Materials Required:
l Glass
l Water
l 2 tablespoons salt
l Spoon
l Cotton string, 6 inches long
l Washer or nut
l Metal kitchen tongs
l Matches
The help of one of your parents
Procedure:
- Fill a drinking glass about halfway with water, and add 2 tablespoons of salt. Stir with the spoon.
- Soak the cotton string in the salt solution for at least an hour. Then remove the string and let it dry thoroughly.
- Tie a small washer or nut to one end of the string. Grasp the other end with a pair of metal kitchen tongs and hold the tongs over the sink.
- Ask one of your parents to strike a match and hold the flame to the string. After the string has burned, you will see the washer supported in mid-air by a column of ashes.
This Is What Happens:
Soaking the string in the solution allows salt to enter the string’s fibers. As the string dries, this salt crystalizes and adds support to the entire length. The fire burns the cotton fibers, but the structure of crystals remains in place and supports the small weight tied to the end.
