Wednesday
Jun212006
Fun Science - SOAP SOUFFLE
Wednesday, June 21, 2006 at 02:00PM
From "EXTREME SCIENCE CLASS! The Mythbusters' Kari Byron [in a red bra, a short white lab jacket & spike heels] puts you in the mood for a little experimentation" (FHM Magazine, June 2006, pg. 77) -- tried, verified & certified as FUN by the Rebel Kids (who did NOT see the magazine, by the way!):
"The best evidence to date...
You will need:
1. Microwave oven
2. One bar of Ivory soap
(Important: must be Ivory!)
3. Paper towels
This one couldn't be easier: Put your bar of soap on the paper towel in the microwave oven. Turn the power on high for three minutes and WATCH! (Moms, it doesn't explode, no mess!)
Note: The resulting microwaved blob of soap can still be used, although it is flaky and fragile -- straight to the bathtub for more fun!
"Why it works: Drop a few brands of soap into a bowl of water and you'll see that Ivory floats while the others don't...that's because air is pumped into it during manufacturing -- something that happened by accident at Procter & Gamble back in 1890. While mixing up a batch of soap, an employee left for lunch without turning off his mixing machine. All of the air whipped into the batch caused the bars to float in water. The company decided to capitalize on the mistake by marketing Ivory as 'the soap that floats.'
As you heat the soap, the air and water bubbles trapped in the bar of Ivory expand. The melting soap is soft, so the bar inflates -- it's like blowing a bubble. This is a demonstration of Charles's Law, which states that as the temperature of a gas increases, so does its volume. Other brands of soap do exactly what you'd expect when they're nuked: melt like a Nazi caught staring at the Ark of the Covenant."[Lot of Indiana Jones-type references in FHM, catering to their audience of...guys.]
SEE ALSO: Fun Science - SODA GEYSER.
SOAP SOUFFLE
Objective: Use a microwave to make a blob-like shower-bar baby"The best evidence to date...
you don't need cats to have fun w/microwaves."
You will need:
1. Microwave oven
2. One bar of Ivory soap
(Important: must be Ivory!)
3. Paper towels
This one couldn't be easier: Put your bar of soap on the paper towel in the microwave oven. Turn the power on high for three minutes and WATCH! (Moms, it doesn't explode, no mess!)
Note: The resulting microwaved blob of soap can still be used, although it is flaky and fragile -- straight to the bathtub for more fun!
"Why it works: Drop a few brands of soap into a bowl of water and you'll see that Ivory floats while the others don't...that's because air is pumped into it during manufacturing -- something that happened by accident at Procter & Gamble back in 1890. While mixing up a batch of soap, an employee left for lunch without turning off his mixing machine. All of the air whipped into the batch caused the bars to float in water. The company decided to capitalize on the mistake by marketing Ivory as 'the soap that floats.'
As you heat the soap, the air and water bubbles trapped in the bar of Ivory expand. The melting soap is soft, so the bar inflates -- it's like blowing a bubble. This is a demonstration of Charles's Law, which states that as the temperature of a gas increases, so does its volume. Other brands of soap do exactly what you'd expect when they're nuked: melt like a Nazi caught staring at the Ark of the Covenant."[Lot of Indiana Jones-type references in FHM, catering to their audience of...guys.]
SEE ALSO: Fun Science - SODA GEYSER.