Post by ogeezer on Jul 18, 2007 11:16:55 GMT -6
Make Fake Blood - great for Halloween and all those Friday 13s:
What You Need
1-1/2 cups Karo Light Corn Syrup
1/2 cup Rose's Grenadine
Bottle of red food coloring
Three drops blue food coloring
Clean, empty glass jar
Spoon
What to Do - Mix the corn syrup, grenadine, and food coloring in the jar to produce a nice, deep blood red. Stir well.
What Happens - You've made a fairly realistic prop blood for stage or screen.
Why It Works - The grenadine improves the flow of the corn syrup "blood" and lets it soak more realistically into clothing and other fabric.
To simulate bullet shots in movies, the special effects department attaches "squibs"—small, non-metallic explosive charges—beneath the actor's clothing. Latex "blood bags," filled with a bright red, gelatin-based fluid, can be attached to the squibs, which, when detonated, burst the bags and send the fake blood flowing.
Build an Anti-Gravity Machine
What You Need
Three books, each at least 1 inch thick
Two yardsticks
Two plastic funnels of equal size
Black electrical tape
What to Do - Stack two books on top of each other on the floor. Place the third book far enough away on the floor so you can lay a yardstick across the books to form a bridge. Place the second yardstick next to the first yardstick to form a V-shape with the open end of the V on the stack of two books. Tape the bowls of the funnels together. Place the joined funnels on the lower end of the track formed by the yardsticks.
What Happens - The joined funnels roll up the incline.
Why It Works - Although the joined funnels appear to defy the laws of gravity, in reality, their center of gravity (the point at which the effect of gravity on an object seems to be concentrated) moves downward as the joined funnels move along the inclined yardsticks.
Whole Egg in the Bottle
What You Need
Water
Teakettle
Oven mitt
Funnel
Clean, empty salad dressing bottle
Hard-boiled egg, peeled
What to Do - With adult supervision, boil water in the teakettle. Wearing the oven mitt and using the funnel, carefully fill the empty salad dressing bottle with the boiling water from the teakettle. Remove the funnel. Swirl the water around inside the bottle, then pour the water into the sink. Quickly place the egg over the mouth of the bottle.
What Happens - The egg is sucked into the bottle, making a very unusual sound. (To get the egg out of the bottle, hold the bottle upside down and blow into the bottle for thirty seconds. When you remove your mouth, the increased air pressure in the bottle forces the egg out of the bottle.)
Why It Works - The heat from the boiling water causes the air inside the bottle to expand, forcing some of it out. As the air begins to cool inside the bottle, it contracts, reducing the air pressure inside the bottle. The greater air pressure outside the bottle forces the egg into the bottle.
Alternative - You can also achieve this trick by placing a piece of paper in the bottle, and lighting it with a long match, then placing the boiled egg onto the bottle opening. As the flames consume the paper, a vacuum is created as the oxygen is consumed, sucking the egg down into the bottle.
What You Need
1-1/2 cups Karo Light Corn Syrup
1/2 cup Rose's Grenadine
Bottle of red food coloring
Three drops blue food coloring
Clean, empty glass jar
Spoon
What to Do - Mix the corn syrup, grenadine, and food coloring in the jar to produce a nice, deep blood red. Stir well.
What Happens - You've made a fairly realistic prop blood for stage or screen.
Why It Works - The grenadine improves the flow of the corn syrup "blood" and lets it soak more realistically into clothing and other fabric.
To simulate bullet shots in movies, the special effects department attaches "squibs"—small, non-metallic explosive charges—beneath the actor's clothing. Latex "blood bags," filled with a bright red, gelatin-based fluid, can be attached to the squibs, which, when detonated, burst the bags and send the fake blood flowing.
Build an Anti-Gravity Machine
What You Need
Three books, each at least 1 inch thick
Two yardsticks
Two plastic funnels of equal size
Black electrical tape
What to Do - Stack two books on top of each other on the floor. Place the third book far enough away on the floor so you can lay a yardstick across the books to form a bridge. Place the second yardstick next to the first yardstick to form a V-shape with the open end of the V on the stack of two books. Tape the bowls of the funnels together. Place the joined funnels on the lower end of the track formed by the yardsticks.
What Happens - The joined funnels roll up the incline.
Why It Works - Although the joined funnels appear to defy the laws of gravity, in reality, their center of gravity (the point at which the effect of gravity on an object seems to be concentrated) moves downward as the joined funnels move along the inclined yardsticks.
Whole Egg in the Bottle
What You Need
Water
Teakettle
Oven mitt
Funnel
Clean, empty salad dressing bottle
Hard-boiled egg, peeled
What to Do - With adult supervision, boil water in the teakettle. Wearing the oven mitt and using the funnel, carefully fill the empty salad dressing bottle with the boiling water from the teakettle. Remove the funnel. Swirl the water around inside the bottle, then pour the water into the sink. Quickly place the egg over the mouth of the bottle.
What Happens - The egg is sucked into the bottle, making a very unusual sound. (To get the egg out of the bottle, hold the bottle upside down and blow into the bottle for thirty seconds. When you remove your mouth, the increased air pressure in the bottle forces the egg out of the bottle.)
Why It Works - The heat from the boiling water causes the air inside the bottle to expand, forcing some of it out. As the air begins to cool inside the bottle, it contracts, reducing the air pressure inside the bottle. The greater air pressure outside the bottle forces the egg into the bottle.
Alternative - You can also achieve this trick by placing a piece of paper in the bottle, and lighting it with a long match, then placing the boiled egg onto the bottle opening. As the flames consume the paper, a vacuum is created as the oxygen is consumed, sucking the egg down into the bottle.