Gray Matter
You know bacon is delicious, but did you know it contains enough energy to melt metal?

Grease Fire Pure oxygen flows from a metal pipe through a core of baked prosciutto, generating a grease fire hot enough to ignite steel and burn a hole clear through this pan. A wrapping of less-flammable uncooked prosciutto focuses the flame into an intense bacon-plasma torch Mike Walker

I recently committed myself to the goal, before the weekend was out, of creating a device entirely from bacon and using it to cut a steel pan in half. My initial attempts were failures, but I knew success was within reach when I was able to ignite and melt the pan using seven beef sticks and a cucumber.

No, seriously. The device I built was a form of thermal lance. A thermal lance, typically made of iron instead of bacon, is used to cut up scrap metal and rescue people from collapsed buildings. It works by blowing pure oxygen gas through a pipe packed with iron and magnesium rods. These metals are surprisingly flammable in pure oxygen, releasing a huge amount of heat as they are consumed. The result is a jet of superheated iron plasma coming out of the end of the pipe. For sheer destructive force, few tools match a thermal lance. But iron isn't the only thing that's flammable in a stream of pure oxygen.

Meat Sticks: The author wrapped slices of prosciutto around fiberglass rods, baked them dry, and bundled seven tubes into a bacon fuel core  Mike Walker

Bacon is fattening because it contains a lot of chemical energy tied up in its proteins, and especially in its fat. You can release that energy either by digesting it or by burning it with a healthy supply of oxygen. The challenge isn't creating the heat; it's engineering a bacon structure strong enough to withstand the stress of a 5,000°F bacon plasma flame.

I used prosciutto (Italian for "expensive bacon") because it is a superior engineering grade of meat. I wrapped slices of it into thin tubes and baked them overnight in a warm oven to drive off all the water. Then I bundled seven of those together, wrapped them in additional slices, and baked the bundle again until it was hard and dry.

A PopSci Collaboration with Boing Boing Video


From Table to Torch

Green Lantern: A cucumber makes an even better edible thermal-lance housing, since its outer rind contains the pressure of the very hot flame without burning up  Mike Walker

To make an airtight, less-flammable outer casing, I wrapped this fuel core with uncooked prosciutto before attaching one end of it to an oxygen hose. You can't imagine the feeling of triumph when I first saw the telltale signs of burning iron: sparks bursting from the metal, and then a rush of flame out of the other side as I witnessed perhaps the first-ever example of bacon-cut steel. And the lance kept on burning for about a minute.

It turns out there are much easier ways to do this. For example, while researching how to build a vegetarian lance, I hit on the perfect pipe material -- hollowed-out cucumbers. The pressure-containment capacity of a standard cucumber is remarkable, and the smooth skin makes it easy to create an airtight seal with the pipe delivering oxygen to the device. A cucumber packed with beef sticks will burn for almost two minutes, and a completely vegetarian version stuffed with breadsticks, though not quite as long-lasting, still produces a very impressive flame.

The lesson here is that food is a source of serious amounts of energy. Pure oxygen helps release it in a much shorter time than usual, but it's really the chemical energy in the bacon that makes the steel pan burn. Whether it's worth building a bacon lance to demonstrate this -- well, only you can be the judge of that.


Achtung! Theodore Gray is trained in lab safety. Don't try this at home. See more of Gray's work at periodictable.com.

41 Comments

that's freaking awesome!!!!

bdhoro87

from coral gables, fl

Sounds delicious!

Wow.

No. Prosciutto is not "Italian for expensive bacon."

Bacon is made from pork belly. Prosciutto is made from ham, the pig's buttocks.

These are separate parts of the pig.

Clearly the "science" here is not biology.

I mean, look at that photo. Even in that thumbnail, you'd never look at that and think "bacon." Bacon isn't lean like that meat is, and bacon isn't shaven thin like that meat is.

It's a clever enough article otherwise, for those of us who remember Mr. Wizard occasionally igniting a bowl of breakfast cereal.

But I hope PopSci decides accuracy is a good thing soon.

To join bobinchicago's pedantry, your WICKED FREAKIN' AWESOME MEAT LANCE is made with pork sticks, not beef sticks.

That said, it's still WICKED FREAKIN' AWESOME.

Nice work.

Ronaldmiller

from america, washington

Hi,

A very smart and diplomatic answer. It’s really appreciable and generous.

Miller

Drug Intervention Missouri

Ronaldmiller

from america, washington

Hi,

A very smart and diplomatic answer. It’s really appreciable and generous.

Miller

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Very interesting but I disagree calling the bacon or cucumber torch a plasma. I'm not sure if the oxygen/iron qualifies as a plasma or not but the bacon torch is definately an oxygen/fuel torch similar to that using propane or acetylene. The 5000 deg F temperature is in the range of a fuel torch.
A plasma torch typically reaches temperatures of 30,000-50,000 deg F.

joannelovesscience.com
I guess Jews, Muslims and vegans will have to go for the cucumber version!

Bacon is goooooooooooooooooood yea!

this kinda reminds me of the time that those guys made the rocket engine out of salami and NO2

I am wondering if there is anyway to make the device even more primative.....such as sub. another kind of fuel for the pure o2
I think it would be fascinating to see if it were possible to make such a powerful cutting torch using only materials that could be gathered together by a more technologicaly primative culture. Not unlike how ancients used clay jars,metals and an acidic liquid to create electricity for electroplating (i.e. the Bagdad Battery). Of course proving something COULD be made does not prove it WAS made, none the less it would be a fascinating challenge to see if it could be done.

Howdy, just trolling through 'cause i heard my roommate yelling about "bacon fire". Maybe I'm just not that cynical & detached, but if this doesn't give you half a chubby you're probably dead inside. Prosciutto can make fire, how does that not make you take a step back in awe? That's my two cents, nit-pick away fuddy duddies!

No, indeed prosciutto isn't bacon.... and it isn't that expensive (in italy!). Bacon would be "pancetta", and the prosciutto displayed is "prosciutto crudo" ("raw" ham). And, just for the record, prosciutto over here costs almost the same as bacon, unless you go for special products like Parma. But (AFAIK) the most expensive prosciutto is spanish, the "Pata Negra" (black leg) and its steep price is due to its very long aging (36 months).

Prosciutto comes from latin "Per exutus" which means very dry, for that's what it is: a salted pork leg left to dry for a period (8-12 months over here, more for Pata Negra and Serrano in spain).

Sorry, this is not exactly science, but.... could come out useful!

Good grief! Everyone of you who complained or otherwise nit-picked about the reference to proscuitto being Italian for "expensive bacon" needs to go and purchase a sense of humor. Clearly, Mr. Gray was making a JOKE and , in fact, Mr. Italian Resident, here in America, where Mr. Gray happens to live, proscuitto is FAR more expensive than bacon here or proscuitto in Italy. He wasn't insulting Italians, he was making a joke. And, it was actually amusing.

Revel in his ingenuity and imagination. Step back and enjoy the flower blossom and its smell, rather than looking to see if you can find an aphid to complain about.

Semi-interesting but not really PopSci worthy. It appears tome that someone has toomuch money and too much time on their hands.
Hey,sciencegoddess,you up for a game of tickle and slap?

treeforest

from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

It's not kosher, Rabid Rabbi says no.

Interesting experiment it's similar to the old sugar rockets in concept.

I'll admit when I saw the picture of this on the front page I thought it was a penis shooting fire....

Wow... One of the best uses of food in PopSci history.

Considering the tripe posted in several other articles here at PopSci (gay elephants, etc.), it's great seeing an article like this that returns us to what this mag is supposed to be about. Keep this up, PopSci, and I might renew my subscription! That said, he was joking about the translation and this was a fun article! I look forward to seeing what Gray comes up with next!

yummy!torched bacon!

my heart and artery go wow ....

This BACON TORCH may be the ultimate weapon of the apocalypse in case of zombie attack! They would be like a moth to a flame with this thing. Swine away! I recommend watching the Bacon video and further sympathize: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPJu9OXdfU0&fmt=18

sciencegoddess dont be FRRIKKIN RACIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bacon. what can't it do?

http://beecherbowers.com

Umm..are you serious? It's unbelievable. I smell grilled bacon. ;)
http://savethislink.net

this kinda reminds me of the time that those guys made the rocket engine out of salami and NO2
http://www.hedefnakliyat.com

Wow!

A bacon torch?

That's awesome!

http://timetoshinecleaning.com/

is the torch edible after use

Super interesting experiment. Thanks for sharing

http://www.woolarearugsguide.com

To make an airtight, less-flammable outer casing, I wrapped this fuel core with uncooked prosciutto before attaching one end of it to an oxygen hose. You can't imagine the feeling of triumph when I first saw the telltale signs of burning iron: sparks bursting from the metal, and then a rush of flame out of the other side as I witnessed perhaps the first-ever example of bacon-cut steel. And the lance kept on burning for about a minute.
---------------------------------
Ali EREN - http://www.playstationturk.net

HOLY COW THIS IS SOOOOO CCOOOOOOLLL!!!!!!!!!!

i always knew that bacon was bad for you... but it is soooooo tasty. :)

I believe even MacGyver couldn't beat this one. Bet this trick could have saved his bacon on more then one occasion.

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It's about time scientists look into alternate sources of energy, but bacon? Now that's interesting. I do like prosciutto better though

dog tags for dogs

wow thats crazy!!!

Its sounds almost as delicious as my own recipes at Eat Healthier Foods .

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i think that if you place a nonflamabul pipe in the middle of bacon device (priceless) more unreacted oxygen will pass thru the bacon device. And then it will cut easier thru the metal plate .
Live long and prosper friends.


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