Awesome Bubble Activity For The Colder Weather!

[melilley]

http://distractify.com/culture/arts/frozen-bubbles-in-wintertime/

This activity looks so neat! I'm going to have to try it tomorrow!

[playdate4]

Awesome thanks I am gonna try too..

[Josiegirl]

Looks like fun IF the weather would warm up enough to even make it outside!!

[Blackcat31]

Have you done the one where you boil water and then toss it in the air to make instant snow?

The kids have been loving it! We boiled water in a big pot and tossed it in the air....instant snow...and all the kids ducking because they think they are going to get wet ::

Here is a good video that shows you what happens. It's older and from a science experiment someone did but cool nonetheless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQEVcCv_xkQ

[melilley]

Have you done the one where you boil water and then toss it in the air to make instant snow?

The kids have been loving it! We boiled water in a big pot and tossed it in the air....instant snow...and all the kids ducking because they think they are going to get wet ::

Here is a good video that shows you what happens. It's older and from a science experiment someone did but cool nonetheless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQEVcCv_xkQ

That is awesome! I'm going to try both!

[MotherNature]

Those are both cool!

[SquirrellyMama]

Looks like fun IF the weather would warm up enough to even make it outside!!

If the weather is too cold to go out you can just stand in the doorway and blow them out. That is what we have done before.

I have never gotten the boiling water/instant snow to work. I might try again on Monday.

Kelly

[itlw8]

I tried it last year and it did not work. It was not cold enough. Last week it was 3 when I woke up so I ran down and tried it.. It worked but not as fast as this says. You have to catch the bubble on the wand and then it takes about a minute to freeze. We will have a record freeze Monday maybe they will freeze in the air if it is 10 below?

[melilley]

I have never gotten the boiling water/instant snow to work. I might try again on Monday.

Kelly

I was wondering how that works, the video says that it's -35 so I wonder how cold it has to be. With my luck, I'll throw it into the air and a big gust of wind will come and I'll get doused with hot water...

[Blackcat31]

I was wondering how that works, the video says that it's -35 so I wonder how cold it has to be. With my luck, I'll throw it into the air and a big gust of wind will come and I'll get doused with hot water...

Obviously the temp outside matters but I don't think it HAS to be -30+...kwim?

I think it has to do with the temp difference between air temp and he temp of the boiling water.

Be sure to use hot water. Hot water evaporates more quickly than cold water; that quicker cooling effect makes the ice shell form more quickly at the surface of each drop…. the hotter the water, the faster the water molecules at the surface of a droplet evaporate. That creates an enhanced cooling effect on the surface of the droplet, which makes it freeze more quickly.

Something about viscosity.... I have NO idea how to explain that... (http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~cch...23/liquid.html)

[Angelsj]

Obviously the temp outside matters but I don't think it HAS to be -30+...kwim?

I think it has to do with the temp difference between air temp and he temp of the boiling water.

Be sure to use hot water. Hot water evaporates more quickly than cold water; that quicker cooling effect makes the ice shell form more quickly at the surface of each drop…. the hotter the water, the faster the water molecules at the surface of a droplet evaporate. That creates an enhanced cooling effect on the surface of the droplet, which makes it freeze more quickly.

Something about viscosity.... I have NO idea how to explain that... (http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~cch...23/liquid.html)

Viscosity has to do with the "thickness" of the water. Like ice is "thick" (meaning the molecules are moving very slowly), cold water (slower moving molecules) is more viscous than hot water (faster moving molecules.)
Boiling water has reached the point that the water molecules are moving as fast as they can and still be water, and there is more space between the molecules in boiling water (it is miniscule, but still there.)

[melilley]

Thanks ladies! My sis just asked me yesterday why it has to be boiling water and I had no idea! Makes sense now!

[itlw8]

but yes it has to be that cold not the wind chill but the temp. yes you will get burned otherwise.

[Angelsj]

but yes it has to be that cold not the wind chill but the temp. yes you will get burned otherwise.

To work, it should be 15 to 25 below zero (F). If you wonder if it will work, try a cup of very hot water, and don't throw it at yourself or others.

[Sunshine74]

So I wonder how cold it has to be for the bubble activity to work. The blog posted by the OP says it was 16 F, but I wonder how well it would work at that temperature.