Some of you might think that in order to carry out truly interesting science experiments, you need access to specialized equipment, but over the years, various amateur YouTube scientists have proven that theory incorrect with fascinating experiments carried out in their kitchens, garages, and backyards. Speaking of backyards, one of these people is The Backyard Scientist, and in a recent video, he proves that as long as you can get yourself to a thrift store, you can make yourself some fire tornadoes.

The part of the project that will require the most work is setting up the glass portion of it, because unless you happen to have a glass vase that broke perfectly in half up the middle laying around, you’re going to have to make that happen yourself. Thrift stores usually have ample ones for pretty cheap, and once you find some for yourself, he explains a few ways to cut them in half; However you end up doing it, should you choose to do so, just be careful.

The reason this is such an important part of the process is because the frame provides what makes the tornado spin. Once you figure out a way to burn a relatively small amount of gas—in this case, he used a tea candle holder—surrounding the flame with the two vase halves will do nothing… until you position them slightly offset from each other, as this allows air to enter from both sides in such a way that they’ll cause the flame to spin and grow tall and look generally awesome.

Using different types of fuel will result in different colored flames, so check out what visual scientific wonder The Backyard Scientist was able to achieve above.

Featured image: TheBackyardScientist