Benzine + Water + hand trick?
Woodchuck Takeuchi
I was reading that book by Richard Feynman, and came across the
tidbit about putting your hand in water, then in benzine, and then
lighting it. Apparently, you're not supposed to burn your hand.
Well, I decided I have to try it. I went to my local hardware store
asking for benzine. The guy lead me to where they have naptha.
He said it was the exact same thing. I asked him to make sure, "
is it EXACTLY the same thing?" and he said yeah. So I bought it for
$3.
I went home, soaked my hand in water, then soaked only the tip of my
finger in benzine and lit it. It did light, and it didn't hurt.
But this was because as it burned my finger started to sting,and I cut
the flame's O supply by dunking my finger back in water. The fact
of the matter was that it stung a little bit. I don't know if it was
because I had the match too close to me for too long, or because
of the burning benzine, or because the naptha irritates my skin.
Feynman writes that the water is supposed to keep the hands from
burning.
I'm very reluctant to ignite my whole hand, cause I'm not sure I got
the right stuff (naptha?).
So my quesiton is. 1: is naptha the same thing as benzine?
2. is this supposed to work? If so, how does it work?
3. am I doing something wrong?
I ignited the remaining benzine, which was mixed with water, in the
barbeque grill outside. after it finished burning, the container was
hot. So I'm kinda worried. if the container can get hot, can't my hand
too? By hot, I mean REAL hot that I couldn't touch it.
Later,
Crispy Hands
--
Kenji Takeuchi ______/---------_______ "Mess with the Woodchuck not."
____------- / -----_
__-- /enji /akeuchi------ KENJI'S TOLL-FREE HOTLINE:
-____________---/---------/-----_____ eta...@vertex.ucls.uchicago.edu
Jason Oatley
In article <DrzC3...@midway.uchicago.edu> tt...@ellis.uchicago.edu (Woodchuck Takeuchi) writes:
>From: tt...@ellis.uchicago.edu (Woodchuck Takeuchi)
>Subject: Benzine + Water + hand trick?
>Date: Sat, 25 May 1996 21:09:26 GMT
>Later,
>Crispy Hands
Benzine (I guess that's British or German for Benzene) is not the same as
Naptha. Naptha is a mixture of aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene being one of
course) whereas Benzene is only one aromatic compound (C6H6). That's what you
get from Hardware store chemistry.
Jason
Jason Oatley, B.Sc.,C.Chem.
Laboratory Supervisor
Acres Analytical Limited
ph:905-374-8155
fax: 905-375-2780
e-mail:joa...@nf.acres.com
Eric Tatara
Naptha is not pure benzene, but a mixture of aromatic hydrocarbons,
containing napthalene, from which it gets its name. Be advised that
benezene is toxic and a possible carcinogen. Burning naptha is not
advisable is closed areas since it spews all sorts of toxic vapors.
---------------------\\---------
Eric Tatara
tat...@charlie.acc.iit.edu
http://www.iit.edu/~tataeri
(YOUR AD HERE!)
Paul A. Deck
tt...@ellis.uchicago.edu (Woodchuck Takeuchi) wrote:
>I was reading that book by Richard Feynman, and came across the
>tidbit about putting your hand in water, then in benzine, and then
>lighting it. Apparently, you're not supposed to burn your hand.
>Well, I decided I have to try it.
[snip]
>I'm very reluctant to ignite my whole hand, cause I'm not sure I got
>the right stuff (naptha?).
>So my quesiton is. 1: is naptha the same thing as benzine?
>2. is this supposed to work? If so, how does it work?
>3. am I doing something wrong?
>I ignited the remaining benzine, which was mixed with water, in the
>barbeque grill outside. after it finished burning, the container was
>hot. So I'm kinda worried. if the container can get hot, can't my hand
>too? By hot, I mean REAL hot that I couldn't touch it.
>Later,
>Crispy Hands
>Kenji Takeuchi
Crispy:
The idea that Feynman was trying to convey is that a very thin film of
benzene shouldn't liberate enough heat to raise the temperature of a
wet hand to the point of pain or injury. If you fill your barbecue
grill with naphtha, of course it's going to liberate enough heat to
get the metal very hot, as you observed. Likewise, if you fill the
palm of your hand with naphtha and then light it, you'll burn a hole
in your hand. I have also witnessed seen fingers dipped in rubbing
alcohol (mostly water, part isopropanol) ignited -- it gets HOT.
However, I would like to recommend that you do NOT ignite portions of
your body using ANY flammable liquid, even if you dip it in water
first.
Paul
Paul A. Deck
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Pat Braden
On Sat, 25 May 1996 21:05:12 EST, joa...@nf.acres.com (Jason Oatley)
wrote:
>
>Benzine (I guess that's British or German for Benzene) is not the same as
>Naptha. Naptha is a mixture of aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene being one of
>course) whereas Benzene is only one aromatic compound (C6H6). That's what you
>get from Hardware store chemistry.
>
>Jason
>
>Jason Oatley, B.Sc.,C.Chem.
>Laboratory Supervisor
>Acres Analytical Limited
>ph:905-374-8155
>fax: 905-375-2780
>e-mail:joa...@nf.acres.com
Nope, benzine is not the same thing as benzene. I believe it's a
synonym for petroleum ether. BTW, as i remember the story by Feynman
he used to do it as a youth. When he tried it as an adult he burned
himself.
Pat Braden
bra...@ix.netcom.com
______________________________________________________________________
If you think that the CDA is the latest threat to the internet, find
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HJL
bra...@ix.netcom.com (Pat Braden) wrote:
>On Sat, 25 May 1996 21:05:12 EST, joa...@nf.acres.com (Jason Oatley)
>wrote:
>>
>>Benzine (I guess that's British or German for Benzene) is not the same
>>as Naptha. Naptha is a mixture of aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene being
>>one of course) whereas Benzene is only one aromatic compound (C6H6).
>>That's what you get from Hardware store chemistry.
>>
>>Jason
>>
>synonym for petroleum ether. BTW, as i remember the story by Feynman
>he used to do it as a youth. When he tried it as an adult he burned
>himself.
>
>Pat Braden
>bra...@ix.netcom.com
Indeed, BENZIN (without 'e') is the German word for gasoline. The german
word for benzene is (was) BENZOL.
HJL
Brooke Hill
Why bother - secretly I was hoping than Kenjii would put his head in a
bucket of the stuff and light a match. Naptha would do but benzene is
so much more impressive Kenjii - or is it Crispy Hands ?
Brooke Hill
David Bromage
Woodchuck Takeuchi (tt...@ellis.uchicago.edu) wrote:
>So my quesiton is. 1: is naptha the same thing as benzine?
>2. is this supposed to work? If so, how does it work?
>3. am I doing something wrong?
Benzene is carcinogenic so I don't know why you'd waht to use that anyway.
there is a much better way of "setting fire" to things other than your
hand.
Make up a weak solution of sodium chloride (~0.1M) and mix with ethanol in
the proportions 53:47 respectively. Test by dipping a piece of paper in
the solution, then setting the paper on fire. There is a realistic yellow
flame, but the paper does not burn. The ethanol burns and the sodium gives
the realistic flame. The excess water prevents the paper catching fire.
I'm not game to try it on my hand as I don't know how fast alcohol would
be absorbed through my skin.
For your next trick, try it with paper money. You MUST make sure that
every tiny bit of the paper is wet or else you could lose it. Alas,
Australia now has plastic banknotes so I can't do the trick these days.
Cheers
David
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Bromage dbro...@metz.une.edu.au
Department of Chemistry http://metz.une.edu.au/~dbromage
University of New England "On the Internet people who are normally
Armidale, NSW 2351 under rocks are out there and in your
Australia face" - Douglas Adams
Eric Lovett
Have you nothing better to do than set fire to yourself?
You must lead a sad, and boring life.
--
Eric Lovett
Bruce Hamilton
>I was reading that book by Richard Feynman, and came across the
>tidbit about putting your hand in water, then in benzine, and then
>lighting it. Apparently, you're not supposed to burn your hand.
>Well, I decided I have to try it. I went to my local hardware store
>asking for benzine. The guy lead me to where they have naptha.
>He said it was the exact same thing. I asked him to make sure, "
>is it EXACTLY the same thing?" and he said yeah. So I bought it for
>$3.
...
>So my quesiton is. 1: is naptha the same thing as benzine?
From the sci.chem FAQ ( which a few previous posters
should consider consulting :-) )
Section 12.4
....
Almost all old industries had easy-to-remember names for chemicals they
commonly encountered, and today many of those names can cause confusion.
Some examples from the petroleum industry are:-
- " ether " is a volatile hydrocarbon fraction that does not contain the
Cx-O-Cy structure.
- Benzene, toluene and xylene are often called benzol,toluol, and xylol,
even though they do not contain an -OH group.
- Benzine ( ligroin ) was a saturated hydrocarbon fraction that boiled
between 20C and 135C. Gasoline/petrol fractions are still called benzine
by some older people.
Section 27.5 What is naphtha?
Naphtha is a refined light distillate fraction, usually boiling below 250C,
but often with a fairly wide boiling range. Gasoline and kerosine are the
most well-known, but there are a whole range of special-purpose hydrocarbon
fractions that can be described as naphtha. The petroleum refining industry
calls the 0-100C fraction from the distillation of crude oil "light virgin
naphtha" and the 100-200C fraction " heavy virgin naphtha". The product
stream from the fluid catalytic cracker is often split into three fractions,
<105C = "light FCC naphtha", 105-160C = "intermediate FCC naphtha" and
160-200C "heavy FCC naphtha".
[ End of extracts - aren't FAQs wonderful :-) ]
As you can see he was correct, they are very similar, however
I suspect that it depends a bit on the type of naphtha. Most common
naphthas are very volatile, but some can have fractions that are
higher boiling ( which would remain on your hand, and thus possibly
burn on the surface of your hand). Note that benzene is toxic, and
far more soluble in your skin than benzine.
Naphtha is a very general term for a range of volatile hydrocarbons -
not always easily defined. My 8th edition of Hawley describes
petroleum naphtha thus:-
" a generic term applied to refined, partly refined, or unrefined,
petroleum products and liquid products of natural gas not less than
10% of which distil below 175C and not less than 95% of which distil
below 240C......
Melting point -73C, Boiling Point 30-60C, Flash Point -57F...."
Confused? - the writer was, although the 30-60C also does comply with
the long 175C-240C specification.
I suspect the trick would work best with a product that rapidly
evaporated from the skin, something boiling around 30-60C.
Frankly, I wouldn't try the trick - many brownie points for your cautious
approach to the experiment, minus many more for even contemplating
it without understanding the important parameters..
I'd also note that it seems the hardware store chemist may
be a better source of information than some sci.chem posters
who confuse benzine with benzene.
Bruce Hamilton
Jeff E. Janes
Jason Oatley (joa...@nf.acres.com) wrote:
: In article <DrzC3...@midway.uchicago.edu> tt...@ellis.uchicago.edu (Woodchuck Takeuchi) writes:
: >From: tt...@ellis.uchicago.edu (Woodchuck Takeuchi)
: >I was reading that book by Richard Feynman, and came across the
: >tidbit about putting your hand in water, then in benzine, and then
: >lighting it. Apparently, you're not supposed to burn your hand.
:
: >Well, I decided I have to try it. I went to my local hardware store
:
: Benzine (I guess that's British or German for Benzene) is not the same as
:
: Jason
:
: Jason Oatley, B.Sc.,C.Chem.
As others have pointed out, benzine is not benzene. It is petro ether.
I remember the Feynman story, but not the compound used.
I have discovered that flaming acetone on flesh sometimes does not cause
burns. Another chemical I have (accidently) tested in this regard was
methanol, and I learned that this would not be a good choice for intentional
ignition.
--
Jeff Janes jej...@mtu.edu at Michigan Technological University
Life is complex. It has real and imaginary components.
thomas stermer
I did the same trick with rubing alcol it works well but you can't let it bur
for more than a second or two or it will burn you. It looks cool it you do it
in the dark. I'm only 14 so my mom was yelling at me. it was cool, I'm gona
show all of my friends.
ToEmIsE toe...@interpoint.net
Woodchuck Takeuchi
In article <4olsbq$s...@taz.interpoint.net>,
thomas stermer <toe...@interpoint.net> wrote:
>I did the same trick with rubing alcol it works well but you can't let it bur
>for more than a second or two or it will burn you. It looks cool it you do it
>in the dark. I'm only 14 so my mom was yelling at me. it was cool, I'm gona
Yeah, I tried that too. It does get quite hot very quickly.
You know, here's a better trick. Douse a cloth napkin in alcohol,
hold it with a pincer, and light it. You can "burn" it for
like 15 seconds without having the napkin burn. Then immerse it
in water to extinguish the fire. If you do it too long, it'll
burn holes in the napkin like it almost did to your hand.
Do it under your mom's supervision. My mom was yelling at me too.
She actually refused to watch me do it and went out to the living
room.
Also, a bit of warning. When I was attempting the trick with naptha,
I tried to extinguish the fire in the naptha-bowl by putting
water in it. Obviously, it worsened the situation. If I didn't
have another bowl that was just the right size to cover the
bowl, who knows what could have happened! Be careful!
>show all of my friends.
> ToEmIsE toe...@interpoint.net
>
Christopher Michael Jones
thomas stermer (toe...@interpoint.net) wrote:
: I did the same trick with rubing alcol it works well but you can't let it bur
: for more than a second or two or it will burn you. It looks cool it you do it
: in the dark. I'm only 14 so my mom was yelling at me. it was cool, I'm gona
: ToEmIsE toe...@interpoint.net
You might try coating your hand with Jelly before setting it on fire.
thomas stermer
;>
;>Also, a bit of warning. When I was attempting the trick with naptha,
;>I tried to extinguish the fire in the naptha-bowl by putting
;>water in it. Obviously, it worsened the situation. If I didn't
;>have another bowl that was just the right size to cover the
;>bowl, who knows what could have happened! Be careful!
I set about a cup of paint thiner on fire in a plastic soda bottle and let it
burn for a while then I got bored so I pourd a 5 gallon bucker of soapy water
on it I was scared because it just made the fire get really big and spread out
all over the place. I had to get the house and spray it for like 45 seconds to
get it out. it sucked!!!!!!!
also I have a question for all you scientific people. One time I set 3
plastic 5 gallon buckets on fire using a road flare they were almost totaly
burnt out so I sprayed them with my house in my back yard. as soon as the
water touched the plastic a huge fire ball shot up in the air about 12-15
feet. and the fire got really huge!!! It took like 5 min to totaly get the
fire out. WHY DID IT DO THAT???????? please tell me!!!!!
ToEmIsE toe...@interpoint.net
;>> ToEmIsE toe...@interpoint.net
thomas stermer
;>
;>You might try coating your hand with Jelly before setting it on fire.
;>
What kind of jelly?????
ToEmIsE toe...@interpoint.net