Hey Ray! How To Use An Invisible Fire Extinguisher

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- This is a fun experiment that is easy to do and requires very little set up. I like to call it the "Invisible Extinguisher," since it puts a candle out by using what seems to be an empty glass.

Fire needs oxygen to be in contact with what it is burning. Plain old air.

When that oxygen is used by the flame, carbon dioxide is left behind.

No oxygen, no flame. Many fire extinguishers contain carbon dioxide to help extinguish fires.

Carbon dioxide is also a gas that is denser than oxygen, which will help our experiment work.

Since it is denser, that means you can dump it. Yep, the seemingly empty glass we are using is actually going to be full of carbon dioxide.

NOTE: This is an experiment that does use fire, so if you try it at home, make sure there is a responsible adult nearby.

To perform our experiment, we need a lit candle, vinegar, baking soda, and two glasses.

Put some vinegar in one of the glasses, then add the baking soda.

You may be familiar with what happens when you mix baking soda and vinegar. A chemical reaction starts!

All the bubbles you see in the foam are releasing carbon dioxide.

Since carbon dioxide is heaver or denser than oxygen, the carbon dioxide pushes the oxygen out of the glass.

Let the chemical reaction finish. So we don't spill vinegar on the flame, we are going to carefully dump, the carbon dioxide into the other glass.

It is invisible, just like air, so you have to just trust that it is happening.

The carbon dioxide is also pushing the air out of this glass, as you pour it in. Try not to let any vinegar get into the new glass.

Now, with a glass of invisible carbon dioxide, you can dump it on the flame, and the flame is extinguished!

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