Materials Required:
l ¼ cup water
l ¼ cup laundry bluing
l ¼ cup salt
l 1 tablespoon ammonia
l Jar
l Spoon
l Charcoal briquettes
l Bowl
l Food colouring in various colours
l Old pie tin
Procedure:
- Place the water, laundry blue, salt, and ammonia in a jar, and stir thoroughly with a spoon.
- Set a single layer of charcoal briquettes in a bowl, then pour the solution on top. The solution should not cover the charcoal completely.
- Put several drops of various shades of food colouring on the charcoal, leaving some areas plain.
- Set the bowl in an old pie tin and place the entire experiment in a quiet place. The next day you will see gorgeous crystal formations covering the charcoal and sides of the bowl.
This Is What Happens:
There are many small spaces inside the charcoal briquettes, and the solution was drawn into these areas. As the water evaporated, the salt remained there, forming crystals. The crystals have similar spaces themselves, and the solution continued to be sucked up and evaporated. Thus the delicate formations continued to grow by attaching more salt to the ends of existing crystals.
