How do fire breathing performers do their performance without the fire traveling backwards along the fluid toward their mouth?
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Fire moves through the droplets at a finite (and not that rapid) speed. As long as they below the droplets out faster then the fire can move back towards them, the fire can never get to their mouth.
It’s a difficult skill to learn, and even done perfectly will absolutely fuck you up and shorten your life. I believe a lot of fire breathing performers have vowed never to teach anyone, if I remember correctly.
Fire breathers spray the fluid with a lot of force and only parting their lips tightly. This maximises the fluid velocity and also allows the fluid to become more of a spray.
The spray has a high surface area so ignites easily. That’s also why the flames are quite big.
The speed of the spray is however faster than the ignition “travel” so it doesn’t reach their face.
Using something like paraffin which burns relatively cool can prevent a lot if injuries, (also used as fuel on fire staff, poi, the flame is safe enough to run your hand through)
Injuries happen when people use stuff that burns fast and hot like high proof alcohol or sprit based fuels, it’s really easy to set your face and chest on fire as the fuel and vapor can stick to your chin and clothes then burst in to flames.
I learned to blow a pretty big fireball using my staff to ignite it by practicing first with water, blowing a really fine mist through tight lips, once you have that down try with a little fuel and build it up.
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