Monday, December 16, 2013

Dry Ice #3: Floating Bubbles

This is the third segment in a series on dry ice experiments. CLICK HERE FOR SAFETY INFORMATION.


As you drive your (vented) cooler of dry ice home from Publix, the blocks are sublimating. A layer of carbon dioxide is building up.

When you get home, you can show the kids the layer's existence by floating bubbles on it.




Materials

Dry Ice
Cooler
Bubble Solution
Bubble Wand

Open the cooler and blow the bubbles in. They will float on the layer of carbon dioxide.

You may notice that the bubble appears to dry out and wrinkle. It is actually freezing. If you crush the bubble, it will powder and melt in your hand.


As the bubble rests on the layer, you will note that it sinks a little. It is getting colder, denser, and therefore lower in the layer. Eventually, it may even rest on the bottom.

When I went back at the end of the day to remove the final block of dry ice, there were still some bubbles rolling around in the bottom of the cooler.





Below is a video I found on YouTube that shows the experiment in action.



No comments:

Post a Comment

ShareThis