Saturday, January 07, 2017

Christmas Convection: The Fiery Fairy

I might very well be the last high school physics teacher teaching the topics of temperature, thermal expansion, heat, and heat transfer. Don't worry, I'll eventually retire and that will be that. (As it is, I've relegated those delicious topics to AP Physics 2, and that course is subject to the whims of enrollment.)

In the meantime, here's a tidbit that I'll be adding this sparking gem of black humor to my convection curriculum.



In my assessment, the flying fairy is a sensitive sensor for air currents in a room. And the fireplace sets up a "negative pressure" by sending heated air up the chimney and drawing air in from the living room. The fairy successfully discovered this air current. Great Success!

The video above went viral a few years ago. And some clever folks produced a satirical follow-up: Fiery Fairy Funeral.

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