The outcome should make the band resemble a butterfly. The knot in the middle is where the match which is to be used in lighting the other match is inserted, the knot is tightened thereafter. Once the knot is made, releasing the ends should reveal a match with a tightly wound rubber band acting as a sling, a la a catapult. Now hold the match to be lit, against the free rubber band end and pull the tied matchstick back and release. The free matchstick lights up thanks to friction when the tied match is released against it.
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This trick employs brake fluid and pool chlorine to produce large volumes of smoke and eventually fire. The pool chlorine is taken in a container and a small portion of brake fluid is applied. The chemical reaction emits billowing smoke. If you cut off the oxygen supply by covering the source in a lid or waste-cloth, upon resuming it, the mixture bursts into flames because of rapid contact with oxygen.
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There is not much of a merit to this trick as opposed to the others as its basic use is to start a quick fire and stop it too. When two ping pong balls are put in unison on a plate and lit, they catch fire in a few infinitesimal seconds and are burnt to cinder in the next couple of seconds. This trick coupled with the ‘Smoke-screen’, are usually implemented in disappearing acts for pizzazz!
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Balloons bursting upon contact with heat is no surprise, but what about the one which does not burst?! Yes, with the help of water, a balloon can actually with withstand some limited amount of exposure to heat, thus the moniker ‘unbreakable’. The balloon is not filled to the brim such that the skin is taut and tensed. Upon exposure to heat the water absorbs the heat and prevents the skin from rupturing due to exposure to heat energy. Less amount of water should ensure the balloon is not distinguishable from a regular, blown-up one.
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Use a fuse that can sustain a light and a spoon to cover. The smoke from the candle shall try to evade the spoon that is supposed to guard the wick of the candle; this is done so that the smoke cannot escape which is why its best tried on ‘diyas’, or candles in containers so that the smoke doesn’t escape from the side. The burning fuse is then held close above the extinguished wick and the spoon is moved aside. The sudden escape of the smoke causes air to rush in due to the low pressure created. The oxygen in the air causes a small flaming particle to ride the medium to the wick and re-ignite it again.
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Use any non-inflammable liquid for this trick and pour it in a saucer or any flat container. Place a lit source, preferably a small candle on the liquid and cover the candle with a thick drinking glass. Once the oxygen in the air is used up by the flame, again, a low-pressure area is created, causing the liquid to rush in under the lining of the glass.
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Align two candles next to each other with only one of them lit. This must be familiar with some of you that most pressurized cans of spray be it a germicide or a deo-spray, contain parts of flammable substances. Hold a can of such on the other side of the lift candle, at a safe distance and spray moderately hard. If the spray is hard enough it will carry the flame with it to some distance, and if the unlit candle is close enough, the fire should meet the wick!
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Do you know how to light a match-stick without using hands? Well, after this article you shall know several! The trick comprises of a concept similar to the water trapping experiment. This time though, you can use a burning laser, to ignite the flame and a match-stick stuck on a sugar cube maybe, something that floats on liquid. Once the laser lands on the inflammable part of the match, it burns the match-stick, and soon the match-stick burns the air trapped inside the glass to suck in the liquid.
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A couple of small pieces of electrical wiring and a battery is required to ignite the match-stick in question. Tie one end of a piece of a wire to the flammable end of the match-stick. The other end of the wire connects to the bottom of the battery. You can tape it if you want to make this into a permanent tool. The other wire is fitted to the tip of the battery and the free end is then held freely against the match. Once the circuit is completed, in a few seconds the match-stick lights up!