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Dust Can Explosion-- Lycopodium Powder Combustion

  • Page ID
    221942
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    Chemical Concept Demonstrated

    • The relationship between the rate of a reaction and the surface area available for the reaction

    Demonstration

    The dust-can explosion apparatus consists of:
    • A small funnel attached to piece of rubber tubing that has been threaded through a hole in the bottom of the 1-gallon paint can.
    • A rubber pipet bulb attached to the other end of the rubber tubing.
    • A candle placed next to the funnel inside the can.
    • A small amount of lycopodium powder inside the funnel.
    dust.gif

    Light the candle, replace the lid, and squeeze the bulb several times to eject the dust in the can.

    Observations

    When the bulb is squeezed, flames shoot out of the top of the can. This can be repeated several times.

    Explanation

    When the bulb is squeezed, the powder in the funnel is dispersed into the air. As the powder touches the candle, it ignites. The entirety of the airborne powder catches on fire. However, the powder that is still in the funnel is unaffected, as it can be shown that more such bursts of flame can be produced.

    The powder still in the funnel has less surface area than the dispersed powder. The airborne powder catches on fire, but the funnel powder does not. As an alternate method, one could simply place a sample of lycopodium powder on an asbestos pad, hold burner to it in this "compact" state, then initiate the dust can explosion.

    Contributors


    Dust Can Explosion-- Lycopodium Powder Combustion is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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