Materials Required:
l Aluminium pie plate
l Pencil
l Glue
l Empty spool
l Small block of wood
l Hot plate
Procedure:
- Cut out a spiral shape from the flat base of an aluminium pie plate. Use the blunt point of a pencil to make a dent in the exact center, but do not poke it all the way through the aluminium.
- Glue an empty spool to a scrap piece of wood. Insert the pencil, eraser side down, into the spool. The fit should be firm so the pencil stands upright without wobbling. If the pencil does wobble, wrap paper strips around it for padding.
- Align the dent in the aluminium spiral with the pencil point and allow the spiral to hang freely. Twist or bend the metal as needed so that the edges separate from each other.
- Finally, place your device over a safe heat source, such as a hot plate. The shimmering spiral will spin merrily.
This Is What Happens:
You’ve just proven that hot air rises. The currents of hot air rise and push against the metal, and this continuous action causes the spiral to rotate around its pivot—the pencil point.
