A fairly well-known demonstration using a sparkler is the following: Bend the wire where you hold it at 90° to the active part, and insert it into the chuck of a drill. Darken the room, ignite the sparkler, and let the drill rotate slowly. A shower of sparks flies off tangent to the circular motion, much like sparks from a rotating whetstone.

Topics
Kinematics, Educational aids
1.
These sparklers may be obtained from a number of sources such as Skylighter Inc. (http://www.skylighter.com/mall/novelty.asp).
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© 2006 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2006
American Association of Physics Teachers
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