How to start a fire with a battery [picture guide]

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👉 The key facts from this guide

You're in the wilderness and need a fire.

But you don't have matches or a lighter.

However, you do have a battery and aluminum foil.

Great. Because with that, you can make a fire.

Now you will learn in 6 steps how easy it is.

Step 1: The materials

Let's get straight to the point.

You need the following:

• Battery (a phone battery works too)
• Aluminum foil (e.g. from a cigarette pack or chewing gum)
• Cotton wool or similar kindling

Reading tip: I have presented many types of kindling in my article "Collect and manufacture kindling".

Step 2: Cut aluminum foil

Electricity flows through aluminum foil because aluminum conducts electricity.

The aluminum foil must now be cut so that a narrowing is created.

In the narrowing, the current is forced to condense. This creates heat.

Step 3: Unravel cotton

In order for the cotton to catch fire well, make it a little more airy.

Step 4: Wrap cotton around aluminum foil

The aluminum foil will get very hot at the narrow point. This is where the cotton will catch fire best.

Now wrap the cotton around the narrowing.

Step 5: Hold it against the battery

Now hold both ends of the aluminum strip against the battery. A small short circuit is created and it gets very hot at the narrowing.

It may also get warm on your fingers. The cotton now starts to glow.

Step 6: The cotton burns

If the cotton is glowing well, blow some air into it. This will ignite it.

It worked, the cotton is burning.

Bonus: Video of the experiment

In this video, you can see how the aluminum strip starts to burn. It gets very hot at the constriction. The chewing gum paper starts to burn.

Learn even more about ignition methods and making fire by checking out my book "The Fire Primer".

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How do you like the experiment?

Will you replicate it?