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This is a question Home Science

Have you split the atom in your kitchen? Made your own fireworks? Fired a bacon rocket through your window?
We love home science experiments - tell us about your best, preferably with instructions.

Extra points for lost eyebrows / nasal hair / limbs

(, Thu 9 Aug 2012, 17:25)
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Fun with your microwave!
We all know what happens when you microwave a CD or tinfoil- sparks everywhere.

What happens when you microwave a lit candle?

Essentially the burning candle ionizes the air in the combustion area, and the microwaves interact with that and produce weak plasma discharges.

In other words, it makes ball lightning and loud buzzing sounds and looks like Gozer the Destroyer has taken up residence.
(, Fri 10 Aug 2012, 15:57, 4 replies)
We also all know that eggs explode in a microwave
But when I found my boiled egg was not fully cooked, I thought "Aha! Since I've broken the shell, it will be OK to zap it to finish it off!"

Unfortunately, it's not the egg expanding inside the shell that makes it explode. It's the yolk expanding inside the white. So opened eggs still go foom.
(, Fri 10 Aug 2012, 16:26, closed)

cant you also put a cocktail stick in a grape to create plasma. That or doing what a flat mate did, cheap metal saucepan - no plasma, but it does make a 40 quid microwave redundant.
(, Fri 10 Aug 2012, 17:16, closed)
You know when you microwave CD's...
It produces Cyanide gas.

Recordable CD's consist of an organic dye that can be etched with a laser. Its this layer that can release cyanide when heated.
(, Sat 11 Aug 2012, 0:00, closed)
Nope, didn't know that.
I've actually never microwaved a CD, only seen the YouTube vids of it. But I have seen what happens when you have a gold-edged plate in a microwave, and heard my mum screeching about the vaporised metal all over the porcelain surface of said plate...
(, Sat 11 Aug 2012, 2:11, closed)

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