WHAT YOU NEED:
- large glass jar
- small glass cup
- red and blue food coloring
- knife
- plastic wrap
- rubber band
- hot and cold water
- tongs
WHAT YOU DO:
- fill the small cup with hot water and add just a couple drops of red food coloring
- cover the cup with plastic wrap and seal it with a rubber band
- fill the big jar almost full with cold water and a few drops of blue food coloring
- use the tongs to set the small cup inside the large jar and watch what happens
- cut the plastic wrap with the knife while the small cup is still inside the large jar and watch what happens
WHAT IS HAPPENING:
When the air is bottled up and prevented from mixing with its environment, all that energy builds up until it can finally escape. By that point it’s much more powerful. On big severe weather days, the atmosphere does the same thing. A “cap” develops that traps all that air down here at the ground. Eventually the bottled up air becomes so strong it break through the cap and creates a strong storm. This is similar to what happens when you boil a pot of water with a lid on top, which can be an easier way to demonstrate the same principle. Eventually the water will boil so hard it will dislodge the lid.
DISCUSSION IDEAS:
How strong do you think a storm would have to be to break through the cap in the atmosphere?
Do you think we can see this "cap" in the sky?
