[Silencer23]

Hey, I have a Dunk contest soon, and I was thinking about this cool new dunk.

I want to dunk a Fireball (flamed basketball-using gloves), and then dunk over a wall of fire.

I know plain oil won't do the job. I saw some dude once on the Tonight Show using liquid nitrogen (I really dont know what he used but he said nitrogen alot) and he just started a fire on the wood floor with it without actually burning the floor... and Jay was shocked... Any idea what kinda chem he used ?


Other ideas ?  goal is a nice and clean wall of fire on the asphalt floor, and a flamed basketball.

[P]

I think that the wall of fire is a long shot and may not be possible to do safely.   Getting a burning ball should be easy though and quite cool  (well... hot actually).    I think you can get basketball/footballs which have a 'furry' cover (like a tennis ball but basketball size).  One of these would be good as the fur on the ball can be used to soak up fuel  -  thus people do actually set fire to fuel covered tennis balls for 'fire tennis'.   Get one of these and soak it in meths or fuel of somekind - it should stay alight while you bounce and dunk it.   Have someone nearby with a bucket of water or a hose though just in case. Mind your hair, your eyes, your skin and your cloths.

Get adult supervision if your not an adult yourself.

[Borek]

Any idea what kinda chem he used ?

LOX most likely

[enahs]

Mike you there? This is when you need to ring in big time on safety!

[mike]

Mike you there? This is when you need to ring in big time on safety!

Well this is just an accident waiting to happen.. not sure what I can really say about it.

I want to dunk a Fireball (flamed basketball-using gloves), and then dunk over a wall of fire.

Exactly what kind of gloves are going to protect you from the fire and still give you grip on basketball? What is going to stop the gloves becoming soaked in accelerants?

I know plain oil won't do the job. I saw some dude once on the Tonight Show using liquid nitrogen (I really dont know what he used but he said nitrogen alot) and he just started a fire on the wood floor with it without actually burning the floor... and Jay was shocked... Any idea what kinda chem he used ?

You are right that oil probably is not a good choice. I don't know why nitrogen would be flammable? A ball soaked in liquid nitrogen maybe, but this wont be on fire.. still dangerous but better than fire!

One of these would be good as the fur on the ball can be used to soak up fuel  -  thus people do actually set fire to fuel covered tennis balls for 'fire tennis'

Not a good idea! Which "fuel" are you going to use? Different fuels have different properties some will be way to hot and dangerous to use. Notice how you guys have already taken an idea "flaming tennis-balls" and scaled the process up to a basketball with no mention of whether this changes the safety aspects or not. I dare say a basketabll sized furball soaked in petrol is going to be a hell of a lot worse than a tennis ball.

Have someone nearby with a bucket of water or a hose though just in case

Not nearly enough safety precautions! What if the flammable material is not water soluble and sticks to your body as it burns? On ebucket will do nothing, the hose is better idea, but what about correct water pressure? What if the basketball player completely catches a light and panics and runs about? Where is the flammable "fuel" is this going to be in  a big open bucket that could ignite? What about if you do the dunk and the ball doesn't go through the hoop but instead flys off the springloaded ring and into the crowd? Do you have a fire suit? fire blanket? paramedics on standby? are you indoors? will the fire alarm go off? fire extinguishers?

Get adult supervision if your not an adult yourself.

Good luck finding an adult that thinks this is a good idea.

This is a bad idea, don't do it. If you are an up and coming basketball star don't let a stupid stunt ruin your potential career.

Good luck,

mike "the-wet-blanket" chemist

[Silencer23]

GREAT, now i dont wanna do it anymore... THANKS ALOT !


lol seriously... good points, but i don't see how flaming the ball with alcohol or something for 2 seconds can cause any harm
I just need a 2 second flame....

[mike]

http://www.nfpa.org/index.asp?cookie%5Ftest=1

This is the closest thing I can think would work http://www.fyrefli.com/?id=21

My advice is still: DON'T DO IT

i don't see how flaming the ball with alcohol or something for 2 seconds can cause any harm

This is why you shouldn't be doing it, because you can't see how this will cause harm!

[P]

Yea - I've done fire juggling and poi. It's good fun but you have to be careful and treat everything with respect.

Mike - your points about storage of the fuel away from where you do the demonstration/tricks and the one about wearing flammable clothing is a sound.  However, these things should be taken as read when playing with fire and if you use the right common sense and follow the 'rules' then stunts like this can be done safely.  That's why I said not to go ahead with the wall of fire idea as it is not safe.       Getting a ball soaked in a few grams of spirits is easilly controllable if done sensibley  in the presence of someone who knows what they are doing. Finding the right fuel can be done by experimentation - your right - petrol is not the best one to use.

Silencer23 - how old are you if you don't mind me asking?