Hot foil trick Hot foil trick The hot foil trick is a magic trick in which the magician places a small piece of tin or aluminium foil in a volunteer's hand, and the foil begins to rapidly increase in temperature until the volunteer has to drop it to avoid scalding their hand, and the foil is reduced to ashes on the ground. This effect is achieved by, shortly before performing the trick, surreptitiously exposing the foil to a chemical (such as mercury(II) chloride ) which will cause it to rapidly oxidise. This trick can be very dangerous, since many of the chemicals used
Foil (literature) Foil (literature) In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character, usually the protagonist, to highlight particular qualities of the other character. In some cases, a subplot can be used as a foil to the main plot. This is especially true in the case of metafiction and the "story within a story" motif. The word foil comes from the old practice of backing gems with foil to make them shine more brightly. A foil usually either differs dramatically or is extremely similar but with a key difference setting them apart. The concept of a "foil" is also