SRA035 - The burning pencil demonstration
A pencil is sharpened at both ends and crocodile clips attached at each end. These are connected to a low voltage power supply. The voltage is increased and the wooden casing quickly starts to produce copious amounts of smoke and the wood soon ignites.
Note:- These activities are designed to be carried out individually as part of a lesson conducted in a secondary school science laboratory. The procedures are not intended for use in other contexts – for example in a primary school classroom or other non-science or non-school setting.
The activities should not be used to create a ‘whizz bang’ science show.
Experience suggests that using a number of activities one after the other in this way gives rise to unpredictable additional risks which the individual procedures may not manage appropriately.
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