Burning Magnesium Under Water: Mr. Wizard Strikes Out

In response to a question from my son, I recently attempted to
demonstrate that magnesium will burn under water - just like it says in
the textbooks. I used a thin strip of magnesium (one eight inch width)
which ignited readily in air with a sustained flame. When I placed the
Mg strip on the surface of the water, it continued burning vigorously,
causing some localized boiling of the water. However, when I plunged
the magnesium strip completely under water, the water extinguished the
flame ... every single time.

Needless to say, the results of this experiment have somewhat tarnished
my reputation as Mr. Wizard. I assume that the reason the flame went
out was because of heat transfer effects related to
dissociating/vaporizing the water (I tried folding and twisting the
magnesium into four-ply strips, but that had no effect).

Could someone tell me what I need to do to make this experiment work?
Would using thicker magnesium strips help? If so, what size would I
need?

Thank you in advance for your help.

FYI, I followed all necessary safety precautions: we used welder's
goggles (#10 shade) for eye protection, tongs for handling the
magnesium, and the experiment was conducted outdoors with good
ventilation and plenty of sand for fire safety.

.

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