EXPERIMENT: Expansion of Particles 🔥

In a solid, particles are tightly packed together.
In a liquid, they are slightly further apart.
In a gas, they are spread further out to take up as much space available.

To make particles expand more, you can heat it up, or stir it. Today we're doing an experiment using heat 🔥.





Particles are sensitive to heat, so when they are exposed to it, they begin to move around more and the space between the particles increases, causing the substance to expand. 

The diagram to the right shows the effect of heat on the particles in a solid substance. Notice that the 'hot' particles are vibrating more than the 'cold' particles. Because of this, they are bumping into each other and the distance between the particles increases. This means the solid will expand.

Describe the effects of heat on: 
1. The movement of particles - the particles vibrate when they are being heated. 
2. The size of the particles - the particles stay the same size no matter what.
3. The space between the particles - the vibration causes the particles to expand.
4. The size of the substance - heating of particles usually result in the substance either melting or turning into gas. 

EXPERIMENT: The Imploding Can 🔥
AIM: To observe contraction in gases.
EQUIPMENT: Aluminium can, scissor tongs, Bunsen burner, heatproof mat, tripod, gauze mat, an open container of water.
METHOD: 
1. Set up a Bunsen Burner underneath a gauze mat and tripod.
2. Poor approximately 50-60mL of water into your can so it is no more than 1/4 full.
3. Heat the can on the Bunsen burner until steam is seen escaping from the top. Carefully grip the can with the scissor tongs, ensuring you have a firm hold of the can before lifting it off the gauze mat.
4. Quickly, but very carefully, invert the can as you plunge it into a container of water. 

Set up the Bunsen burner and heat the can until you can see steam pouring out of the top of the can and the water inside is boiling (NOT simmering). 

With scissor tongs, ensure you have a firm grip of the can. 

Carefully but quickly dump the can in the container of water, ensuring it's top is completely submerged in the water.

Both of our experiments failed, but here is a successful experiment from our friends Rheanna and Jay. As you can see their can imploded. 

RESULTS 🔥
After we conducted our first experiment, the can didn't implode. This was because the top of the can wasn't totally submerged in the water, and we believed to not have allowed the waters to boil for long enough. It was only simmering when we took it off the heat. Our first experiment was unsuccessful.


We wanted to conduct a successful experiment so we got a new can and tried again. This time we made sure the water was boiling because other successful experiments had boiling water. However, the can wasn't angled right and the top didn't make it to the water. Our second experiment was unsuccessful.


DISCUSSION 🔥
How and why did the can implode?
Prior to heating the can on the Bunsen Burner, the can's contents are only the small amount of water and air. 
During the boiling process, the air turns to gas (the particles inside the liquid expand to take up all available space) which can be observed as steam or water vapour seeping out of the top of the can. 
The steam is actually pushing all of the air that is once inside the can out of it, so when you dunk it inside of the water, the top of the can makes an airtight seal against the surface of the water, and the cold water temperature results in the vapour/steam inside of the can to condense down into nothing but a few drops of liquid. 
This lack of pressure inside of the can means the exterior air pressure is strong enough to suddenly collapse the can inwards, towards it's centre, or "implode". 


I am wondering: Does the amount of water in the can affect how it is crushed?