Materials Required:
l Stove or hot plate
l Frying pan
l Small glass
l Water
The help of one of your parents
Procedure:
- Ask one of your parents to turn a stove burner or hot plate on high heat and to set a frying pan on the burner.
- Fill a small glass, such as a juice glass, with water and set this down nearby.
- After the pan has time to heat for a few minutes, and with your parent at your side during this step, dip your fingers into the glass of water to moisten them. Shake the excess water from your fingers over the frying pan so that drops of water fall into the pan. You will see perfectly formed spheres of water bounce and parade around the pan.
- Remind your parent to turn off the heat when you have finished.
This Is What Happens:
As soon as a drop of water hits the hot surface of the frying pan, a little layer of steam forms underneath the drop. This steam acts as a cushion and raises the drop above the metal surface. The drop of water is held together as a sphere by the surface tension of the water, but eventually the drop disappears, as all of its water is changed into steam by the heat.
