(Above) Ian Simmons used the high calorie content of sausages to destroy a steel pan. Pic: Jonathan Sanderson
A sausage-stuffed cucumber which was ignited through an oxygen cylinder and used to melt steel has won a prestigious industry award for a Newcastle science hub.
Ian Simmons, a Director from the city's Life Science Centre, won the Best Demo category at annual interactive conference The BIG Event after blazing through a roasting pan in less than 10 seconds with his Flaming Sausage Lance at London's Royal Institution.
The hollowed-out vegetable exploited the high-calorie contents of the snack sausages to produce an intense burning heat in the first of two successful stunts unleashed by the Centre.
Lab Tech Lee Patterson also notched a runners-up nod for Chemistry, Rocketry and Shakespeare, showing how British scientists sent a satellite into orbit with a rocket fuelled by hair dye product hydrogen peroxide.
"Lee is from Newcastle and only recently graduated – I think it's excellent that he did so well, not only for him but also for the Centre," said Simmons. "It's judged by industry peers who have very high standards, so it can only benefit our reputation.
"To have been able to perform at the Royal Institution on the very same demonstration bench used by such august scientists as Michael Faraday and Sir Humphrey Davy was an honour in itself."
