The Great Colorless Kool-Aid Caper!!!
Materials:
-2 Glasses
-1 Pitcher of Kool-Aid
-A few Teaspoons of Liquid Bleach
Procedure:
Make a pitcher of Kool-Aid and pour about 1 cup into one of the glasses. Put a few drops of bleach into the other glass. Carefully pour the Kool-aid from the first glass into the glass with bleach. What happens? The color of the Kool-Aid should dissappear instantly.
What's Going On?
Molecules in the Kool-Aid drink mix contain pieces known as chromophores. It is part of the molecule responsible for absorbnig light and producing color. The colors they reflect are the colors we see. An oxidizing bleach works by breaking the chemical bonds that make up the chromophones. This changes the molecule into a different substance that either does not contain a chromophore or contains a chromophore that does not absorb light. So the light is no longer seperated and the color is lost. The "bleaching" is done by the oxygen in the bleach-not the chlorine. The oxygen combines with the chromophore changing it's chemical structure and thus removing the color. This is why so many bleaches have "ox" or "oxy" in the name.
NEVER DRINK YOUR EXPERIMENTS !
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Air-Head Acupuncture !!!
Materials:
-1 Balloon
-1 Wooden Skewer
-A Bit of Cooking Oil
Procedure:
Inflate a balloon fully and then let about 1/2 the air out of the balloon. Take a close look at the balloon and notice the thick area of rubber at both ends. Put a bit of cooking oil on the tip of a wooden skewer. Push the skewer through the neck of the balloon, (next to the knot), and then through the top of the ballon.
What's Going On?
Most of the rubber of an inflated balloon is tightly stretched. In the two areas
where the rubber is thicker there is the least amount of stress on the latex molecules. If the skewer is pushed through the side of the balloon the rubber tears and springs apart very quickly. When the skewer is pushed through the neck and the top the rubber doesn't spring apart because it is not stretched as tight.
