This year, as in years past, my family is celebrating Hanukkah with a series of science experiments. We launched under pressure on the first night of Hanukkah. On the second night, we triumphed over buoyancy. Last night, we ate mathematics for dessert. Tonight, we’re hosting a mixer.
Or not. The Layered Liquids experiment has more to do with liquids that don’t mix easily, than the other way around. The most straightforward things to demonstrate by creating this colorful column are density and miscibility, but from there it’s a short conversational tangent to intermolecular force and the hydrophobic effect.
The instructions for this experiment are simple (materials are in bold):
- Pour honey into a clear container.
- Pour liquid dish soap slowly down the side of the container onto the honey.
- Pour colored water slowly down the side of the container onto the dish soap.
- Pour cooking oil slowly down the side of the container onto the water.
- Pour colored rubbing alcohol down the side of the container onto the oil.
- After liquids have settled into layers and discussion has slowed, STIR THE LIQUIDS!