Teacher Lights Student's Hand on Fire With Methane Bubbles

This insane video of a teacher using methane bubbles to light a fireball in a student's hand might just make you want to go back and sit through a high school science class again.

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First, the student dips his hand into a bucket of methane-filled soap bubbles. Then, his teacher sets his soapy hand aflame using a lighter.

The experiment is harmless and the student is in no danger, but we'd recommend you don't try this unless you're under the supervision of a trained science professional.

Check it out.

Turns out this experiment, which is going viral after being picked up by the Daily Mail earlier Friday, is actually pretty common in science classrooms.

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Tech Insider reporter Rebecca Harrington remembers a similar demonstration in an introductory chemistry course in college, and a quick Google search turns up plenty of similar videos.

Here's a snippet of another YouTuber demonstrating the same experiment.

So how do these great balls of fire work? Why is nobody burning off their fingers?

Methane is lighter than air, so the soap bubbles filled with the gas immediately start rising off your hands the minute you touch them. When they light on fire, the bubbles are already moving up and off your skin.

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When lit, the methane bubbles burn in the presence of oxygen from the air to turn into water and carbon dioxide. Poof — no more bubbles!

It's totally safe, but still looks totally crazy. And based on the cheers the student in this video received from his classmates during the experiment, we'd say science teachers everywhere might want to add this one to their lesson plans.

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