Handheld Fireball Fire is made up of light and heated gases from combustion.

You can control the temperature of fire by selecting a fuel that burns with a cool flame. If you pour the fuel onto a substance that won't burn, you can make a fireball that you can hold in your hand or juggle. Here are written instructions for making your own handheld fireballs. Materials Needed to Make Fireballs

2" x 5" strip of cotton cloth (like from a t-shirt) 100% cotton thread needle naphtha lighter fluid (e.g., Ronsonol) match or lighter How to Make a Fireball 1.Thread the needle with cotton thread.

Tightly roll the cotton strip into a ball. Pierce the ball with the needle and wrap the ball with the thread. End by running the needle through the ball one more time and break off the thread. Soak the ball with lighter fluid. Don't soak your hands. Don't ignite the the fireball while you are holding it. Set the ball on a fire-proof surface. I used a frying pan from my kitchen. If you want to hold the fireball, my recommendation is to pick it up with tongs and carefully/slowly set it on your hand. That way you'll be able to tell if you can take the heat or not. Once you gain some confidence, you can pick the fireball up using your fingers.

Safety & Additional Information

It's best to use 100% cotton fabric and thread. If the fiber is synthetic (like nylon or polyester) it might burn or melt, with unpleasant consequences. The 'trick' to this demonstration is the fuel. It needs to be naphtha or kerosene. I have had good luck with Ronsonol and Zippo (not the butane stuff... read your ingredient list). Rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) works, but it burns a little hotter. It's pretty hard to blow the fireball out. You either need to blow hard or else suffocate the flame to extinguish it. You can set a saucepan lid over the fireball. The fireballs are reusable. Put them out when they run out of fuel or else the cotton will burn (you can tell this is happening when the ball starts to blacken and produce sooty smoke). If you get to the point where the cotton itself is burning, the fireball will be too hot to hold. Ideally you want to extinguish the fireball before it consumes all of its fuel. Simply soak it in more lighter fluid and relight it to reuse it. Regarding holding these in your hand or doing tricks with them... the cone of the flame is hot, especially above the ball, however, the fuel burns at a relatively low temperature.

The flashpoint of Ronsonol brand of naphtha is 6C or 43 F, with combustion mainly around 400F. To put that in perspective, touching the fireball is a lot like touching a hot pizza right out of the oven (except without the sticky cheese part). Fireballs are great fun to make, but like all fire projects, use proper safety precautions and common sense. Don't get burned or set your house or yard on fire. This is a project which requires adult supervision.

Green Fire

It's easy to make brilliant green fire. This cool chemistry project requires only two household chemicals. Green Fire Materials

Boric Acid Medical grade boric acid can be found in the pharmacy sections of some stores for use as a disinfectant. It is a white powder. It's not the same chemical as borax. I used Enoz Roach Away, which is 99% boric acid, sold with household insecticides. Heet Gas Line Antifreeze and Water Remover Heet is sold with automotive chemicals. Metal or Stoneware Container Lighter

Instructions for Making Green Fire 1. Pour some Heet into the container. How much you use will determine how long your fire will burn. I used about a half cup of Heet for approximately 10 minutes of fire. 2. Sprinkle some boric acid into the liquid and swirl it around to mix it up. I used 1-2 teaspoons of powder. It won't all dissolve, so don't worry about some powder at the bottom of the container. 3. Set the container on a heat-safe surface and ignite it with a lighter. I have a video of green fire, if you would like to see what to expect. Green Fire Tips & Safety Information

Boric acid is a relatively safe household chemical. You can rinse the residue remaining in the container down the drain. This is an outdoor project. There isn't a lot of smoke produced, nor is it particularly toxic, but the heat is intense. It will set off your smoke alarm. Be sure to set your container on a heat-safe surface. Do not follow my extremely bad example and set it on your glass patio table. Similarly, don't use any container that might shatter dangerously. Use metal or possibly stoneware, not glass, wood, or plastic. Heet primarily is methanol (methyl alcohol). You could try this project with other types of alcohol. Possibilities include ethanol, such as vodka or Everclear, or isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). You might also try other common household metal salts for different flame colors. For example, I susbstituted rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) for the Heet. The result was a fire that alternated from orange to blue to green. It wasn't as spectacular as the Heet fire, but it was still pretty cool. The green fire could be used as a stunning Halloween decoration in a cauldron or possibly inside a jack-o-lantern. Keep the chemicals for this project out of reach of children or pets, since methanol is harmful if swallowed. Read and follow any safety precautions listed on the labels of the specific products you use.