How to make your own star

[gazza63]

recipe for making your own star

The ingredients which you will need to build 

your own star are:

A microwave oven, a glass and a grape or lighted candle.

The grape should be cut in half. The trick is to not cut it all the way through,but rather to “butterfly” the two halves open. 

There should stll be a piece of grape skin connectng the two halves.

Insert the lighted candle or your grape in the centre of the microwave dish.

If possible, it is better to remove the dish first and then insert the candle or grape.

The idea is just that the candle or the grape should not move around when the microwave is turned on.

Now, cover the lighted candle or the grape with a glass. If you use a candle, it would be better to put the glass on stilts to let some oxygen in to keep the flame burning. The microwave oven can be set to about 15 seconds on high. [Tip: turn off the room lights for a better view.]

The result is plasma being created and captured inside the glass. You will immediately see its extreme glow inside the glass. This glow will last a few seconds 

before eventually the candle dies or the skin of the grape becomes too dried out. You can turn off the microwave sooner if you wish. 

The plasma that you have just created is in principle identcal to plasma in our Sun.

[DeepThought]

Having tried the candle trick some years ago, could I suggest you only try this with an OLD microwave.

The result is pretty cool with big arcs of plasma created, but the noise the microwave makes is horrendous and mine was frankly never the same again.

[Schorhr]

Neat experiment!

Too bad we gave our old microwave away...

[Sam]

I'm glad we no longer have a microwave or I would actually try this.

[Stargazer_00]

Saw this done on tv, looked good. Wouldn't do it on my own. I was taught never to play with matches.

[Knight of Clear Skies]

Can't say I'd really recommend doing this, but here's a YouTube video:

http://youtu.be/0i2lhO3bSjQ?t=1m30s

As the saying goes: If you can't stand the heat, check for stars in your microwave.

[Pig]

If you leave a pan of water boiling, for 5 minutes, make sure the lid is off, the steam can then act as cloud cover, this will prevent you seeing the star in the microwave, resulting in a more realistic experiment   :grin:  

[JamesF]

Saw this done on tv, looked good. Wouldn't do it on my own. I was taught never to play with matches.

If you use the grape rather than the candle then presumably you wouldn't need to use matches.

James

[floppygoose]

If you leave a pan of water boiling, for 5 minutes, make sure the lid is off, the steam can then act as cloud cover, this will prevent you seeing the star in the microwave, resulting in a more realistic experiment   :grin:  

Set up the garden sprinkler through the kitchen window and it's just about complete!

[TwoPi]

If you use the grape rather than the candle then presumably you wouldn't need to use matches.

James

Surely your mum taught you that you can easily choke on unlit grapes? Or was it don't play with unlit microwaves?

(I may be getting confused, but it was definitely one of the two)

[hobsey]

Thats awesome.

I wont be trying it with our 2 week old microwave though.

[JamesF]

Surely your mum taught you that you can easily choke on unlit grapes? Or was it don't play with unlit microwaves?

(I may be getting confused, but it was definitely one of the two)

I was sure it was "never return to a lit apricot".

James

[Stargazer33]

Is that once you have lit the blue berry and retired to a safe rest home in the south of France?