Hello
I am trying to make a device to ignite flash paper using nichrome wire. This is easy in principle - you just pass a current through the nichrome, it heats up and the paper ignites. However I want to do this in a very small space (this is for a magic trick) which means that I have to use small button cells. The trouble is that they don't deliver enough current. I can easily get enough current from a single AA cell but that is too big.
I have an idea that I could use a capacitor so that the button cell charges the capacitor which then discharges through the nichrome so that for a brief period (a second or so) there is a high enough current. Does this sound feasible, given that for space reasons I would also have to use a smallish capacitor (say 100uF maximum)?
I am trying to make a device to ignite flash paper using nichrome wire. This is easy in principle - you just pass a current through the nichrome, it heats up and the paper ignites. However I want to do this in a very small space (this is for a magic trick) which means that I have to use small button cells. The trouble is that they don't deliver enough current. I can easily get enough current from a single AA cell but that is too big.
I have an idea that I could use a capacitor so that the button cell charges the capacitor which then discharges through the nichrome so that for a brief period (a second or so) there is a high enough current. Does this sound feasible, given that for space reasons I would also have to use a smallish capacitor (say 100uF maximum)?