Australian_Science_Illustrated_Issue_52_2017

78 | SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED

Water Drops Dance

in Burning Hot Pot

HOME CHEMISTRY LAB

Activate the

hotplate at

its highest

temperature. Place a

pot or a frying pan –

remember no Teflon –

on the plate and wait

a few minutes, until it

is burning hot. If you

have an old-fashioned

stove with a solid top,

there is no need for a

pot or a frying pan.

Mix colour

into the water

and pour it

into a squirt bottle.

The colour makes it

easier to see the drops,

and the bottle makes it

easier to control the

quantity of water.

You can

check the

temperature

by pouring a little

water into the pot. If

the temperature is

not sufficiently high,

the water drops will

spread out and

quickly evaporate.

1

2

3

When the pot

has the right

temperature,

the water drops will

remain intact,

dancing about the

bottom of the pot for

up to 30 seconds

without evaporating.

4

YOU WILL NEED: GUIDE:

IT WILL TAKE 10 MINUTES TO MAKE THE EXPERIMENT.

The experiment requires a hotplate.

Avoid Teflon pots and frying pans,

as they could release toxic

gases at high temperatures.

Ordinary

tap water

A squirt bottle

or a pipette for

the water

Food colour

A pot or a

frying pan

A hotplate

HOME CHEMISTRY LAB