New and Improved Fire Hand

This is a new variation on my "Fire Hand" demonstration. I never did like the size of the methane bubbles that were produced, so I got an idea from a Mythbusters' segment on methane bubbles. They used a tube with many small holes to create the small methane bubbles. I decided to to do a variation of it using aquarium tubing. The result is a bigger handful of methane bubbles which means a bigger flame!

Flaming Colors

Students in my classes have to determine if a substance has changed physically or chemically. In order to do that, they need to know if the properties of a substance has changed. We can look at many different properties of a substance such as color, density, boiling point, melting point, taste, texture, hardness, etc. One of the most exciting properties of matter is the color in which they burn.  In the video above I show color flame candles and then show a demonstration of two different compounds, strontium chloride and copper sulfate, mixed with denatured alcohol, that produce large colorful flames.

Density Toy

I picked up this in a toy shop.  Students are fascinated by it and always wonder how it works. Once they learn about density, they figure it out pretty easily.

Books Smash Eggs

Eggs have an arch design in which compression forces are diverted from the top and bottom of the egg down to the sides. How much compression force can an egg take before it's smashed?  Watch the video!

Pendulum

How does a pendulum work? Why can't the weight of the pendulum ever go as high as the starting height? Watch the video to find out.