Active Science Experiments Posts

How To: Form hydrothermal quartz

How can hot water form beautiful quartz crystals? This mine is red Georgia clay, with veins of minerals running through it. The veins are hydrothermal. Hydro means water. Thermal means heat. So the veins were caused by hot water. But how could hot water form quartz crystals?

How To: Revive a drowned fly

Ever wished you were Jesus? This how-to video can bestow you with life-reviving powers. It's not a trick. See how you can revive a seemingly drowned fly with salt by watching this educational and instructional video. Let the resurrection begin.

How To: Use radiation detection equipment

In this tutorial, we learn how to use radiation detection equipment. To use the dosimeter, you will remove the cap, then place the pipe on and push down on it. A light will come on, and you can use the knob to zero it. When you look in, you will be able to see it's measured in Roentgens per hour. When you are done using this, zero it again. Next, you will have a CD Geiger counter which has three positions for the knob. Whatever it is set on, you multiply the reading by that number. If you tur...

News: World's Simplest Electric Train

The trick in the video is that the magnets are made of a conducting material and they connect the battery terminals to the copper wire, so the battery, magnets and copper wire make a circuit that generates a magnet field just in the vicinity of the battery. The geometry means the two magnets are automatically at the ends of the generated magnetic field, where the field is divergent, so a force is exerted on the magnets.

How To: Build a robot that scribbles on paper

This video explains how to build a robot with the basic ability to scribble on paper. The narrator gives website addresses for more examples on completed robots and various information on the subject. The Robot is built using a plastic cups and wooden sticks for legs and support. A motor is then attached to a wooden stick which is then attached to the top of the plastic cup. One nine volt battery is needed to power the motor. Once the battery has been attached to the motor you must attach the...

How To: Focus your laser to make it burn

In this video, we learn how to focus your laser to make it burn. The best spot for a laser to burn things is at its focal point. This is where the beam from the laser is at its smallest. If you hold a match in front of the beam, it will light it on fire as soon as it's in front of it. If you put two lasers next to each other going the same direction, it won't be able to burn because the light beam is too large. If you position the lasers so the light is smaller, then they can catch something ...

How To: Build a magnetic stirring device

In this video, we learn how to build a magnetic stirring device. First you will need: a block of 1 inch thick Styrofoam, a piece of cardboard, 2 magnets, a small electric motor, a piece of non-magnetic metal, a hot glue gun, and a soldering iron. First, draw the shape of your cardboard square on the foam and cut it out. After this, take your soldering iron and melt away the Styrofoam from the outside. Then, make a hole in the middle for where the motor will be placed and push it inside. After...

How To: Make Your Own Homemade Glow Sticks

Glow sticks, a popular favor at parties and outdoor events, and a must-have on Halloween, can be traced back to the United States Navy in the mid-1960s. The military desired improved visibility during night operations, and glow sticks, with their small-size portability and lack of batteries, were a perfect tactical solution.

How To: Streak an Agar Plate

Check out this video tutorial on how to streak an agar plate. What's an agar plate? Well, an agar plate is a sterile Petri dish that contains a growth medium (typically agar plus nutrients) used to culture microorganisms. Selective growth compounds may also be added to the media, such as antibiotics.

How To: Explore Density, Viscosity & Miscibility with a Colorful Layered Liquid Science Experiment

Ever wonder why Jupiter has those colored bands across its surface? Jupiter's enormous mass is made from an array of different liquids, and those fluids do not play well together because of their different makeup. All of the hydrogen- and helium-based fluids are thought not to be miscible, which means that they aren't homogeneous in nature, resulting in strikingly beautiful bands across the planet's surface. But what about viscosity and how that correlates to the development of planets? What ...

How To: Make blue phosphorescent glow-in-the-dark powder

Making a blue glowing substance is easy, as long as you already know the secret to making green luminescent phosphorescent glow powder. By watching the green glow-in-the-dark procedure, you know that you will need strontium nitrate, aluminum nitrate, europium and dysprosium nitrates, and nitric acid. That will make a green glow, but if you want to make a blue version, it's a relatively easy fix...

How To: Turn Your Computer into a Pulse Monitor

Have you ever wanted to see your heartbeat, but without the stress of having to be in the hospital? You can with this easy, step-by-step guide to turn your computer in a pulse monitor to check your heart rate from the comfort of your own chair. Check the beating of your heart after a workout to see how fast your blood is pumping or watch it drop after a soothing day at the spa or a nice bubble bath. The easy to follow video tutorial is set to a funky beat that is sure to get your blood (and f...

How To: Shrink plastic with household materials

In this video, we learn how to shrink plastic with household materials. You will need: tin foil, plastic container, scissors, glove, and colored markers. To start, you will preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Then, cut a piece of the plastic out in a square shape. Next, draw whatever you want onto your piece of plastic. Make it as colorful as you would like to! When finished, put this in the oven using a glove. Make sure it's on the foil when you put it in. Then, leave it in for less than a minu...

How To: Make elemental sulfur (sulphur)

This video tutorial is in the Education category which will show you how to make elemental sulfur (sulphur). The chemicals you need are nitric acid and sodium thiosulphate. The reaction produces toxic SO2 gas so keep it coved with a watch glass. Put 12.9 grams of sodium thiosulphate in a beaker and dissolve it in minimum amount of water. Pour about 15ml of nitric acid in to the beaker. Let it sit in a warm place for a couple of hours and the sulphur will settle at the bottom of the beaker. Th...

How To: Isolate the sugar in a can of soda

In this video from ScienceOnTheBrain we learn how to isolate the sugar in a can of soda. To find out how much sugar is in soda, pour a can into a pot and boil it until all the water is gone. You will be left with the sugar, and then you can weigh it. First weigh your pot before pouring the soda in. Now boil the soda on the stovetop. When the water evaporates, you'll be left with a syrupy sugar. A can of soda has 39 grams of sugar in it. That equates to about 7 1/2 teaspoons. Fruit juice conta...

How To: Dissect a male bull reproductive tract

Check out these educational videos for veterinarians and curious eyes on the anatomy of the male reproductive tract in the bull. Here you will see, in three parts, the scrotum of the bull, which contains both of the testes. The scrotum is a thinner skin area of the rest of the beast, with less hair. Upon dissection of the male bovine scrotum, you will see the tunica dartos muscle and some stratum tissue. The testes is the structure that contains the sperm producing cells.

How To: Make a Stack of Different Colored Liquids

Here's a simple home science experiment to demonstrate to kids the different weight and viscosity of various liquids. The liquids near the bottom are more dense while the liquids on top are less dense. This can also be used to determine the relative density of solid objects. Place them in the container and see where they float.