Science Smarts: Magic? It’s just science
By Patty Rooks on December 2, 2023.
I had an age old discussion with someone this week about magic. Magic is really science in my opinion. Many of the “tricks” and “illusions” magicians perform can often be explained through math and science. A number of years ago, we had a summer camp that was all about “Magic Science” – I hope one day we will get enough funding in order to offer it again as it was amazing. Anyway, in order to further my point, I thought we would investigate “magic” a bit further this week. Let’s get started! *Remember to ask an adult before doing this experiment. Materials – Freezer – 500 mL of bottled water (distilled) – Time – Plate – Ice cubes Procedure 1. Place the bottle of water in the freezer on it’s side for a couple of hours. 2. Check the water bottle to see if any crystals have formed inside (note: you do not want the bottle to be frozen, you are just “supercooling” it). 3. Place a few ice cubes on the plate. 4. Remove the bottle from the freezer. 5. Slowly pour a stream of water onto the plate. 6. Observe! What is going on? You should have had a mound of ice form and pile up fairly quickly! It is just like magic. As I mentioned, the bottle of water you put in the freezer “supercooled”. The temperature of the water was below freezing BUT because the water was pure, there was no “nucleation” site for ice to freeze and form in a short time. Once you opened the bottle of water and poured it over the ice, you had a nucleation site (ice cube) and the water was able to freeze instantly creating a mound of slush! Patty Rooks, Senior Scientific Consultant PRAXIS, “Connecting Science To The Community”. Contact Praxis at praxis@praxismh.ca, http://www.praxismh.ca, Tweet or follow us @PraxisMedHat, or friend us on Facebook. Address: #12 826 11 Street S. E., Medicine Hat, Alberta, T1A 1T7 Phone: 403-527-5365, email: praxis@praxismh.ca. 20-19
