Science Magic

Tricks
SELECTION SECTION
MORE MAGIC MODULES - Further science topics

LIQUID LAUNCH

Science gives an explanation for some of the strange properties of water; Why is it wet? What is
meniscus? How does capillary action work? On the way we learn something about the forces that
operate in nature, in particular the electro-static forces that bind atoms together.

Magic tricks - all tricks are self-working, and easy to do at home;

 Floating Point - a needle floats on water.

 Levitating Water - water rises above the glass.
 Cork Blimme! - how to make a cork float in the centre.
 Woofle Dust Through the Hand Illusion - using sticky water.
 Nice Dice - stuck with water.
 Paper Pick-up - water as glue.
 Cereal Enigma Solved - why cereal clumps together in the bowl.
 Sticky Paint Brush - stuck by meniscus.
 Sponge Yarn - shows capillary action.
 Multicolour Colour - chromatography.
 Automatic Plant Waterer - at last you can go on holiday!
ULTIMATE DETERGENT

How do forces work? By studying the magic of detergent we learn how forces balance each
other, and what happens when the balance is upset. We also learn about how the molecules of
detergent work with water and grease to make us clean.

Magic tricks - all tricks are self-working, and easy to do at home;

 Oil and water - will they mix?

 Magic Soap Boat - powered by meniscus.
 Perfect Circle - with cotton thread.
 Pepper Power - the pepper flees the finger.
 De-mistification - prevent car windscreens from misting up.
 Magic Number - appears in the mist.

HANGING AROUND

We learn about Newton's laws of motion in surprising ways; how inertia can be used to launch a
rocket, and how the path of objects in flight results from a balance between two laws, gravity and
inertia.

Magic tricks - all tricks are self-working, and easy to do at home;

 Book Hypnotism - snatch the paper from under it.

 Draught Sorter - using a ruler.
 Newton's Coin Cradle - how to get the coin in the gap.
 Snappy Rings - how to get the coin in the glass.
 Elbow Snatch - catching coins on your elbow.
 Egging Them On - spinning eggs to find the raw one.
  Plate Spinner - first wine glass in orbit.
 Why the Toast Always Lands Butter-side Down - at last, the truth.

FRICTION & NON-FRICTION

Through magic, we see how friction and air resistance can slow objects, how important friction
is to our life, and how some things have more friction than others, including glues.

Magic tricks - all tricks are self-working, and easy to do at home;

 Sticking to the Ruler - which finger gets to the middle first?

 Apple Bobbing - it hovers on a string.
 Gob-smacking Bottle Stopper - a Bottle hovers in mid-air.
 Invisible Card Trick - using roughing fluid.

STATIC BUT NOT STILL

Games with static electricity

Magic tricks - all tricks are self-working, and easy to do at home;

 Lord of the Thunderbolts - make lightning to order.

 Paper Magnet - the most powerful force in the universe - electro-statics.
 Magic Mind Maker-Upper - using pens.
 Hair-Raising - with a balloon.
 Balloon Trainer - the balloon stops when told.
 Attractive Water - attracted to a balloon.
PAPER POWER

Some tricks with nothing but a piece of paper

Magic tricks - all tricks are self-working, and easy to do at home;

 The Blow that Sucks - the Bernoulli effect.

 Flight of Fancy - how flight is possible.
 Ripping Fun - how to rip paper straight.
 Mighty Paper - one sheet holds up the world.
 Mighty paper II - one sheet holds a ruler down.
 One-sided - the mobius strip.
 Rip-off - can you rip a piece of paper into three?
 snowflakes - fold and cut effect.
 Fold Me to the Moon - how many times can you fold a piece of paper?
 Paper music - a simple reed instrument.
 Hup Dog - simple origami and gravity combined

STRONG STUFF

Magic which demonstrates surprising strengths of unlikely materials.

Magic tricks - all tricks are self-working, and easy to do at home;

 Eggstra Strength - Standing on a Packet of Eggs.

 The Leaning Tower of Pasta - spaghetti structures.
 Spud-U-Spike - the power of a straw.
 I Can if You Can - Standing on Drinks Can.
 Paper Stand - a sheet of paper supports ten books.
  Hard Roll - corrugated cardboard supports a person.
 Egg Chucking - eggs can be dropped from 3m safely.

CLEVER LEVER

The power of levers employed in some startling magic.

Magic tricks - all tricks are self-working, and easy to do at home;

 Electric Matches - the match was fixed!

 Raise the Dad - use a big lever.
 Pop-up Card - cardboard leverage.
 Unbreakable Match - it's unsnappable.
 Sit-up-and-Beg Box - a matchbox does a hand-stand.
 Hanky Takes a Bow - thumb gives a tweak.
 Pulley Pulls the Pullers - using a simple compound pulley.

AIR WE GO! AIR WE GO! AIR WE GO!

To understand these tricks we have to learn that air has weight, that gravity acts to pull it down,
creating "air pressure". We change the balance of forces by creating vacuums - absence of air-
and study the strength of air pressure. We lower air pressure by making the air move, and learn
how flight is possible We see why warm air is lighter than cold air, and how that affects many
things, from central heating to the weather.

Magic tricks - all tricks are self-working, and easy to do at home;

 Handy Windmill - hand heat powers it.

 Blue Water is Lighter - demonstrates how heat rises.
 Paper Power - a sheet of newspaper clamps a ruler.
 Spiral Mobiles - decorations use radiator heat.
 The Blow That Sucks - surprising results of blowing at things.
 Paper Ring Back Blow - flight explained.
 Water Weird Thing! - water refuses to leave a glass.
 Boiling Cold - cold water "boils" when touched.
 There¹s a Sucker Born Every Minute - how to win at drinking races.
 Poor Pouring - water pours from a bottle on command.
 The Magdburg Sphere - using two glasses.
 Potty Question - Why do tea pot lids have holes in them?
Guess the number magic trick
Calculators are still a great source of amusement for children. This simple magic trick will have
everyone amused for hours.

Number of players:

1+

What you need:

 A calculator

Activity:

Get a friend to enter any number (up to seven digits) on the calculator. They should also write
the number down somewhere hidden in case they forget it.

Then ask them to use the calculator to perform the following arithmetic with that number:

Multiply by 3.

Add 2.

Multiply again by 3.

Add the number which is two greater than the first number.

Ask your friend to write the answer on a piece of paper and show it to you.

Leave out the last digit of the number and that will be the number your friend first put in.
Pepper and Water Science Magic Trick
How to Perform the Pepper and Water Trick
By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

All you need is water, pepper, and a drop of detergent to perform the pepper trick.

Anne Helmenstine
Top Related Searches
 kitchen ingredients
 black pepper
 science magic
 surface tension
 water science
 outer edges
The pepper and water science trick is one of the easiest magic tricks you can perform. Here's
how to do the trick and an explanation of how it works.

Materials for the Pepper & Water Trick

You only need a few common kitchen ingredients to perform this science magic trick.

 black pepper
 water
 dishwashing liquid
 plate or bowl

Performing the Pepper & Water Trick

1. Pour water into a plate or bowl.

2. Shake some pepper onto the water.

 3. If you dip your finger into the pepper and water, nothing much happens.

4. If you put a drop of dishwashing liquid on your finger and then dip it into the pepper and
water the pepper will rush to the outer edges of the dish. If you are doing this as a 'trick'
then you might have one finger that is clean and another finger that you dipped in
detergent before performing the trick.

How the Pepper & Water Trick Works

When you add detergent to water the surface tension of the water is lowered. Water normally
bulges up a bit, like what you see when you look at a water drop. When the surface tension is
lowered, the water wants to spread out. As the water flattens on the dish, the pepper that is
floating on top of the water is carried to the outer edge of the plate as if by magic.
Amazing Science Tricks
By Michio Goto
Illustrations by Fred Schrier
From the April 2004 issue of Boys' Life magazine

105 Votes

Editor’s Note: Make sure an adult helps you with these experiments.

Using common objects around the house, you can demonstrate cool scientific laws. Here’s how:

Keeping Water Separate

Fill two identical glasses with water. Add two tablespoons of salt to the water in one glass and
stir well. Add a few drops of food coloring to the water in the other glass.

Cover the glass containing the colored water with a sheet of paper, turn it upside down and place
it on top of the glass containing salt water. (Be sure to do this trick over a saucer or bowl.)

Gently pull the paper out from between the glasses. The colored water and the salt water will
remain separate.

How Does It Work?

Salt water is heavier than colored water, so the two stay separate as long as the boundary
between them isn’t disturbed. Try turning the two glasses over, though. The heavier salt water
will now be on top, so it will flow down and mix with the colored water.
Place an empty aluminum can on its side on the floor. Blow up a balloon and tie a knot in the
end. Rub a tissue back and forth on the balloon.

When you put the balloon near the can, the can will start rolling toward the balloon.

How Does It Work?

When you rub the balloon with a tissue, the balloon gets a negative electric charge of several
thousand volts. When you put the balloon near the can, electrostatic induction affects the
molecules in the metal. The outside of the can gets a positive charge, so it is drawn toward the
balloon and starts rolling in that direction.

Place a candle upright in the middle of a saucer. Fill the saucer with water. Light the candle.
Place a glass over the candle. When the flame goes out, the water in the saucer will get sucked
into the glass.

How Does It Work?

When the candle is burning inside the glass, the heat makes the air expand, so some of the air
escapes outside the glass. The candle goes out after it uses up all the oxygen, so the air inside the
glass cools. As it cools, the pressure inside the glass drops. Some of the carbon dioxide formed
by the flame dissolves in the water as well, decreasing the pressure even more. The water outside
the glass on the saucer is forced into the glass by the higher aire pressure outside.
Hold the mouth of a black trash bag in one hand. Use a hair dryer to blow hot air into the bag.

Seal the mouth of the bag with tape. Tie a long piece of string around the tape so you can hold it.
Take the bag out into the sun. The bag will rise slowly into the air. (It’s best to do this trick in an
open area on a windless day.)

Since the bag is black, it absorbs heat from the sun. That heat makes the air inside the bag
expand and become lighter. When the bag and the air inside are lighter than the surrounding air,
the bag starts to rise.

Bending Light Through Water

Punch a hole in a clear plastic bottle two inches from the bottom. Put your finger over the hole,
fill the bottle with water and cap it to keep it from draining out.

Darken the room and cover part of a flashlight with your fingers to make the beam narrower.
When you take the cap off the bottle, the water will flow out in an arc. Shine the flashlight at the
stream from the side of the bottle opposite the hole. The light will bend with the arc and create a
bright glow where the water hits the sink.

How Does It Work?

When the light in the stream strikes the boundary between the water and air, much of the light is
reflected back into the stream. The light continues this internal reflection all along the arc formed
by the falling water. The same principle is used to transmit light signals through flexible optical
fibers.

With a black felt-tip pen, write a three-letter word in large letters on a white piece of paper. Place
the paper in a brown envelope, and insert that envelope into a white envelope. The writing on the
paper should now be impossible to read.

Get a piece of dark construction paper or tear out a page from a magazine that is printed on both
sides. Roll up the paper into a four-inch-long tube. When you hold the tube against the envelope,
you’ll be able to read the writing inside.

Usually you can’t read the writing inside an envelope because of the light reflected off the
envelope’s white surface. But the tube blocks that reflected light, so you see only the light
coming through the envelope.

Egg Into Bottle

Find a glass bottle that has a mouth slightly smaller in diameter than an egg. Pour some hot water
into the bottle (be careful!), shake it vigorously and empty the water.

Peel a soft-boiled egg and place it on the mouth of the bottle. Leave it there for a while and it
will get sucked inside.
The vapor from the hot water drives the air out of the bottle. Once the egg seals the top of the
bottle, the air can’t get back in. As the water vapor cools, it turns back into water, causing the
pressure inside the bottle to drop. The higher pressure of the outside air pushes the egg into the
bottle.

Toothpick Torpedo

Dab a little shampoo on the blunt end of a wooden toothpick.

Drop the toothpick in a pan of water. The toothpick will start moving in the direction of the sharp
end.

How Does It Work?

Shampoo contains agents that reduce the surface tension of liquids. As the shampoo on the end
of the toothpick dissolves, it reduces the water’s surface tension around it, thus releasing the
water’s hold on that end of the toothpick. The water around the other end of the toothpick still
has surface tension, so it pulls the toothpick in that direction.

To learn more amazing science tricks, check out the book “Amazing Science Tricks” by Michio
Goto
5 Scientific Ways To Make Water Do Magic
By David Dietle April 21, 2009 1,944,426 views

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Science has proven that much of the universe is made up of badassery. You can find it all around
you, including in something as simple as water. You just need to know the tricks to unleash it.

So here are some badass things you can do with water that seem to cross the line between science
and magic. And best of all, they're all completely safe!

#5.
Water Can Explode, With No Explosives

OK, this one is incredibly dangerous.

This involves "superheating" water, by getting it way beyond the boiling point without having it
actually boil. It's easier than you think, since actual boiling, that is bubbles escaping hot water,
can only be achieved with a "seed" (say a point, preferably sharp, where bubbles can form).
Normally, minerals in the water and imperfections in the surface of the container are more than
enough for this to happen.

However, distilled water has no such minerals, and if you put it in a relatively smooth container
and stick it in the microwave, the water can be heated beyond the normal boiling point and will
remain perfectly still.

Then, you toss in an object in and watch it explode:

You're watching the boiling process happen all at once, in a fraction of a second, in a way that
will result in boiling water flying back into your face. Do we need to tell you that if you must try
this at home, to only do it with adult supervision and proper safety equipment? Do we really?
Because we have a feeling that no matter what we say, some of your are going to try this, and
that at least one of you, for some reason, will do it nude.

#4.
Water Can Climb Walls and make Bridges

Yeah, this one is also pretty dangerous. We're off to a terrible start here.

Remember that creature from The Abyss that was made of sentient, free-moving water? Well you
can create a little version of that thing, and all you need is two adjacent containers of water and a
bunch of electricity.
While this may sound far fetched, its actually quite simple. You see, to get the water from the
cathode beaker to the anode beaker... actually, it's completely bizarre and we think the guys who
discovered this aren't really sure why it works either. It seems to have something to do with
electrical fields and the "unique structure of water."

But it does work, and apparently requires some mellow music in the background:

A guy with the chick-magnet name Elmar Fuchs, from the Graz University of Technology in
Austria, discovered the phenomena. This was presumably while bored and playing with
electricity and water, right down the hall from the "Fork and Light Socket" testing room. They
found that he could create a free-standing bridge of water that could be stretched to a whopping
25 millimeters--not quite an inch (so don't be expecting water bridges to be the new rage in sky-
walks any time soon).

Since electricity and water generally don't mix, in addition to the two beakers and water you may
also need some balls as big as a bull elephant's. Or the brain of a garden slug. Either way we
figure it's just a few years until scientists can make a water sculpture of Ed Harris.
#3.
The Water and Whiskey Anti-Gravity Switcheroo

Speaking of learning the magic of science via alcohol, here's the kind of trick they teach in
Bartender School.

This one happens with the help of the only liquid in the known universe with more magical
properties than water: whiskey. Pour a shot glass full of whiskey, and another full of water. Slap
a playing card over the water, and turn it over on top of the whiskey, like so.
Pull the card aside slightly, and the water and whiskey, instead of mixing, will neatly switch
places:

This does require some patience though, since the whole thing can take 10 minutes or more.

It works because whiskey is 40 percent alcohol, which is less dense than water. When the water
glass is inverted and the card is moved to allow a tiny gap, the water trickles through, unseen.
The whiskey, being lighter, is forced out of the lower glass into the upper. Scientists compare it
to the jocks kicking the nerds out of the dorm in Revenge of the Nerds.
odium acetate or hot ice is an amazing chemical you can prepare yourself from baking soda and
vinegar. You can cool a solution of sodium acetate below its melting point and then cause the
liquid to crystallize. The crystallization is an exothermic process, so the resulting ice is hot.
Solidification occurs so quickly you can form sculptures as you pour the hot ice.

Sodium Acetate or Hot Ice Materials

 1 liter clear vinegar (weak acetic acid)

 4 tablespoons baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

Prepare the Sodium Acetate or Hot Ice

1. In a saucepan or large beaker, add baking soda to the vinegar, a little at a time and stirring
between additions. The baking soda and vinegar react to form sodium acetate and carbon
dioxide gas. If you don't add the baking soda slowly, you'll essentially get a baking soda
and vinegar volcano, which would overflow your container. You've made the sodium
acetate, but it is too dilute to be very useful, so you need to remove most of the water.

Here is the reaction between the baking soda and vinegar to produce the sodium acetate:

Na+[HCO3]– + CH3–COOH → CH3–COO– Na+ + H2O + CO2

2. Boil the solution to concentrate the sodium acetate. You could just remove the solution
from heat once you have 100-150 ml of solution remaining, but the easiest way to get
good results is to simply boil the solution until a crystal skin or film starts to form on the
surface. This took me about an hour on the stove over medium heat. If you use lower heat
you are less likely to get yellow or brown liguid, but it will take longer. If discoloration
occurs, it's okay.
3. Once you remove the sodium acetate solution from heat, immediately cover it to prevent
any further evaporation. I poured my solution into a separate container and covered it
with plastic wrap. You should not have any crystals in your solution. If you do have
crystals, stir a very small amount of water or vinegar into the solution, just sufficient to
dissolve the crystals.
4. Place the covered container of sodium acetate solution in the refrigerator to chill.

Activities Involving Hot Ice

The sodium acetate in the solution in the refrigerator is an example of a supercooled liquid. That
is, the sodium acetate exists in liquid form below its usual melting point. You can initiate
crystallization by adding a small crystal of sodium acetate or possibly even by touching the
surface of the sodium acetate solution with a spoon or finger. The crystallization is an example
of an exothermic process. Heat is released as the 'ice' forms. To demonstrate supercooling,
crystallization, and heat release you could:
  Drop a crystal into the container of cooled sodium acetate solution. The sodium acetate
will crystallize within seconds, working outward from where you added the crystal. The
crystal acts as a nucleation site or seed for rapid crystal growth. Although the solution
just came out of the refrigerator, if you touch the container you will find it is now warm
or hot.
 Pour the solution onto a shallow dish. If the hot ice does not spontaneously begin
crystallization, you can touch it with a crystal of sodium acetate (you can usually scrape a
small amount of sodium acetate from the side of the container you used earlier). The
crystallization will progress from the dish up toward where you are pouring the liquid.
You can construct towers of hot ice. The towers will be warm to the touch.
 You can re-melt sodium acetate and re-use it for demonstrations.

Hot Ice Safety

As you would expect, sodium acetate is a safe chemical for use in demonstrations. It is used as a
food additive to enhance flavor and is the active chemical in many hot packs. The heat generated
by the crystallization of a refrigerated sodium acetate solution should not present a burn hazard.

Hot Ice Help

Answers to common questions about hot ice are available that should help solve any problems
you may encounter with this project. There is also a video tutorial showing how to make hot ice.
Gold and Silver Pennies
Fun Chemistry Project
By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

You can use chemistry to change the color of copper pennies to silver and gold.

Anne Helmenstine
Top Related Searches
 sodium hydroxide solution
 sodium zincate
 silver pennies
 metallic zinc
 naoh solution
 zinc metal

All you need are a couple of common chemicals to turn your normal copper-colored pennies (or
other mainly-copper object) from copper to silver and then to gold. No, the coins won't really be
silver or gold. The actual metal involved is zinc. This project is easy to do. While I don't
recommend it for very young kids, I'd consider it appropriate for kids ages third grade and older,
with adult supervision.

Watch the Video of This Project

Materials Needed for this Project

 clean pennies
 zinc metal (preferably powder)
 sodium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide solution
 tweezers or tongs
 container of water
 source of heat/flame

Note: Supposedly you can substitute galvanized nails for the zinc and Drano™ for the sodium
hydroxide, but I was unable to get this project to work using nails and drain cleaner.
How to Make Silver Pennies

1. Pour a spoonful of zinc (1-2 grams) into a small beaker or evaporating dish containing
water.
2. Add a small quantity of sodium hydroxide.
3. Alternatively, you could add zinc to a 3M NaOH solution.
4. Heat the mixture to near-boiling, then remove it from heat.
5. Add clean pennies to the solution, spacing them so that they are not touching each other.
6. Wait 5-10 minutes for them to turn silver, then use tongs to remove the pennies from the
solution.
7. Rinse the pennies in water, then set them on a towel to dry.
8. You can examine the pennies once you have rinsed them.

This chemical reaction plates the copper in the penny with zinc. This is called galvanization. The
zinc reacts with the hot sodium hydroxide solution to form soluble sodium zincate, Na2ZnO2,
which is converted to metallic zinc when it touches the surface of the penny.

How to Make the Silver Pennies turn Gold

1. Grasp a silver penny with tongs.

2. Gently heat the penny in the outer (cool) part of a burner flame or with a lighter or candle
(or even set it on a hotplate).
3. Remove the penny from heat as soon as it changes color.
4. Rinse the gold penny under water to cool it.

Heating the penny fuses the zinc and copper to form an alloy called brass. Brass is a
homogeneous metal that varies from 60-82% Cu and from 18-40% Zn. Brass has a relatively low
melting point, so the coating can be destroyed by heating the penny for too long.

Safety Information

Please use proper safety precautions. Sodium hydroxide is caustic. I recommend conducting this
project under a fume hood or outdoors. Wear gloves and protective eyewear to prevent getting
splashed by the sodium hydroxide solution.
Egg in a Bottle Demonstration
The Power of Air Pressure
By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

The egg in a bottle demonstration is a fun and easy science 'trick'.

Anne Helmenstine
Top Related Searches
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The egg in a bottle demonstration is an easy chemistry or physics demonstration you can do at
home or in the lab. You set an egg on top of a bottle (as pictured). You change the temperature of
the air inside the container either by dropping a piece of burning paper into the bottle or by
directly heating/cooling the bottle. Air pushes the egg into the bottle.

Egg in a Bottle Materials

 peeled hard-boiled egg (or soft-boiled, if a yolk mess interests you)

 flask or jar with opening slightly smaller than the diameter of the egg
 paper/lighter or very hot water or very cold liquid

In a chemistry lab, this demonstration is most commonly performed using a 250-ml flask and a
medium or large egg. If you are trying this demonstration at home, you can use a glass apple
juice bottle. I used a Sobe™ soft drink bottle. If you use too large of an egg, it will get sucked
into the bottle, but stuck (resulting in a gooey mess if the egg was soft-boiled). I recommend a
medium egg for the Sobe™ bottle. An extra-large egg gets wedged in the bottle.
Perform the Demonstration

 Method 1: Set a piece of paper on fire and drop it into the bottle. Set the egg on top of the
bottle (small side pointed downward). When the flame goes out, the egg will get pushed
into the bottle.
 Method 2: Set the egg on the bottle. Run the bottle under very hot tap water. Warmed air
will escape around the egg. Set the bottle on the counter. As it cools, the egg will be
pushed into the bottle.
 Method 3: Set the egg on the bottle. Immerse the bottle in a very cold liquid. I have heard
of this being done using liquid nitrogen, but that sounds dangerous (could shatter the
glass). I recommend trying ice water. The egg is pushed in as the air inside the bottle is
chilled.

How It Works

If you just set the egg on the bottle, its diameter is too large for it to slip inside. The pressure of
the air inside and outside of the bottle is the same, so the only force that would cause the egg to
enter the bottle is gravity. Gravity isn't sufficient to pull the egg inside the bottle.

When you change the temperature of the air inside the bottle, you change the pressure of the air
inside the bottle. If you have a constant volume of air and heat it, the pressure of the air
increases. If you cool the air, the pressure decreases. If you can lower the pressure inside the
bottle enough, the air pressure outside the bottle will push the egg into the container.

It's easy to see how the pressure changes when you chill the bottle, but why is the egg pushed
into the bottle when heat is applied? When you drop burning paper into the bottle, the paper will
burn until the oxygen is consumed (or the paper is consumed, whichever comes first).
Combustion heats the air in the bottle, increasing the air pressure. The heated air pushes the egg
out of the way, making it appear to jump on the mouth of the bottle. As the air cools, the egg
settles down and seals the mouth of the bottle. Now there is less air in the bottle than when you
started, so it exerts less pressure. When the temperature inside and outside the bottle is the same,
there is enough positive pressure outside the bottle to push the egg inside.

Heating the bottle produces the same result (and may be easier to do if you can't keep the paper
burning long enough to put the egg on the bottle). The bottle and the air are heated. Hot air
escapes from the bottle until the pressure both inside and outside the bottle is the same. As the
bottle and air inside continue to cool, a pressure gradient builds, so the egg is pushed into the
bottle.

How to Get the Egg Out

You can get the egg out by increasing the pressure inside the bottle so that it is higher than the
pressure of the air outside of the bottle. Roll the egg around so it is situated with the small end
resting in the mouth of the bottle. Tilt the bottle just enough so you can blow air inside the bottle.
Roll the egg over the opening before you take your mouth away. Hold the bottle upside down
and watch the egg 'fall' out of the bottle. Alternatively, you can apply negative pressure to the
bottle by sucking the air out, but then you risk choking on an egg, so that's not a good plan.
Invisible Inks
Write & Reveal Secret Messages
By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

This smiley face was made with invisible ink. The face became visible when the paper was
heated.

Anne Helmenstine
Top Related Searches
 fountain pen ink
 invisible inks
 sodium bicarbonate
 onion juice
 invisible message
 sodium carbonate

Sometimes people tell me they can't do any science projects because they don't have any
chemicals. There are some activities that don't require any chemicals you don't already have. A
great example is invisible ink.

Invisible ink is any substance that you can use to write a message that is invisible until the ink is
revealed. You use the ink by writing your message with it using a cotton swab, dampened finger,
fountain pen, or toothpick. Let the message dry. You may want to write a normal message on the
paper so that it doesn't appear to be blank and meaningless. If you write a cover message, use a
ballpoint pen, pencil, or crayon, since fountain pen ink could run into your invisible ink. Avoid
using lined paper to write your invisible message, for the same reason.

How you reveal the message depends on the ink you used. Most invisible inks are made visible
by heating the paper. Ironing the paper or holding it over a 100-watt bulb are easy ways to reveal
these types of messages. Some messages are developed by spraying or wiping the paper with a
second chemical. Other messages are revealed by shining an ultraviolet light on the paper.

Make Invisible Ink

Anyone can write an invisible message, assuming you have paper, because body fluids can be
used as invisible ink. If you don't feel like collecting urine, here are some alternatives:

Heat-Activated Invisible Inks

Iron the paper, set it on a radiator, place it in an oven (set lower than 450° F), hold it up to a hot
light bulb.

 any acidic fruit juice (e.g., lemon, apple, or orange juice)

 onion juice
 baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
 vinegar
 white wine
 dilute cola
 diluted honey
 milk
 soapy water
 sucrose (table sugar) solution
 urine

Inks Developed by Chemical Reactions

These inks are sneakier, because you have to know how to reveal them. Most of them work using
pH indicators, so when it doubt, paint or spray a suspected message with a base (like sodium
carbonate solution) or an acid (like lemon juice). Some of these inks will reveal their message
when heated (e.g., vinegar).

 phenolphthalein (pH indicator), developed by ammonia fumes or sodium carbonate (or

another base)
 thymolphthalein, developed by ammonia fumes or sodium carbonate (or another base)
 vinegar or dilute acetic acid, developed by red cabbage water
 ammonia, developed by red cabbage water
 sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), developed by grape juice
 sodium chloride (table salt), developed by silver nitrate
 copper sulfate, developed by sodium iodide, sodium carbonate, potassium ferricyanide, or
ammonium hydroxide
 lead(II) nitrate, developed by sodium iodide
 iron sulfate, developed by sodium carbonate, sodium sulfide, or potassium ferricyanide
 cobalt chloride, developed by potassium ferricyanide
 starch (e.g., corn starch or potato starch), developed by iodine solution
 lemon juice, developed by iodine solution

Inks Developed by Ultraviolet Light (Black Light)

Most of the inks that become visible when you shine a black light on them also would become
visible if you heated the paper. Glow-in-the-dark stuff is still cool. Here are some chemicals to
try:
How To Bend Water with Static Electricity
By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

Charge a plastic comb with static electricity from your hair and use it to bend a stream of water.

Anne Helmenstine
Top Related Searches
 latex balloon
 comb your hair
 water faucet
 narrow stream
 electrical charge
 dry hair

When two objects are rubbed against each other, some of the electrons from one object jump to
the other. The object that gains electrons becomes more negatively charged; the one that loses
electrons becomes more positively charged. The opposite charges attract each other in a way that
you can actually see.

One way to collect charge is to comb your hair with a nylon comb or rub it with a balloon. The
comb or balloon will become attracted to your hair, while the strands of your hair (all the same
charge) repel each other. The comb or balloon will also attract a stream of water, which carries
an electrical charge.

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: minutes

Here's How:

1. Comb dry hair with a nylon comb or rub it with an inflated latex balloon.
2. Turn on the tap so that a narrow stream of water is flowing (1-2 mm across, flowing
smoothly).
 3. Move the balloon or teeth of the comb close to the water (not in it). As you approach the
water, the stream will begin to bend toward your comb.
4. Experiment! Does the amount of 'bend' depend on how close the comb is to the water? If
you adjust the flow, does it affect how much the stream bends? Do combs made from
other materials work equally well? How does a comb compare with a balloon? Do you
get the same effect from everyone's hair or does some hair release more charge than
others? Can you get your hair close enough to the water to repel it without getting it wet?

Tips:

1. This activity will work better when the humidity is low. When humidity is high, water
vapor catches some of the electrons that would jump between objects. For the same
reason, your hair needs to be completely dry when you comb it.

What You Need:

 water faucet
 nylon comb or latex balloon
Traveling Flame Science Trick
Traveling Flame Fire Science Trick
By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

If you blow out a candle, you can relight it from a distance with another flame.

Anne Helmenstine
Top Related Searches
 blow out the candle
 fire trick
 heat source
 wick
 flame
 lighter

You know you can light a candle with another candle, but if you blow one of them out, did you
know you can relight it from a distance? In this trick, you'll blow out a candle and relight it by
causing flame to travel along a path of smoke.

How to Do the Traveling Flame Trick

1. Light a candle. Have a second source of flame ready, such as another candle, a lighter, or
a match.

2. Blow out the candle and immediately place the other flame into the smoke.

3. The flame will travel down the smoke and will relight your candle.

How the Traveling Flame Trick Works

This fire trick is based on how candles work. When you light a candle, the heat from the flame
vaporizes the cande wax. When you blow the candle out, vaporized wax briefly remains in the
air. If you apply a heat source quickly enough, you can ignite the wax and use that reaction to
relight the wick of the candle.
Traveling Flame Science Trick
Traveling Flame Fire Science Trick
By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

If you blow out a candle, you can relight it from a distance with another flame.

Anne Helmenstine
Top Related Searches
 blow out the candle
 fire trick
 heat source
 wick
 flame
 lighter

You know you can light a candle with another candle, but if you blow one of them out, did you
know you can relight it from a distance? In this trick, you'll blow out a candle and relight it by
causing flame to travel along a path of smoke.

How to Do the Traveling Flame Trick

1. Light a candle. Have a second source of flame ready, such as another candle, a lighter, or
a match.

2. Blow out the candle and immediately place the other flame into the smoke.

3. The flame will travel down the smoke and will relight your candle.

How the Traveling Flame Trick Works

This fire trick is based on how candles work. When you light a candle, the heat from the flame
vaporizes the cande wax. When you blow the candle out, vaporized wax briefly remains in the
air. If you apply a heat source quickly enough, you can ignite the wax and use that reaction to
relight the wick of the candle.
We love egg experiments on Science Sparks. We have investigated air pressure using eggs, we
have transformed egg whites, tested how strong an egg shell is, and shrunk them but today is this
is the simpliest but most effective experiment involving eggs! How do you dissolve an eggshell?

You will need:

An egg

A glass

White vinegar

Method

1. Take a raw egg and put it in a cup

Cover with White vinegar

2. Cover it with white vinegar (which is also known as acetic acid)

Q: What do you noticing happening?

A: You should see bubbles collect around the shell (a sign that a chemical reaction is taking
place)

3. Leave for 4 to 5 days.

4. Go to observe.
See the residue collect and the shell come away?

The whole egg in tact!

I should not have tried lifting it out!

You should now be able to see shell residue in the vinegar and the yolk whole in the egg white.
If you still see white resdiue on the egg you can rub this off lightly with you finger. I tried to lift
the whole egg out of the vinegar but broke the membrane, but it is possible to lift it out whole.

The Science Bit

The acid has reacted with the shell and “eaten” away at it. The shell is made up of calcium
carbonate and this gets dissolves due to the acid. The inside of the egg should still be intact
because the vinegar doesn’t break down the egg membrane. The egg also swells up, because
some of the liquid seeps inside it via osmosis. You should be able to see the yellow yolk through
the membrane. It really is quite incredible.

You could compare what happens to a raw egg with a boiled egg as well.
Today we are looking at air pressure. Air pressure is the force exerted by air on any surface in
contact with it.

We are going to demonstrate air pressure by using it to force an egg into a bottle.

What you need:

A boiled egg

A glass bottle or jar with a neck a little smaller than an egg

2 matches

What to do:

 Place the cooled boiled egg on top of the glass bottle, making sure there is no way the
egg fits through.

 Ask an adult to light two matches and drop them inside the glass jar, quickly place the
egg back on top.

 Watch as the egg drops inside the jar.

Ignore the carrot in our jar, we didn’t have any matches so had to fashion a carrot and some
cocktail sticks!

The Science Bit

The matches heat up the air inside the glass jar. The air then expands and some escapes out of the
jar. Once the matches go out, the air starts to cool, making the pressure drop. The air outside the
jar now has a higher pressure than the inside, and forces its way inside the jar, forcing the egg
downwards as it does so.

Our jar was quite small, so it would be interesting to see what would happen if a larger one was
used. If you try please let us know!

Pop back over next week to see how to make a barometer to measure air pressure.
So you have some white flowers but actually wouldn’t they look good with a bit of red in them?
Or maybe blue? Not only are they pretty but can be used to demonstrate transpiration.

How could you do this? Well with what looks like a little bit of magic and a huge dollop of
science!

Get your lovely white flowers – carnations are a good one to use! (Obviously mummy’s I do
these flower experiments for you too!)

Strangely celery also works really well!

Place your celery into the food dye in water

Trim them at the stalks

Get your vase and fill with water – add some food colouring of your choice.

Place in your flowers and wait.

Usually you can see effects within a few hours!

Be generous with the food dye!

This one is yellow and black!

The science bit

The reason this happens is because of something called the transpiration stream. This is the
movement of water up the stem of a plant from root to leaf when water is lost from the plant due
to evaporation occurring at the leaves. Firstly water is absorbed by the root and moves through
root hair cells via the process of osmosis (we will look at this another day!). It then moves into
the xylem vessel which is the tube that carries the water up the plant. Plants are not like us with
pumping mechanism that pushes our blood around, so water moves up the vessel by adhesion
(being attracted to the side of the vessel) and cohesion (water molecules being attracted to each
other). Therefore when water evaporates from the top of the leaves it changes the pressure in the
vessel and pulls up the column of water to replace the water lost.
The best way to consider this is to imagine you have a thick shake – the straw can’t carry the
shake up it, but if you suck from the top, you change the pressure and force the shake up the
straw. It moves in a column because the molecules are attracted to each other.
Coin poppers is a brilliant experiment to demonstrate air pressure!

What you need:

A small empty plastic drink bottle

A 2p coin

A small square of kitchen roll

Method

1. Put the empty bottle in the freezer for about an hour to cool.

Cool it!

2. Cut a small square of tissue paper and put it on top of the 2p piece
Simple equipement!

3. Pour a little water over the tissue to stick it to the 2p

Wet the tissue!

4. Without removing the bottle from the freezer, place the 2p on top of the bottle, tissue side
down, to seal as a lid.
Seal the lid!

5. Leave for half an hour

6. Bring out and warm the top of the bottle with your hands!

7. Watch the magic!

The science bit

We assume we have put an empty bottle inside the freezer but of course it is actually full of air
which is a mixture of gases, containing nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide amogst others. As a
gas cools it shrinks lowering the pressure, but becasue the lid is off, more air can enter the bottle
from the freezer. Once you placed the coin lid on, you have sealed the top. As the air inside
warms up again from your hands, it expands, and forces more pressure on the inside of the bottle
and the lid,compared to outside the bottle. It makes enough pressure to break te seal and pop the
lid.
We have looked at making ‘plastic milk’ before. This week we are taking it one step further to
make glue from milk.

What you need:

1. Milk
2. White vinegar
3. Baking soda
4. Pan
5. Water
6. Strainer

Instructions
 Heat 1 and a half cups of milk in a pan, once warm add 3 teaspoons of white vinegar.

 Keep heating and stirring the mixture and you should see the curds ( solid part ) and
whey ( liquid part ) separate.

 Strain the mixture using a sieve. You should be left with solid lumps which you can
mould together to make a ball. These are the curds.
 Place the solid mixture back in the pan and add a little water and a tablespoon of baking
soda.
  Heat the mixture until it starts to bubble.
 Give it a good stir and let it cool. You can now use it as glue. You might need to add a
little more water or baking soda until you get the right consistency. It should look like a
thick paste.
 I tested ours by sticking two egg boxes together ( both contain eggs, so are heavy ). It
worked!!!

The Science bit

Here’s what happened to the milk. By adding the vinegar, you create a chemical reaction which
makes the milk to separate into two parts, a solid (the curds), and a liquid (the whey). The curds
are milk protein, called casein. Liquid casein is a natural glue.

When we add the baking soda it neutralises the vinegar ( which is acidic ). The bubbles are
caused by Carbon dioxide gas being given off as part of the reaction. The curds form a liquid
again after being neutralised.
Gold and Silver Pennies
Fun Chemistry Project

You can use chemistry to change the color of copper pennies to silver and gold.

Anne Helmenstine
Top Related Searches
 sodium hydroxide solution
 sodium zincate
 silver pennies
 metallic zinc
 naoh solution
 zinc metal

All you need are a couple of common chemicals to turn your normal copper-colored pennies (or
other mainly-copper object) from copper to silver and then to gold. No, the coins won't really be
silver or gold. The actual metal involved is zinc. This project is easy to do. While I don't
recommend it for very young kids, I'd consider it appropriate for kids ages third grade and older,
with adult supervision.

Watch the Video of This Project

Materials Needed for this Project

 clean pennies
 zinc metal (preferably powder)
 sodium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide solution
 tweezers or tongs
 container of water
 source of heat/flame

Note: Supposedly you can substitute galvanized nails for the zinc and Drano™ for the sodium
hydroxide, but I was unable to get this project to work using nails and drain cleaner.

How to Make Silver Pennies

 1. Pour a spoonful of zinc (1-2 grams) into a small beaker or evaporating dish containing
water.
2. Add a small quantity of sodium hydroxide.
3. Alternatively, you could add zinc to a 3M NaOH solution.
4. Heat the mixture to near-boiling, then remove it from heat.
5. Add clean pennies to the solution, spacing them so that they are not touching each other.
6. Wait 5-10 minutes for them to turn silver, then use tongs to remove the pennies from the
solution.
7. Rinse the pennies in water, then set them on a towel to dry.
8. You can examine the pennies once you have rinsed them.

This chemical reaction plates the copper in the penny with zinc. This is called galvanization. The
zinc reacts with the hot sodium hydroxide solution to form soluble sodium zincate, Na2ZnO2,
which is converted to metallic zinc when it touches the surface of the penny.

How to Make the Silver Pennies turn Gold

1. Grasp a silver penny with tongs.

2. Gently heat the penny in the outer (cool) part of a burner flame or with a lighter or candle
(or even set it on a hotplate).
3. Remove the penny from heat as soon as it changes color.
4. Rinse the gold penny under water to cool it.

Heating the penny fuses the zinc and copper to form an alloy called brass. Brass is a
homogeneous metal that varies from 60-82% Cu and from 18-40% Zn. Brass has a relatively low
melting point, so the coating can be destroyed by heating the penny for too long.

Safety Information

Please use proper safety precautions. Sodium hydroxide is caustic. I recommend conducting this
project under a fume hood or outdoors. Wear gloves and protective eyewear to prevent getting
splashed by the sodium hydroxide solution.