Match Levitation - Sick Science!

No need for smoke and mirrors, just science!

Whether watching that movie about wizards or catching up on our magic tricks, we love it when things mysteriously rise into the air. We are especially fond of levitation when there are no strings or trickery attached… stuff just starts lifting off of the ground. That's what happens with the Match Levitation experiment. Truly, there's nothing up our sleeves. Try it and you'll see for yourself!

Materials

Matchbox (or other material you can use as a flat base)
At least 5 matches (you'll most likely want more)
Lighter (optional)
Adult supervision

Experiment
Video
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Place one match vertically in the bottom of an empty match box with the match head away from the box. Make sure that your base will be large enough to create a teepee-like structure with more matches.
Prop another match against the match you inserted into the clay. The match heads should be touching. Rest the bottom of the match on top of the clay, not stuck in like the first match.
Using another match (or lighter), light the leaning match at its base, as far from their head as possible.
As the flame burns up the match, it will light both match heads. What happens after letting the matches burn?
If performed correctly, once the matches are almost entirely burnt, the leaning match will lift itself off of the ground!

How does it work?

The Match Levitation experiment has the appearance of a magic trick, but it's really some physics and chemistry at work here.

When you light the match near the base, the flame burns most of the way up the match before it sets the highly combustible match head on fire. The burning process uses the wooden match stick as fuel, leaving a much lighter, blacker skeleton in its wake.

When the flame reaches and ignites the two match heads simultaneously, the high heat of the two match heads causes them to fuse together. At this point, the two matches have locked onto each other, albeit in a very brittle fashion.

The bottom of the match begins to curl due to the burning of the wood as fuel. The flame and match are hotter at the top, making the top shrink faster and causing the subsequent bend.