The canister flies off with a loud bang. Place a few drops of rubbing alcohol into the canister and shake to vaporize the liquid. Another alternative is to fill the canister and then pour it out. This saturates the canister with vapor. Sparking the vapor causes a loud explosion due to the rapid expansion of the gases.
Liquids burn at a slower rate than vapors because the exposed surface to the flame is smaller.
A suspended droplet of fuel can burn around its entire 360-degree surface. While the grain itself is fairly hard to light, suspended particles of it can burn around its entire surface causing massive explosions. In automobiles, fuel is burned more efficiently in a vaporous state in the engine rather than in a liquid state. Index of Activities . This activity is featured in Future Flight Hawaii , a K-12 Education Project of Hawaii Space Grant Consortium.