Home science: boil water with a syringe

Boil water without a kettle!

Safe­ty pre­cau­tions

Warn­ing! Only un­der adult su­per­vi­sion.

Equip­ment

  • glass bot­tle;
  • rub­ber stop­per with one hole;
  • sy­ringe.

Step-by-step in­struc­tions

In­sert a sy­ringe into a rub­ber stop­per with one hole. Pour some hot wa­ter into a glass bot­tle, plug the neck with the stop­per, and pull out the sy­ringe plunger – the wa­ter boils!

Process de­scrip­tion

As you pull the plunger on the sy­ringe, the pres­sure in­side the bot­tle de­creas­es, and the boil­ing point of the wa­ter de­creas­es with it. A sim­i­lar phe­nom­e­non can be ob­served in the moun­tains: due to the in­crease in el­e­va­tion, at­mo­spher­ic pres­sure de­creas­es, and with it, the boil­ing point of wa­ter. For ex­am­ple, on the sum­mit of Ever­est, wa­ter boils at 69 °C (156.2 °F)!

Many more cool ex­per­i­ments are wait­ing for you in the MEL Physics sub­scrip­tion!

Try it