Best Conservation of Mass Experiment EVER!

The IRON (Fe) in steel wool reacts with the OXYGEN (O2) in the air in a mesmerizing reaction that changes the mass in unexpected ways.
#FlemdogScience #Steelwoolexperiment
Fun Full Video looking at Mass Change
• Is Matter Conserved wh...
Steel Wool Baked MarshMellow (52 seconds)
• Burned to a Crisp?

[@flemdogscience]

Here is a bit longer look at that mass change!
ua-cam.com/video/_2mgYGwl9RM/v-deo.html
What steel wool experiments should I try in the future??

[@talbiyah]

The mass of the candle decreases when it is burnt. This is because some of the wax has reacted to form gas.
When iron wool combusts, it reacts with oxygen from the air to form iron oxide. Iron oxide is a solid, so the oxygen atoms from the air add to the mass on the balance

[@Letsgofish123]

I do see some stuff flying off that could as others have suggested be the initial mass loss cause. My thought is that the heat is causing a bit of rising airflow through the steel wool resulting in a small upward force - which is constant so only increases initially. Could put the whole thing in a bell jar to minimize possible upward airflow.

[@steveupton271]

Maybe the steel wool was treated with a preservative that burns off first before the iron oxide forms

[@HowardWaggoner]

And you would be correct, to keep the wool from "rusting", it is coated in a film that when burned away turns in to gas, CO2 for the most part.

[@colin-alexarobinson3542]

i would guess that the initial mass loss is due to oxides on the surface of the wool breaking down and leaving the reaction as soot

[@flemdogscience]

It does make a huge mess as the oxides fly off! You could be on to something.

[@colin-alexarobinson3542]

@@flemdogscience You could test this hypothesis by soaking it in rust remover beforehand to reduce the amount of oxidation on the surface prior to the experiment, with the expectation that the weight would no longer decrease or would decrease less

[@abdullahsallaj8550]

I would try to activate steel wool boy with the battery from the top because activating him from the bottom may have created hotter air that effectively lifted steel wool boy off the weighing machine.

[@BottleJackBuddy]

Cool.

[@VandnaSingh-ve3tf]

May 1 youtuber.ho