I've started a few fires...
When I was about 12 or 13 my mate and I used to have bonfires up in the local woods. He worked part time in a garage, and managed to procure some battery acid (pretty concentrated sulphuric). We had collected some iron filings from metalwork classes at school, so off we went up to the woods with said ingredients (and also some white spirit we'd nicked from his dad's shed to get things going).

We lit a fire, and then put the iron filings into the acid - which was in a GLASS lemonade bottle - screwed the top on, lobbed it on the fire and hid behind a substantial stone wall.

Quite impressive results.

Around the same time in my life, I was doing some chemistry experiments in our kitchen, and one day decided to mix some magnesium (which burns pretty hot anyway) with an oxidising agent, viz. sodium chlorate weedkiller (my dad had got agricultural grade stuff which had no fire retardant in it). Knowing that this would create a fairly rapid reaction, I laid down several sheets of aluminium foil on the work surface to prevent damage.

I was 12, remember - I didn't know aluminium melted at 750C and burned easily too!

So I lit the magnesium, which then burned extremely rapidly, right through the aluminium foil leaving a black crater in the work surface.

My mum was none too pleased, and the crater was there for years before my parents got the kitchen renewed!

More posts later, once I remember more of my teenage exploits.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Wed 3 Mar 2004, 9:24, Reply)