5/54 The Incredible Can Crusher

  I loved this next experiment. I did something that every science nerd loves to do, make an implosion!  When I woke up this morning I immediately encountered a problem. For this particular experiment, you need a hot plate. I thought we had one in our possession but apparently not. Even though we did not have the right tool, I was determined to do an experiment today. So I took an empty can and filled it with just enough water to cover the bottom of the can. I am supposed to put the can on a hot plate but since I did not have one, with my parents permission, put the can on a pan with a little water in it on the stove. With my dad’s supervision, I turned on the stove. What I was going to do is when I heard the water boiling inside the can I would wait one minute. Then I would take tongs, grab the can, and quickly flip the open end into cold water and that would result in an implosion. Hoping my substitution would work, I waited anxiously for the water to boil. As expected the water in the pan boiled easily.

  

After a while, the water inside the can did not boil. I decided that I would try it out anyway. I grabbed the kitchen tongs, seized the can at the bottom, and flipped it into the ice cold water.

 

It did not work! The can was intact!  The simple explanation was that we just could not get the can hot enough to boil the water.

  So after some discussion my dad suggested to put the can directly on the flames. At first I was a little nervous about it but willing to try.

So that is what I did and almost immediately that beautiful noise of boiling water emitted from the can and after a minute I put the can flat into the water.

POP! SNAP! CRACK! The beautiful noise erupted from the can at once.

My dad, being the engineer that he is, gave me an interesting mathematical explanation of what is happening here. I won’t go into details but here are the basics of it.

  When you boil water the steam rising up is water in gas form called water vapor. Water vapor fills the can pushing out the air. When we all of the sudden put the can in cold water, that water vapor turns into water droplets again which takes up less space. The little droplets of water cannot push on the sides of the can like air can. Thus the pressure of the air outside of the can is greater than that of the pressure inside of the can. As a result the can crushes! It’s scientific!!! 

  These are the calculations that my dad put on a white board to help explain the experiment. I love it when he talks about science to me!

  After the lesson was done my brother wanted to try. He was very happy about that.

 

I had other cans to crush so I wanted to show you what happens when you do not put the can flat on the bottom of the pan.

The can just sucked up the water and there was not a dent in the can.

I had too much fun crushing all of the cans I could find.

     I will say that you should not do any experiment without a procedure for safety. I carefully read this experiment over and over to make sure that I and others would be safe. I also had adult supervision. As with every experiment, have fun!!

4/54 Do Not Open Bottle

  Today’s experiment was short and wet. What you are supposed to do is take a water bottle, take off the label, and write “DO NOT OPEN” on it. Then you take a thumb tack and punch holes in the bottle about an inch from the bottom. “Then the water will pour out” you say…… well that would be true if you had the cap off! You see the reason the bottle leaks water is because there is air to replace the water escaping the bottle. But if there is no way for air to get into the bottle (like with the cap on) and with the assistance of the water’s wonderful surface tension, the water will not leak out.

  Anyway once you punch the holes you set it on the counter and wait for a person to open the “Do not open bottle” and wait for  science to happen.

  But in my case I couldn’t wait with the camera for someone to just pop by and open the bottle. I need pictures for you guys! I just decided to trick my brother into thinking I couldn’t open my bottle of water. While reading the experiment, I carefully plotted Christopher’s doom.

  I went into the next room and poked holes in the water bottle. It was surprisingly really easy!

I did get a little wet because even the slightest squeeze sends many streams of water towards your torso.

“Christopher, I need a hand!” I innocently called, "I can’t open this bottle for my experiment.”

“Fine.” he replied. He took the bottle and did what I feared. He squeezed it!

“There’s a hole in this bottle!”

“Really?” I said with a pretend gasp.

He went over to the sink and opened it.

He knew what was happening and didn’t get wet.

He gave the bottle back to me. But I was determined he would get wet on this day! ATTACK!

I chased Christopher around the house squeezing the bottle getting him very wet. Becoming desperate he took his Bronco hat and beat me with it.

Failing to keep himself dry, he tried to take the bottle but we playfully “struggled” to take it from each other squeezing the bottle even more getting us even more wet.

ALAS! Outmatched by height and strength he took the bottle and I did not survive! (Queue dramatic music)

 

  In all seriousness, I had a great time learning so much about this experiment. I had seen Mr. Spangler do this experiment at the conference where I met him. I was excited to do it myself!!

A Big Christmas Gift for Me.

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great time celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and a great time with family!

  I got a very special gift from my parents this year that has to do with my science adventure.

  Before I started this journey through Steve Spangler’s books I went through every experiment to find out what  materials I needed. Then my mom snuck into my room and looked at the books for the list of materials. On Christmas morning I opened three large packages that contained ALL THE MATERIALS I NEEDED FOR MY EXPERIMENTS!!!!!!!

  It had everything from a foam head to acetone. Mentos, a Lazy Susan, a big plastic bucket, four bottles of H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide), foam insulation, Atomic Glow, mesh screens, and so much more!!!

  I was so surprised, happy, and pleased that I didn’t need to shop for materials! I could do my experiments as I please without waiting to go to the store!

  I would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Nagy for providing a Lazy Susan, plastic mesh, diapers, and for helping my mom sneak materials to my house and both of my parents for putting in the time to search, buy, and put together my Kit of Science Awesomeness!

I am SO happy with all of my packing peanuts and Total cereal and things!! (Cat not included)

  

Between the foam head and the Arm and Hammer washing soda you can see graduated cylinders that go from 1,000mL cylinder all the way down to 10mL cylinder (Fantastic!).

Merry Christmas everyone!

3/54 Flying Potatoes— Take #3–Materials, Camera, Action!

  If you have been following me for awhile then you know that I have been having some trouble with this particular experiment. One of the problems was that my PVC pipe didn’t have a sharp enough end. Eventually we found out that the inside of the pipe was not smooth. Thus, the little crevices let a lot of air pass in between the potato and the pipe not giving the air pressure that I desperately needed to accomplish this experiment.

   So I decided to get a different kind of pipe that had a smoother inside. As I have said before, Mr. Spangler had also suggested a clear, hard plastic pipe so that we could see what was going on inside. With a quick trip to Home Depot, we searched the long aisles for the desired pipe. With some kindly help we found where the plastic pipes were. We looked at them and the plastic was not hard, it was bendable. That would simply not do! But in the next aisle we found some different kinds of metal pipes. We picked up a two foot copper pipe and we felt the inside and, with satisfaction, it was as smooth as glass. Ta-da! The employees had probably not seen a fifteen year old girl walk out with a pipe in her hand, giggling with satisfaction.

  

So shiny!

  I made a little adjustment to the dowel rod because the pipe was two feet instead of sixteen inches. It shouldn’t be a problem. If anything it would have more room to compress the air and would have a better result. Plus I didn’t want to attempt to cut that rod!

  Anyway, the stopper was moved down to just under twenty-five inches.

  Then you know the drill. I punched two pieces of potato into the copper pipe. The ends were already sharp enough to get through the potato easily. With my safety goggles on and my confidence high I was ready.

  I went outside and braved the bitter cold and melting snow (Yes, we do get snow in New Mexico).  I positioned my dowel rod and pushed. And then……..POW!!!!!!!

VICTORY!!!!!

  The potato finally flew through the air. The sound of the ”pow” was music to my ears. Seeing the potato become a tasty projectile was a sight of accomplishment. I did the launch over and over because the victory was too sweet to do once.

  So it turns out it was the pipe itself that was the problem.

  Wow. These past few weeks  have been one of learning. It just shows that not all experiments go as planned the first time but you try to figure out what went wrong and learn from it. I have learned lessons in perseverance and problem solving (it was so much fun!). Though I felt discouraged at one point, I loved doing this experiment but I do have to say I am ready to move on.   

3/54 Flying Potatoes—Twice-Baked Potato—Part 2

Today I did the anticipated redo of my “Flying Potatoes”. With my new and improved materials in hand, I was confident there would soon be potatoes in my tree.

I cut the potato in half and pushed the pipe into it. Now that my pipe was sharp, it was easy-peasy to plunge it in.

After successfully getting two potato pieces inside the pipe, I headed outside. I felt so confident and optimistic, ready to demonstrate Boyle’s Law.

I positioned my dowel rod and pushed it up, through the pipe moving the potato piece.

To my surprise, the potato piece just fell out the end of the pipe and dropped to the ground.

NO! What happened? I noticed that when I pushed the potato through the pipe, I did not feel any air resistance. That means the air did not compress and that only means one thing, no air seal.

  I know that it isn’t the potato. If you look at the potato piece in this picture, it is not a mashed potato like the previous run. The form is nearly perfect.

  The dowel rod has no other function than to push the potato pieces. I do not think that it has a part in the failure of the experiment.

  So that leaves me with one material, the pipe itself.  We felt the inside of the pipe and it was really rough. Thus, there are little tiny marks in the pipe allowing air to pass through.

  What am I going to try now? Well first I am going to try to sand the tip of the pipe on the inside. Thus, when I stab the potato, the piece will be cut a bit bigger and grow tight as I push it further inside, creating a tighter seal.

  If that is unsuccessful (hopefully not), then I will buy a clear plastic tube. Because it is a different material, it might create a better seal. In the experiment, Steve Spangler said we could use a PVC pipe or the plastic kind of pipe so that we could see what is going on inside. But since I already had PVC in my shed, I just went with it.

  This has been a bit of a frustration but this is where I learn the most. I consider this day an………

3/54 Flying Potatoes—Twice-Baked Potato—Part 1

   Today I wanted to revisit “Flying Potatoes” and test my hypotheses.Unexpectedly, we woke up this morning with icy snow on the ground and church canceled but I still wanted to do something. I was desperate to satisfy my science craving.  I realized that I had a bit of preparing to do.

  I looked over the procedure (once again), discussed it with my parents, and looked up videos of Mr. Spangler performing the experiment. Now I have a better and more complete understanding of the process and what I might’ve done wrong. I observed in the videos that the dowel rod should be pretty long before the stopper stops it. It really needs to be longer than 6 inches. I moved it down to about twelve and a half inches.

 

My finger is where the duck tape stopper was and you can see there at the bottom where it is now.

   Now the more challenging part, the PVC pipe. I first took the orange utility knife and further “sharpened” it. Although it was working, it was not easy.

  My dad then stated, “Cut down the pipe most of the way and I will get the sander out.” 

  After my part was done I got my safety glasses, coat, and shoes and headed out to the garage which is where Daddy showed me how to work the sander. You learn something new every day!

   

It was honestly fun to learn but it vibrated so vigorously, it tickled my knees! At the end of the day I had a pipe with two (truly) sharp ends.

  Now I am ready to shoot some potatoes across the yard very soon!

   

3/54 Flying Potatoes

Now for an experiment that was part of the title, “Flying Potatoes”. After I had measured, cut, and flared the end of a PVC pipe, I stuck the not-so-sharp end into the potato (Not as easy as it looks).

 

Once I had a piece of raw potato in one end, I pushed it up into the pipe approximately six inches from the flared end. After that, I stuck the pipe in again now ready to shoot some potatoes.

  Taking a dowel rod with a duck tape stopper, I went outside to our freshly raked backyard. Anxious to see what would happen, I put the rod at the end of the pipe against the potato and pushed it through! The air should push on the other potato piece and send it flying.

  

  In that second picture there you could see that I have a bit of confusion on my face. That is because when I pushed the rod, the potato did come out, even though it made a hilarious sound it only came out a few feet in front of me…. what happened? 

  This was a perfect opportunity to practice the scientific method. My hypothesis: I did not compress the air fast enough. So I tried again, only this time moving the rod faster. The results were a little disappointing. The potato came out and immediately dropped down.

   Then I realized that when I pushed the potato, the rod moved way too easily.

   Hypothesis #2: Not a proper air seal. So I put fresh potato in the pipe (it takes a lot of effort) and redid the test. It made a wonderful sound but still did not work. It still felt like I did not have a good seal.

  What now? Well, my brilliant mother suggested I put some oil on the potato to help it slide easier and just might help the seal  I was on a important mission of science! I pushed the pipe into the potato and then pulled the pieces out and covered them in vegetable oil and stuck them back in.

 

I redid the test without success.

  After all of these tests, I was extremely tired and I was losing daylight so I stopped for the day. I wasn’t going to continue, but since I have been writing all of this down, I realized something. Look at how hard I am pushing down on this potato.

 

  Observation #1: My pipe was just not sharp enough. In fact, it was not sharp AT ALL! So I should take more time to make it sharp so that it would be easier for the pipe to past through the potato.

Observation #2: I am practically using all my might to get that pipe into that hard potato and so what is happening to that potato? Put yourself in that poor potato's shoes. I do not know about you but I would be screaming. It is being crushed and deformed. By the time the potato is in the pipe, it is bent and turned into mashed potatoes!!

  So this gives me enough reason to try again and to not stop until I succeed. Also, if I quit I would be missing one of the best parts of science.

Stay tuned.

 

Who is Steve Spangler?

  Now that you have seen some of the experiments from Steve Spangler, I can see that you might be thinking, “Who is this guy?”.

  Never fear! To learn more about this inspirational scientist, you can go to www.stevespanglerscience.com

  I encourage you to explore this site. You will be surprised at what you will discover.

The Secret to the Holey Potato

   Now is the time to reveal the secret to the “Straw Through Potato” experiment.

   If you look back at the pictures you will notice that every time I tried to put the flimsy straw through the dense potato, I had my thumb firmly covering the top of the straw. Because of this, the air could not escape. That means as the straw went thought the potato, the air inside compressed. As a result, the air pushed against the sides of the straw making the straw an instant Superman! What does that make the potato?

2/54 Straw through Potato

   I came home from church today and changed right into my lab coat and safety glasses, fired up to do some science. Today, I took a potato from the fridge and a straw from the cabinet. My goal: Get that puny straw through that dense, uncooked potato.

   Making sure all of my fingers were out of the way, I held the potato at its end. Taking some of the strongest straws we had, I held it ready to strike the innocent tuber. After an attempt or two, I got the straw all of the way through.

  

After that, I had to keep going….

And going…

The poor potato. It became a potatopine.

Afterwards, I painted all the little holes so you could see all of them. I named it “The Holey Potato”.

You should try to see if you can do it! You will most likely find it very difficult (but try anyway!). In a few days, I will reveal my secret to this unusual mystery. 
Note: If you are going to try this experiment, You need to get the procedure. It is always a good idea to know exactly how you are going to do an experiment. Look around for it at www.stevespanglerscience.com 

1/54 Floating Ping-Pong Balls and Flying Toilet Paper Part 2

   What about the flying toilet paper? Well let me tell you, it blew my mind! There I was armed with a leaf blower. My brother, Christopher, held the PVC pipe with the toilet paper roll on it. We were ready to make the back yard a mess. Aiming the air over the top of the roll, I turned it on. SHOOM! The toilet paper started reaching out and it kept going and going! At the end of the day, I had an arm full of awesomeness!