QC#2 – Steam Vacuum Experiment (Impressive Suction)

Steam is used to make a vacuum that pulls with a surprising amount of force.

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Music By:
Music by Jason Shaw (RP-Clattertrap)
http://www.audionautix.com

Project Inspired By:

The egg vacuum experiment. (eg. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JBOX116Pzw). I knew the steam took up a lot of volume and wondered what it would do if it cooled and contracted in a bottle, while being sealed by water. The result was surprising.

WARNING: Use of video content is at own risk. There is a risk of burns from the heated glass bottle, and risk of glass cracking due to thermal shock. I have had glass bottles crack due to the extreme temperature difference from hot to cold, but only if they’re fully immersed in the water. I’ve never had one crack just from sticking the tip in the water. In either case, if you try this yourself, make sure you’re using protection from the heat of the bottle, as well as the risk of glass breaking.

Project History & More Info:

While visiting my parents for Christmas a couple of years ago, we finished a bottle of sparkling cider and I got wondering what kinds of experiments we could do with it.

I had in the back of my mind the experiments where you drop a candle or match in a bottle then put an egg on top, but the bottle neck was too small.

I got wondering what would happen if we filled the bottle with a little water, heated it until it was steaming, then placing it upside down in a bowl of water. In theory, the water would seal the bottle air tight, and as the steam cooled, it would suck the water up inside.

I wondered how much water it would pull in.

I heated it on the stove, used oven mitts to transfer it, but when I placed it in the bowl I wasn’t prepared for what happened.

The water shot up inside the bottle with tremendous force, and nearly all the water was sucked out of the bowl. That was far more than I was expecting, very dramatic, and the perfect makings of a new experiment to try at home.

As a follow up, I don’t recommend heating glass bottles on the stove. They crack when they go in the water due to thermal shock. But if you heat them in the microwave for just 1:30 or less, there should be no problem with cracking. But they do get hot, so be careful 🙂