Need some science answered here
 

I need to know how and why this works..

orange peel.. butane lighter..


light the lighter and while the flame is set to high.. or a match your choice.. take a section of orange peeling and with the outter part facing the flame.. squeeze it in half..

you should see flaming sparks fly off.. of course this is the citrus acid in the peeling.. but is it really..

why is that.. sorry im clueless on this.. but it looks cool

do anyother fruits do this too?

I think it's due to the oil(s) in citrus rinds . . . If I'm right, it should also work with lemons, limes, grapefruit, etc. . . .

I agree. Probably the oils being ejected and burning, which due to their small size, appear as sparks.

yea i agree, orange oil is used in furniture polish which is flamable too

:D isn't that fun? :D so, here' the deal. Oranges don't wanna be eaten by bugs. so they've got stuff in their peels to keep em away. kinda a natural pesticide. it's an oil, and it's flammable, so when you squeeze a peel in half real fast next to a flame (a candle works fine, btw ;) ), you see the oil burn. :)

http://www.floridachemical.com/whatisd-limonene.htm
that's the stuff. ;)

Would I be wrong in suspecting that, at some point history, Oranges were assaulted by bugs wielding flame weapons? Evolution is so weird sometimes. :hmm:

i think the flammable part is incidental, and not part of it's intended purpose. who knows, though. Iv'e seen weirder things. :P

I've noticed that when I use a lot of lime juice in a marinade, the grill gods love it when I throw the chicken on the grill. (big flames!)

Would these be lightning bugs?

I think it is the oil being in a mist that allows it to burn. Try spraying the oil on something non-flammable and then lighting it.

yup its the oil thats why you can get products that use oranges instead of petrochemical for example citricine hairwash citris bike chain degresser etc... citriss is a good alternitive to eviromentaly hazerdiss petro products

No, everybody knows that lighting bugs throw Lightning bolts, duh? Try Fire ants.

citric acid :)

Orange oil = citris oil not citric acid. They use it in "goo gone" , etc. as a natural, non solvent based degreaser and label remover.

if you look at the same thing without the flame, with magnification you can see the oil squirting out. you don't have to burn it, but it looks cool I guess

It may be some sorta fruit oil, but it might also be the 1% alcohol from ripe fruit. Yes, fruit have alcohol.

Cut a grape and half, and lay it in the microwave, flat side facing up, 15 seconds, homemade fireworks!

Don't get the oil in your eye. Big ouch time.

Dried out orange peel is good for lighting campfires.

Man, I've tried this one at least a dozen times, and I can never get it to work. My microwave must be weak or something. I have seen it done on websites (too lazy to look up now, though) however.

right but im pretty sure the solvent part of it is do to the acid in the oil

Yes it must be the oil.

OK, but how about the sparking mint lifesavers?

wintergreen lifesavers.. in the dark with a girl in the closet.. she will go all cool.. then you make your move.. and .. er.. nm

i tried a whole grape and it worked..

thanks on the info

How on earth did you find the time to start lighting fruit on fire???