Experimental Burn
The materials required for this experiment are simple: a stick of incense, a lump of clay, matches. Any straight, uniform incense stick of the variety consisting of a slender bamboo splint dipped in an aromatic, combustible slurry as commonly manufactured in many parts of the Orient is suitable.
The setting for the experiment is most important. The experiment shall be carried out in a small inner room without windows and free of draughts. The room shall be darkened and provided with subtle illumination such that the visual effects of the smoke will be accentuated. A small table or suitable stand shall be provided upon which the experiment will be conducted. Arrangements should be made beforehand so that the room shall not be disturbed for the duration of the experiment. In lieu of a windowless room, a room with windows and portals sufficiently occluded may be substituted.
The procedure is thusly: The lump of clay is formed into a spherical mass and carefully pressed down upon the center of the tabletop. The stick of incense is inserted into the lump of clay at a thirty-degree angle from the vertical, that is, at a two to one slope. A match is struck, the incense is ignited, and the flame extinguished leaving the incense to glow and smolder on its own.
The results are observed from a comfortable stationary position; horizontally is found to be ideal, however, a traditional lotus position is acceptable.
Once the prevailing room conditions have stabilized somewhat, it will be observed that the smoke arises essentially vertically and appearing to be a parallel streams that are fairly straight, and then changing rather abruptly into less orderly and varying patterns of flow at some distance from the burning incense. Although there appear to be two parallel streams of smoke shooting up from glowing incense end, upon closer examination this effect is illusionary for the smoke arises generally in a cylindrical fashion so that the edges as seen from the side appear to be separate parallel streams that undulate together exactly when a slight amount of air disturbance is present. Even the most gentle wisp of wind will cause the uniformity of the laminar flow to become jumbled into turbulent flow as the smoke first emerges from the incense. The cylinder of smoke move quickly up and away from the hot incense and may widen gradually into a narrow funnel of smoke before breaking up into many continually changing patterns of rippling or the cylindrical smoke may emerge directly and suddenly into swirling and rippling designs. The smoke is forever making an infinite number of changes. At times the cone or funnel of smoke seems to flatten out and undulate quickly back an forth forming smooth waves in midair before fading into the haze which is accumulating in the upper regions of the room. Sometimes the turbulent flow will be fast, confused, and dramatic; at other times it will merely roll off lazily, but at all times moves uninhibited. Traveling in the general direction of the ceiling, the flow of the smoke may occasionally lean from side to side or may slowly rotate around a vertical axis, as well as going straight up. The limitless motions the bluish smoke make freely provides visual fascination in addition to a pleasing aroma.
As the incense burns downward, ash accumulates above the point of combustion. The ash may persist undisturbed for quite some time while the glow moves gradually down the stick emitting smoke and leaving ash in its path. Then without warning the residual ash will suddenly topple and dangle precariously by fragile strands of bamboo fiber. Particles of loose ash fall to the tabletop while the bulk of the ash remains suspended. Unmolested the glow continues its journey down the incense leaving the ash to accumulate until the time it in turn tumbles and thus forming another link of this charred chain. As the burning progresses, the dangling ash grows longer and longer while the sections of ash become shorter and shorter as the links fall more frequently each time. The burning ceases when the last of the incense preparation is encountered and all that remains is the leftover piece of bamboo splint from which ashes clinging to fibers are hanging vertically, enclosing a thirty-degree angle, and a roomful of diffuse smoke.
It can be concluded that the above phenomenon will reliably occur if the splint was taken from an inter-nodal piece of bamboo and the conditions of the experiment are met. Any significance attributed to the smoke in making the various fluid designs is left entirely up to the observer's imagination.
© Phillip Hughes
Experimental Burn
The materials required for this experiment are simple: a stick of incense, a lump of clay, matches. Any straight, uniform incense stick of the variety consisting of a slender bamboo splint dipped in an aromatic, combustible slurry as commonly manufactured in many parts of the Orient is suitable.
The setting for the experiment is most important. The experiment shall be carried out in a small inner room without windows and free of draughts. The room shall be darkened and provided with subtle illumination such that the visual effects of the smoke will be accentuated. A small table or suitable stand shall be provided upon which the experiment will be conducted. Arrangements should be made beforehand so that the room shall not be disturbed for the duration of the experiment. In lieu of a windowless room, a room with windows and portals sufficiently occluded may be substituted.
The procedure is thusly: The lump of clay is formed into a spherical mass and carefully pressed down upon the center of the tabletop. The stick of incense is inserted into the lump of clay at a thirty-degree angle from the vertical, that is, at a two to one slope. A match is struck, the incense is ignited, and the flame extinguished leaving the incense to glow and smolder on its own.
The results are observed from a comfortable stationary position; horizontally is found to be ideal, however, a traditional lotus position is acceptable.
Once the prevailing room conditions have stabilized somewhat, it will be observed that the smoke arises essentially vertically and appearing to be a parallel streams that are fairly straight, and then changing rather abruptly into less orderly and varying patterns of flow at some distance from the burning incense. Although there appear to be two parallel streams of smoke shooting up from glowing incense end, upon closer examination this effect is illusionary for the smoke arises generally in a cylindrical fashion so that the edges as seen from the side appear to be separate parallel streams that undulate together exactly when a slight amount of air disturbance is present. Even the most gentle wisp of wind will cause the uniformity of the laminar flow to become jumbled into turbulent flow as the smoke first emerges from the incense. The cylinder of smoke move quickly up and away from the hot incense and may widen gradually into a narrow funnel of smoke before breaking up into many continually changing patterns of rippling or the cylindrical smoke may emerge directly and suddenly into swirling and rippling designs. The smoke is forever making an infinite number of changes. At times the cone or funnel of smoke seems to flatten out and undulate quickly back an forth forming smooth waves in midair before fading into the haze which is accumulating in the upper regions of the room. Sometimes the turbulent flow will be fast, confused, and dramatic; at other times it will merely roll off lazily, but at all times moves uninhibited. Traveling in the general direction of the ceiling, the flow of the smoke may occasionally lean from side to side or may slowly rotate around a vertical axis, as well as going straight up. The limitless motions the bluish smoke make freely provides visual fascination in addition to a pleasing aroma.
As the incense burns downward, ash accumulates above the point of combustion. The ash may persist undisturbed for quite some time while the glow moves gradually down the stick emitting smoke and leaving ash in its path. Then without warning the residual ash will suddenly topple and dangle precariously by fragile strands of bamboo fiber. Particles of loose ash fall to the tabletop while the bulk of the ash remains suspended. Unmolested the glow continues its journey down the incense leaving the ash to accumulate until the time it in turn tumbles and thus forming another link of this charred chain. As the burning progresses, the dangling ash grows longer and longer while the sections of ash become shorter and shorter as the links fall more frequently each time. The burning ceases when the last of the incense preparation is encountered and all that remains is the leftover piece of bamboo splint from which ashes clinging to fibers are hanging vertically, enclosing a thirty-degree angle, and a roomful of diffuse smoke.
It can be concluded that the above phenomenon will reliably occur if the splint was taken from an inter-nodal piece of bamboo and the conditions of the experiment are met. Any significance attributed to the smoke in making the various fluid designs is left entirely up to the observer's imagination.
© Phillip Hughes