Two Candles Spinning on a Lazy Susan by Alexander Kai-Feng Chan
2nd Place - Contrived Category
School: Pickerington High School North
Teacher: Doug Forrest
When two candles get spun around an axis or a lazy susan in this case, one might think the flames will: lag behind, go outwards, or stay put. But when spun, the candle flames will lean inwards: the direction of centripetal force. This happens because the air gets pushed outwards making the outward portion have higher dense air than the inwards portion of the glass. The fire will burn towards the less dense air, and therefore lean towards the center. I used a glass cup to protect the flames from the air resistance as that force would have interfered with this phenomenon. Also in this photo, the flame is trapped between the glass which makes it so you see a reflection of the flames.