Lighting a charcoal grill with liquid oxygen

This is the way geeks light their cookout fires.

A bit of history about this video:
This video was featured in a Dave Barry article in the mid '90s, and was arguably one of the first wide-spread URLs. Due to this sudden influx of interest, Purdue's networks experienced one of the first "Slashdot Effects" ever, driving it's only T1 line at max capacity for AN ENTIRE WEEK!

Dave Barry Article:
http://baetzler.de/humor/litegrill.html

IgNobel prize:
http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/19...
http://improbable.com/ig/ig-pastwinne...

• Category

  Science & Technology

[pmfabri]

you could have been killed: flammable materials soaked in liquid oxygen are known as oxyliquit, which was used as a cheap blasting explosive.

[filmorependrgn]

The materials are not soaked in liquid oxygen. The liquid oxygen is added to an existing combustion.

[david dorger]

I worked somewhere that used both LOx and oil in their manufacturing process. (not together) I was told that if liquid oxygen came into contact with the oil, the oil would blow up. Any truth?

[filmorependrgn]

If the person who told you this was in charge of plant safety, I would believe it. There are many outcomes to that scenario, none of which are positive. Any time you mix a liquid oxidizer with a liquid fuel you are going to have the potential for a very strong reaction.

[snerl69]

how cold does the oxygen needs to be to get it liquid

[filmorependrgn]

at atmospheric pressure, about -362F, -219C, or 54K depending on which way you like temperature measured. In other words... very very cold.

[hogmaster13]

Oxygen is not fuel at all. Oxygen reacts with the fuel as part of the combustion process. Combustion is a redox reaction which means that there is a change in oxidation state of the reactants. The fuel is often some carbohydrate like gasoline or in the case of some rockets (and hopefully someday cars), Hydrogen. In a combustion reaction such as this one, the carbon gets oxidized while the oxygen molecules are reduced. The end products include Carbon dioxide and water.

[rbmaserang]

Hog master is talking out of his ass. gasoline is a hydrocarbon, not a carbohydrate. and his choice of words indicate a minimal understanding of exothermic reactions. sounds like an idiot to me.

[Dayepipes]

I was doing computer support at Ohio State U at the time and so had high speed internet/web access at work, and remember seeing this when it was new. Purdue its host had to take it off their site, and my memory was that each new site after new site that hosted it soon had to take it down due to being swamped by traffic in that very early time for web technology and high speed access outside university/research facilities.

[david dorger]

they kept them literally on opposite sides of the plant. A half mile or more apart. 

[blackopsmaster917]

rednecks....

[doctorgeekette]

Don Dammann, also at Purdue, originally showed George how fascinating it was to pour various liquids on camp fires... making them light in the rain, light fast, and make the flames higher and bigger. For the record, although Don Dammann's name was never mentioned in any of the news stories or web articles, was the ultimate instigator.

[DANGJOS]

that answer is correct for the melting point of oxygen

[makhiaveli]

haha, guy at the beginning shouting "fire! fire!" like Beavis