Children and adults are mesmerized by this easy science lab. It can be done at home or school, but it really adds a new dimension of fun to a hotel room! You will need to tuck a few ping pong balls in your luggage for the Magical Floating Ball Lab!
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Science Lab Requirements
- A ping pong ball (several is best)
- Blow dryer
- Science goggles suggested
- Camera (to catch the look of wonderment)
Safety Suggestions
The Magical Floating Ball Lab is simple, but we do suggest that parents help youngsters, because not all blow dryers are created equal. Some dryers can become overly hot, very quickly. For this reason, I keep old blow dryers when the heating element burns out. There’s a lot to be said for broken blow dryers that only blow cold air!
There’s also a good reason to wear your science googles so put those silly glasses on!
Lab Steps
- Turn the blow dryer on high.
- Point the airflow directly upwards at a 90-degree angle.
- Place the ball in the airflow about 2-3 inches from the nozzle.
Holding the dryer and placing the ball in the air column will require some practice. Children will tend to place the ball directly on the dryer nozzle. The bloopers can be as much fun as the magic of a floating ball!
‘What if’ questions:
- What happens with balls of different weights and sizes?
- Can you float more than one ball? Is the reaction different than using one ball?
- Does a dimpled ping pong ball float differently than one with smooth skin?
- If you have access to more than one dryer, can you pass the ball from one blow dryer to the other?
- What happens if you hold a paper tube above the ball? Try different length tubes, i.e. toilet paper tube vs paper towel tube.
- What if the paper tube is closed at the top?
- What if the tube has holes in the side? Does the air flow change?
- What happens to the ball in different air flows? For example, low vs high speed.
- What if you place your hand or a piece of paper between the blow dryer and the ball? (Make sure the toilet lid is closed!)
- Can you come up with your own ‘what-if’ questions?
A Really BIG ‘What If’ Question
Parents?
What if you go outside and try this same experiment with a basketball and a leaf blower? Ask the same ‘what if’ questions from above! Leaf blowers stir up dirt, leaves and other loose paraphernalia, so definitely be good role models, and wear those science goggles!
Science Behind the Lab
Gravity is a force that pushes downwards on the earth. You can demonstrate this point by dropping a ball to prove that it has nowhere to go but down. Young children will have fun dropping things to prove that all items will fall ‘down’.
To move a ball upwards, it has to have some sort of force that pushes it ‘up’. In our family lab today, the blow dryer pushed the ball upwards, but at the same time gravity pushed it downwards. When these two forces equaled out, the ball became stationery and floated.
Why does the magical floating ping pong ball stay in the column of air?
The fast-moving air from the blow dryer creates a column of low pressure. The air surrounding this column is a high pressure and applies a sideways force. Because the ball is being squeezed in all directions, it remains suspended in the updraft.
If the column of moving air is interrupted in anyway, the ball will go flying across the sink and bathroom. We have had quite a bit of fun with this part and suggest that you make sure the toilet lid is down!
Bernoulli’s Principle
Daniel Bernoulli FRS was a Swiss physicist who introduced the scientific fact that fast air flow creates different areas of pressure. Simply put: slow air creates high pressure, and fast air creates low pressure. The two different pressures creates forces, that when equalized, keeps the ping pong ball in the air.
Explaining Flight
These same types of forces can also explain flight. Gravity pushes down on the aircraft, while the wing shape creates lift, pushing the plane upwards against gravity. It equals and remains suspended, BUT, if we want to go anywhere we have to add an engine. The engines create thrust propelling the plane forward. To stabilize thrust, a tail is added to create drag. Blu shows that Thrust+ lift+drag+ weight = should be the prefect equation – until you add the breaks!
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We love to hear from our readers! Let us know about your lab results. Any takers on trying a leaf blower?
