You don’t have to spend a fortune going out to have a fun-filled weekend, just science. Whether it be playing with corn starch (aka non-newtonian fluid), making glowing water, or just making “hot ice”, these science experiments are sure to provide hours of fun. Continue reading to see them all.
5. Cornstarch Monster
Have some cornstarch and a speaker that you plan on throwing away? Then it’s time to make your very own cornstarch monster. Corn starch is basically a non-Newtonian fluid, which means that that it becomes more viscous (sticky consistency) when it’s disturbed. In this case, a speaker vibrates the liquid and when that happens, the corn starch begins to form weird tendrils. Yes, this was all filmed in real-time and not manipulated in any way post-production.
4. Glowing Water
Halloween is just around the corner, and what better way to shock your friends than with some glowing water in a Mountain Dew bottle. There are a few ways you can accomplish this: use glow-in-the-dark paint, which is phosphorescent and glows anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours or just extract non-toxic fluorescent dye from a highlighter pen to make glowing water.
3. Ivory Snow
Making ivory snow is as easy as sticking a bar of ivory soap into your microwave. That’s right, the expanding effect is essentially caused by the water inside the soap heating up. Basically, the water vaporizes, forms bubbles and causes the trapped air to expand; the heat causes the soap itself to soften and become pliable. Be sure to use this on a microwave that is an inch from being thrown out as, this experiment will make your kitchen and microwave smell like ivory soap.
2. Dry Ice Bubble
To make your own dry ice bubble, first select a smooth rimmed container smaller than 12″ (diameter). Then, cut a strip of cloth about 1″ wide and 18″ long and completely soak it in a solution of Dawn dish soap. Fill the bucket half full with water and use tongs or gloves to place two or three pieces of dry ice into the water. Remove the strip of cloth from the dish soap and carefully pull the strip across the rim. Sounds easy right? However, this experiment may take some practice until you get the technique mastered.
1. Hot Ice
Hot ice may require a trip to an actual science laboratory, but the end result is definitely worth it. Simply put, the basis for this experiment is sodium acetate trihydrate. When this is heated above its melting point of 129F, and then cooled below its melting point, it becomes supercooled, which means that it’s still liquid and quickly solidifies when a seed crystal is introduced. One tip, you can’t use copper pots because the vinegar dissolves copper upon boiling.
