Let’s Crush a Metal Soda Can with Invisible Air!
Project Overview:
Want to learn how to crush a metal soda can in just a couple seconds without touching it? This experiment is an amazing, loud hands-on demonstration of how changes in air pressure can show just how powerful the atmosphere really is! WARNING: This experiment involves a hot stove and boiling water, so you must use extreme caution or seek help from an adult!
Materials:
1 empty aluminum soda can
1 tablespoon of water
1 large bowl filled with ice-cold water
A stove or hot plate
Kitchen tongs (glove mitts are also recommended)
Instructions:
Pour 1 tablespoon of water into the bottom of the empty aluminum soda can
Fill your large bowl with cold water and ice cubes, and place it right next to the stove
Place the soda can directly onto the stove burner and turn the heat to high
Listen closely for the water to bubble, and wait until you see steam rising out of the top tab hole for about 30 seconds
Using your tongs, grip the bottom half of the hot can securely, quickly lift it, flip it upside down, and plunge the top opening straight into the ice water
Explanation:
You may be asking yourself what makes the soda can instantly crush? The answer is an atmospheric pressure imbalance! When you heat the water inside the can, it turns into boiling steam that expands and pushes all the normal room air out of the can. When you flip the can into the ice water, the cold temperature instantly condenses that hot steam back into a tiny drop of liquid water, leaving a totally empty vacuum inside the can. Because there is no longer any internal air pushing back, the heavy weight of the outside room air violently crushes the metal inward in a fraction of a second.
