text: Unlike the carbon snake, which involves the reaction of sulfuric acid instead of sodium bicarbonate, the sugar snake grows relatively faster and to a significantly larger volume.
  Solid fuel is used in this experiment. The solid fuel can be sand that is sufficiently covered in ethanol or hexamethylenetetramine. A white mixture of sucrose and sodium bicarbonate will eventually turn black and the snake will grow about  long after it is lit.
  Three chemical reactions occur when the snake is lit. Sodium bicarbonate breaks down into sodium carbonate, water vapor, and carbon dioxide:
  : 2 NaHCO(s) → NaCO(s) + HO(g) + CO(g)
  Burning sucrose or ethanol (reaction with oxygen in the air) produces carbon dioxide gas and water vapor:
  : CHO(s) + 12 O(g) → 12 CO(g) + 11 HO(g)
  : CHOH(l) + 3 O(g) → 2 CO(g) + 3 HO(g)
  Some of the sucrose does not burn, but merely decomposes at the high temperature, giving off elemental carbon and water vapor:
  : CHO(s) → 12 C(s) + 11 HO(g)
  The carbon in the reaction makes the snake black. The overall process is exothermic enough that the water produced in the reactions is vaporized. This steam, in addition to the carbon dioxide product, makes the snake lightweight and airy and allows it to grow to a large size from a comparably small amount of starting material.