• Question: will a milk bottle ever burn if it had a little milk left in?

    Asked by benhudson to Rory on 17 Jun 2014.
    • Photo: Rory Hadden

      Rory Hadden answered on 17 Jun 2014:

      If the bottle is plastic then it will burn but it will only burn down to the level of the milk. This is because for something to burn, it has to be heated up. If there is milk in the bottom of the bottle will keep the plastic cool (milk is mostly water and doesn’t burn). That means the bottle will not get hot enough to burn. It is the reason that the fire brigade use water to fight fires – it is very good at absorbing the heat from the fire.

      On a side note, did you know that powdered milk (sometimes used to make milk for babies) will burn? This is because if you remove the water, the remainder of the milk is flammable. Again this shows the fire fighting powers of water! Please do not try this as it is very dangerous.

      Rory

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