Controlling purpose: To demonstrate the effects of liquid nitrogen on the compression of gases.
Step three: Take the inflated balloon and stick it in the vat of liquid nitrogen.
Disturbed by what he sees as an epidemic of scientific illiteracy, Zdunek will demonstrate some “really cool experiments” at the academy’s Winter Carnival this weekend. “When I was growing up during sputnik time,” he says, “there was a real rush to get people into things like engineering and sciences. But that kind of thing has died down. People aren’t into space anymore. They don’t see the Russians landing on Mars as a threat. They say, ‘Let them have it.’ But they don’t realize that we’re going to be cut down in other areas. We’ve got the Japanese and their technology, and they are just going to wipe us out. High-definition television is one example.”
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For his ice experiment finale Zdunek uses a Glad bag and some liquid nitrogen. He takes a container of liquid nitrogen and sticks it inside the bag. Then he ties the bag and lets the liquid nitrogen spill around inside it. As the nitrogen evaporates, the bag starts to inflate until it becomes a big balloon. Zdunek smacks the bag and POOF! the kids in the audience get a big rush of cold nitrogen.
