[meteorite-list] How to make a Kitchen Comet -----------O
How to make a Kitchen Comet You can make an accurate model of a comet nucleus easily and inexpensively. Unfortunately it is difficult to do neatly. Here is what you need: 1. Five pounds of dry ice. You can get this from ice companies or ice cream parlors. CAUTION: Dry ice is -79 degrees C (-110 degrees F). Any more than a brief exposure will cause 'burns. Be careful when handling it. 2. Water: Around half a gallon in a pitcher. 3. Ammonia: A few drops or sprays of window cleaner. 4. Dirt: Fine grained, about one handful. 5. Corn Starch or Worcester Sauce: Just a couple of pinches or drops. 6. Trash Bags: Two large bags. 7. Large Bowl or Small Pot 8. Water Proof Gloves: The better insulated the warmer your hands will remain. 9. Cloth Towel. 10. Paper Towels: One small roll is plenty. 11. Hammer. 12. Mixing Spoon or Stick. These ingredients are either actual components or handy analogous ones. The dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide. Water, ammonia, organic (carbon based) molecules, and silicates are all present on comet nuclei. They have been identified through spectral measurements of comet tails and the collection of tiny ice particles by very high flying research aircraft. Here is the Recipe: Line the bowl with a trash bag. Place the other trash bag on the floor. Pour about a pint of water into the bow. Add the corn starch or Worcester sauce, ammonia, and some of the dirt. Mix a bit. Put on the cloves. Wrap the dry ice in CLOTH towel. Place it over the trash bag on the floor. Use the hammer to grind up the dry ice into a powder. Gradually poor the dry ice powder into the water, mixing as you poor. There will be lots of vapor formed. The dry ice, water and other ingredients should form a thickening slush. Keep stirring for a few seconds as it thickens. Now, using the trash bag to lift the slush away from the sides of the bowl, use your gloved hands to pack the slush into a ball. Keep packing and forming until the ball solidifies as a big lump. Peel back the trash bag. Scatter some more dirt over the lump. Pour some of the remaining water over the lump, turning as you do so, so that a layer of water ice forms over the entire lump. Observe the behavior of your miniature comet nucleus. It can be handled without gloves if the water ice coating is intact. If a spot feels sticky, pour water on the spot. It hisses and pops as carbon dioxide sublimes (goes from the solid state directly into a gas) and forces its way through weak spots in the water ice crust. On real nuclei this results in slight jetting forces that can cause the nucleus to spin, slightly alter its orbit, or spit apart (or calve). Note: Get about three or four pound of dry ice for each nucleus you plan to make. You can purchase it the afternoon or evening prior to the demonstration and store it in a freezer or ice chest. Place an inch or so of newspaper below the cry ice to prevent cracking to the surface on which it rests. Try the demonstration first to an idea of the correct amounts of water to use. It's fun, it's a mess, and it's one of the most memorable and scientifically accurate demonstrations in astronomy! __ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - sign up for Fantasy Baseball http://sports.yahoo.com __ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] How to make a Kitchen Comet -----------O
Facinating. I shall print out your recipe, and later, one day, try it. AlanaS. Rick Nowak wrote: How to make a Kitchen Comet You can make an accurate model of a comet nucleus easily and inexpensively. Unfortunately it is difficult to do neatly. Here is what you need: 1.Five pounds of dry ice. You can get this from ice companies or ice cream parlors. CAUTION: Dry ice is -79 degrees C (-110 degrees F). Any more than a brief exposure will cause 'burns. Be careful when handling it. 2.Water: Around half a gallon in a pitcher. 3.Ammonia: A few drops or sprays of window cleaner. 4.Dirt: Fine grained, about one handful. 5.Corn Starch or Worcester Sauce: Just a couple of pinches or drops. 6.Trash Bags: Two large bags. 7.Large Bowl or Small Pot 8.Water Proof Gloves: The better insulated the warmer your hands will remain. 9.Cloth Towel. 10. Paper Towels: One small roll is plenty. 11. Hammer. 12. Mixing Spoon or Stick. These ingredients are either actual components or handy analogous ones. The dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide. Water, ammonia, organic (carbon based) molecules, and silicates are all present on comet nuclei. They have been identified through spectral measurements of comet tails and the collection of tiny ice particles by very high flying research aircraft. Here is the Recipe: Line the bowl with a trash bag. Place the other trash bag on the floor. Pour about a pint of water into the bow. Add the corn starch or Worcester sauce, ammonia, and some of the dirt. Mix a bit. Put on the cloves. Wrap the dry ice in CLOTH towel. Place it over the trash bag on the floor. Use the hammer to grind up the dry ice into a powder. Gradually poor the dry ice powder into the water, mixing as you poor. There will be lots of vapor formed. The dry ice, water and other ingredients should form a thickening slush. Keep stirring for a few seconds as it thickens. Now, using the trash bag to lift the slush away from the sides of the bowl, use your gloved hands to pack the slush into a ball. Keep packing and forming until the ball solidifies as a big lump. Peel back the trash bag. Scatter some more dirt over the lump. Pour some of the remaining water over the lump, turning as you do so, so that a layer of water ice forms over the entire lump. Observe the behavior of your miniature comet nucleus. It can be handled without gloves if the water ice coating is intact. If a spot feels sticky, pour water on the spot. It hisses and pops as carbon dioxide sublimes (goes from the solid state directly into a gas) and forces its way through weak spots in the water ice crust. On real nuclei this results in slight jetting forces that can cause the nucleus to spin, slightly alter its orbit, or spit apart (or calve). Note: Get about three or four pound of dry ice for each nucleus you plan to make. You can purchase it the afternoon or evening prior to the demonstration and store it in a freezer or ice chest. Place an inch or so of newspaper below the cry ice to prevent cracking to the surface on which it rests. Try the demonstration first to an idea of the correct amounts of water to use. It's fun, it's a mess, and it's one of the most memorable and scientifically accurate demonstrations in astronomy! __ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Sports - sign up for Fantasy Baseball http://sports.yahoo.com __ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list __ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] How to make a Kitchen Comet -----------O
Hi Martin: I have never seen this before and printed it out I will use it in the local classrooms in which I speak and am certain the kids will love it! THANKS! Jake Jake Delgaudio The Nature Source Meteorites and Fossils Queensbury, NEW YORK 12804 website: www.nature-source.com email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone:(518) 761-6702 Fax; (518) 798-9107 Proud member of: The Meteoritical Society and The Paleontological Suppliers of America IMCA#4262 __ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
