Fire Piston Explained | Educational Physics Experiment

Описание: Watch an educational, transparent fire piston, igniting cotton fibres and paper. Most of the clip is filmed in 180 fps and replayed in slow motion.

The fire piston - also known as a fire syringe or a fire plunger - consists of a closed cylinder and a tight-fitting piston. After the cylinder has been loaded with a small amount of combustible material, the piston is slammed quickly into the cylinder, causing the pressure to rapidly increase to approximately 15 times normal atmospheric pressure. The rapid pressure change causes the air temperature to rise (try looking up adiabatic compression online). If the temperature rises above the igninition point of the combustible material, it will immediately catch fire with a bright flash and burn until the oxygen inside the cylinder is depleted.

The fire piston is a very old invention. It has been known in Southeast Asia for many centuries. Today it is mostly a novelty item but it is sometimes preferred by hikers as part of their survival gear. The particular fire piston featured in this clip is clearly made for education purposes since it is transparent, allowing us the privilege to see what's going on inside the cylinder.

Interesting facts about the fire piston
Rudolf Diesel's invention of the diesel engine in 1897 was inspired by the fire piston. Unlike gasoline engines which use spark plugs for igniting the fuel/air mixture, the diesel engine does not use a spark plug but relies instead on auto-ignition by compressing the fuel/air mixture to the point where the temperature causes the mixture to self-ignite.

If you have ever tried to inflate a bicycle tire with a hand-operated pump, you may have noticed that the tip of the pump becomes warm to the touch after several pump-strokes. This is the exact same effect caused by increased air pressure - but fortunately the pressure and temperature is much too low for your hands to catch fire. Phew!

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