Greetings everyone. I appreciate all of the information that I
received about the fire syringes. I did some research and found some
material showing diagrams as to how one was made in Malaysia many, many
years ago. So I thought, surely if they could make one from simple
material using simple tools, I could easily make one using modern
material with modern tools....well....my hat is off to those who were
able to make "primitive" ones. :-)
I have tried making one from wood, but that didn't work. I found
a 20cc plastic syringe in my room that I use for my Boyle's Laws labs. I
plugged the syringe with clay so that it is air tight one the needle side
(there is no needle). I went ahead and tried putting a very small amount
of cotton (with nearly all fibers exposed) into the bottom of the
syringe. I turned the syringe upside down (plunger side down) and struck
the plunger as hard as I could against the lab table. I saw a white,
smokey like material form in the syringe, but no sign of combustion on
the cotton. I removed the plunger and smelled, but there was also no
smell of smoke. I repeated the process several times more and at times
hit the plunger repeatedly with the same formation of white "mist"
forming, but no combustion. I even tried different materials, other than
cotton to see if it would ignite, but with no luck.
Some of the things I've observed is that the "mist" seemed to
only occur if there was something in the syringe. There was no
precipiation on the walls, but the mist seemed to dissipate as the
plunger moved back to its original position at the opening of the
syringe. The syringe does get very warm when I pound on the plunger,
especially if I pound on it quickly and repeatedly, but not hot enough.
Can anyone tell me what the "mist" is? Is it more likely water
vapor or smoke? Can anyone recommend any advice or suggestions? I might
be able to get some more large (if not larger) syringes from the local
vet. Does it matter whether it is plastic or glass?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.