Keep your hands warm with this hot ice experiment you can do at home! It’s not really ice, but it really does keep your hands warm! This is an easy and safe experiment! *PLEASE NOTE: THIS EXPERIMENT IS SUITABLE FOR 8-16 YRS. AN ADULT MUST BE PRESENT AND SUPERVISE CHILDREN AT ALL TIMES*
YOU WILL NEED:
- 3 Tbsp of Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate
- 3 cups of Acetic Acid 6%
- Measuring cups
- Ziploc bags
- Cooking pot (do not use copper)
- Heat safe container
- Jar
STEP 1
Gather your materials.
STEP 2
Pour 3 cups of Acetic Acid 6% into the pot. Slowly add 3 tbsp of Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate into the mixture. Add a small amount at a time. (Larger scoops will cause the mixture to bubble out of the pot)
STEP 3
*AN ADULT MUST BE PRESENT AND SUPERVISE CHILDREN AT ALL TIMES ESPECIALLY DEALING WITH HOT PANS*
Be careful, this step can get slightly smelly, make sure you work in a well ventilated area.
Place the pot over the stove and boil on a medium heat for about 30-60 minutes. As the liquid reduces you’ll start to see white crystals form on the walls of the pan.
Once the liquid has reduced down to about 25% of the initial amount, look out for a thin layer of film over the surface. Once you see the film, turn off the heat.
Transfer the liquid to a clean jar, leaving the crystals behind.
Your solution will probably be a light yellow colour!
*AN ADULT MUST BE PRESENT AND SUPERVISE CHILDREN AT ALL TIMES ESPECIALLY DEALING WITH HOT PANS*
STEP 4
When the pot has cooled down, taking caution scrape the crystals off the walls and into a ziploc bag. You want just the dry crystals, not the solution.
STEP 5
Check on your jar of hot ice solution. While it’s still warm, pour it out into a second ziploc bag. We advise you double bag to prevent leaks.
STEP 6
Place the hot ice solution into the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Once the bag is chilled, you’re ready to use your hand warmer.
To activate the hot ice, carefully open the baggie with the solution and drop in a small pinch of crystals from when you scraped them off the pot. There you have it your own instant hand warmer
Your hot ice hand warmer can be reused. To do this – heat up the mixture again. Once it becomes a liquid, pop in the freezer for a few minutes and it’ll be ready to use again.
THE METHOD BEHIND THE EXPERIMENT
When vinegar and baking soda mix, they form a chemical called sodium acetate. That’s the hot ice!
One interesting thing about sodium acetate is that the freezing point of the crystals is really high over — 130° F. (Compare that to water, which has a freezing point of 32° F.)
When you heated your sodium acetate solution, you took it above the freezing point. When you separated out the crystals and cooled it down, you took the solution below its freezing point. But, you did it in a way that the sodium acetate was unable to form crystals or freeze.
When you dropped the crystals into the solution, that allowed the liquid to crystallize fast! This process of crystallization is an exothermic reaction, which means it releases a lot of heat.
In fact, this reaction is how many commercial heating pads and hand warmers work!
*PLEASE NOTE: THIS EXPERIMENT IS SUITABLE FOR 6-12 YRS. AN ADULT MUST BE PRESENT AND SUPERVISE CHILDREN AT ALL TIMES*
NOTE: BEFORE USING ANY OF THE PRODUCTS LISTED PLEASE READ ANY SAFETY AND PRECAUTIONS TO THIS PRODUCT BEFORE USAGE.
APC Pure does not accept any responsibility, this is a guide only.