How to Make a Cloud in a Bottle



There's no need to look up to see the clouds when you can make your own! With a bottle and just a few household ingredients, you can be a mad scientist for a day and control the weather. Here's how!

Steps   

  1. Fill a bottle with just enough warm water to cover the bottom.
  2. Light a match and let it burn for a few seconds. Blow the match out and immediately place the head of the match into the bottle. Let the smoke from the match fill the bottle. After a few seconds, the smoke will seem to disappear.
  3. Quickly screw the cap onto the bottle. Do not squeeze the sides before the bottle is tightly capped, you do not want any of the smoke or air to escape.
  4. Squeeze the sides of the bottle hard. Do this six or seven times. Then wait a few seconds, and squeeze the bottle again, but hold the squeeze for a few seconds and quickly release the squeeze.
  5. Look at the formation of fog in the bottle. You should see your very own cloud there!


Tips   

  • Experiment with how many times and how hard you squeeze the bottle.
  • Why this works: Squeezing the sides of the bottle forces the molecules to squeeze together or compress. Releasing the pressure allows the air to expand, and in doing so, the temperature of the air becomes cooler. This cooling process allows the molecules to stick together more easily forming tiny droplets around the smoke particles. Most water droplets are formed when water vapor condenses around a condensation nucleus, a tiny particle of smoke, dust, ash, or salt. Clouds in the sky form when the invisible water vapor in the air condenses into visible water droplets or ice crystals.
  • If you do not have matches, you can use a lighter and an incense stick.


Warnings   

  • Lighting a match is not something that a child should do, so if a child is doing this experiment, make sure that an adult is actively supervising and lighting the match for the child.
  • Don't overdo the squeezing or it will pop.


Things You'll Need   

  • One liter clear plastic bottle with cap
  • Warm water
  • Matches (only to be used by an adult)