Demonstrations

Liquid oxygen forms a bridge across the cones of a strong horseshoe magnet.

A magnet exerts a force on the electron beam in a cathode ray tube.

A small array of compass needles and a small bar magnet are used to provide visual evidence of a magnetic field.

A circular electron beam forms as a result of a uniform magnetic field

A solenoid of wire connected to a power supply produces a magnetic field, visible in a sprinkle of iron filings.

A gaussmeter is used to show the magnetic field around a small magnet

A hula hoop is used to demonstrate the right-hand rule

Iron filings are used to produce an image of the magnetic field lines surrounding a vertical wire.

An electromagnet (from lifting magnet) is connected to a 9V battery and students have a tug-of-war to separate them.

A piece of graphite levitates over a 3x3 grid of strong magnets

A neodymium magnet levitates above a superconductor that has been cooled with liquid nitrogen.

A 3-dimensional model of the magnetic field surrounding a magnet; apparatus is dissectable 

Current run through a small solenoid is used to show the magnetic field under the document camera.

A bar magnet and a similarly shaped piece of iron are used to demonstrate magnetic domains.

A Geiger Counter is used to detect radioactivity in assorted samples

Alpha and beta particles emitted by a radioactive source needle produce visible tracks in the cloud chamber.

A sheet of air applied to an index card causes the card to be sucked upward toward the source rather than outward and away from the source.

An inflatable beach ball or globe with sand in the bottom is trapped in a jet of air

Ping pong balls suspended above holes in a tube a changing diameter demonstrate changes in air pressure throughout the tube.

A ping pong ball becomes trapped in a funnel of air.

An air jet directed across a piece of paper is used to demonstrate the Bernoulli Principle.

A hydraulic press is used to break a small piece of wood

A cylinder of colored water is created within a vat of clear water.

An apparatus consisting of differently shaped containers connected by a common tube are filled with colored water.

A balloon and a digital balance are used to demonstrate that air has mass

An 84-lb weight is lifted as a result of a vacuum.

Liquid in a test tube has 2 paths when gravity is allowed to act, but only one is accurate

Water is siphoned from one container to another

Air is evacuated from the Magdeburg Hemispheres, after which they cannot be separated.

A U-tube has both water and kerosene in it.

A piece of newspaper is placed over a piece of lath.  The atmospheric pressure on the paper prevents the buried end of the lath from raising when the open end is struck, resulting in a broken board.

A small beaker of copper shot is sunk in a large beaker of water to demonstrate measurement of the buoyant force.

A wood block placed in a vat of water displaces water without changing the overall mass of the container.

A container of water with 2 holes (one above the other) demonstrates the differences in fluid pressure by depth.

Air is removed from a paint can using a vacuum pump to demonstrate the strength of atmospheric pressure

A soda can is crushed using a hot plate and ice water.

Water is sucked through a hose suspended from a hook on the ceiling

A helium balloon placed in liquid nitrogen contracts.  Once removed, it expands.

A ping pong ball launched from a vacuum cannon destroys an empty pop can.

A trick cup is used to demonstrate a siphon effect.

A rubber ball is dropped into a beaker of water and pushed to the bottom.  When the pressure is released, the ball floats back to the top.

Objects placed in a beaker of water will float.

Objects placed into a beaker of water will sink.

A glass of water is covered by a piece of plastic and overturned, resulting in the lid staying attached to the glass.