Experiment #1
February 21st, 2011
Things you will need:
-Bicycle Pump
-Valve Stem for a Tubeless Tire
-A Clear 2 Liter Bottle
-Rubbing Alcohol
-Duct Tape -Safety Glasses
What you need to do: Pour a small amount, ½ teaspoon, of rubbing alcohol into a clear two liter bottle. Swish the rubbing alcohol around for about 15 seconds. Attach the valve stem to the bicycle pump and put the stem in the opening of the two liter bottle. You may have to use a bit of duct tape to get a tight fit. Pressurize the bottle with about 5 pumps and the quickly remove the stem from the bottle. Poof! The bottle is filled with a cloud instantaneously. Clo
uds form as air rises and condenses as air pressure is reduced in the atmosphere. As air expands and cools, clouds will form. How can we do this in a bottle? Rubbing alcohol evaporates at a faster rate than water. This is the reason we use rubbing alcohol. Alcohol molecules are found everywhere in the bottle as alcohol vapor. Pressurizing the bottle squeezes molecules together. Releasing the pressure allows the air to expand so cooling takes place. The cooling allows alcohol molecules to stick together or condense, forming tiny alcohol droplets. This cloud is a group of tiny alcohol droplets.
Clouds on Earth form when warm air rises and its pressure is reduced. The air expands and cools, and clouds form as the temperature drops below the dew point. Invisible particles in the air in the form of pollution, smoke, dust or even tiny particles of dirt help form a nucleus on which the water molecules can attach.
