Burning Money for the Holidays on Live TV!

I couldn't let the Holiday season pass by without going on Channel 9's Bridge Street morning show and doing something fun. Last year I brought liquid nitrogen and used it to make ice cream for the hosts (check earlier blog post). That was a great demonstration for the season, but what could I bring this time? Well, my fellow science educators at the MOST and I thought about it and came up with a few ideas. Our favorite was the burning money demonstration we found at Steve Spangler's website. This is a potentially dangerous demonstration, so I recommend that children do not try this. If you are an adult, and you want to try this activity, make sure you read through the instructions carefully on Steve Spangler's website.

Burning money? On live TV? What? Isn't that illegal?

Defacing a dollar bill certainly is a crime (see link), but the fun thing about this demonstration is that the dollar bill doesn't get damaged at all by the flame it's engulfed in.

So why doesn't the dollar bill burn? The dollar bill never gets hot enough to light on fire. Sure, the rubbing alcohol is burning up all around it, but because the bill is soaked with water, the water absorbs the heat and not the bill itself. The trick to keeping the bill from lighting is to make sure you have the right amount of water in the solution.

In the Bridge Street segment I mentioned how memberships can be a great way to save money. I am going to write a separate post about the value of museum memberships, but I want to briefly explain what I mean by this. A museum membership may cost you double or more than a single museum visit, but even without the discounts that come with them, a membership can soon pay for itself. For example, with a Family+ membership at the MOST, a family that travels to the MOST and other ASTC science museums could expect to reasonable save $100 or more a year.

I hope you enjoy the clip!
-Dustin Angell, 2011