How a flame works

Ever wonder exactly how a flame works? Well, here’s an amazing explanatory film that’ll make it all clear:

This film is the winner of “The Flame Challenge” put on by Alan Alda. He wrote in the journal Science:

I’d like to try a playful experiment. Would you be willing to have a go at writing your own explanation of what a flame is—one that an 11-year-old would find intelligible, maybe even fun? The Center for Communicating Science is looking for new ways to light up people’s minds with science, and you might point the way. We’ll try out the entries on real 11-year-olds and see which work best… .

So here I am—I’m 11 years old and looking up at you with the wide eyes of curiosity. What is a flame? What’s going on in there? What will you tell me?

The result of this challenge is nothing short of awesome. We need more of this.