Vinegar Cannon
- Page ID
- 131430
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Required Training |
Required PPE |
|---|---|
|
UC Lab Safety Fundamentals |
Lab coat, safety glasses/goggles, nitrile gloves |
|
Equipment |
Chemicals |
|
Small plastic bottle (with narrow neck) |
Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) (baking soda) |
|
Cork to fit bottle |
Acetic acid (CH3COOH), 5% solution (vinegar) |
|
Tissue paper/kim wipe (alternate procedure) |
|
|
Small marble (alternate procedure) |
|
Procedure:
- Place ~1-2 grams of baking soda in the bottle.
- Pour about 20mL of vinegar into the bottle.
- Quickly insert the cork in the neck of the bottle, and then swirl the bottle to mix. Make sure the neck of the bottle is not pointed at people or at fragile materials, and hold the bottle firmly.
- When the pressure from the evolved CO2 becomes great enough, the cork will fly out of the bottle. Depending on how tightly the bottle is corked, it can fly upwards of 10-20 feet.
Alternate procedure:
- Pour ~20 mL of vinegar into the bottle, making sure to keep the neck of the bottle dry.
- Place a piece of tissue paper/kim wipe over the neck of the bottle and push a portion of it into the bottle using your finger. This creates a small pouch suspended from the top of the bottle.
- While holding the edges of the tissue paper to keep it from falling into the bottle, add ~1-2 grams of baking soda and a small marble to the pouch.
- Push the cork into the neck of the bottle, wedging the tissue paper in place. The excess tissue paper can then be cut or torn away from the neck of the bottle, taking care not to dislodge the cork. Keep the bottle upright to prevent premature mixing of the baking soda and vinegar.
- To activate the demo, sharply lower the bottle onto a table, such that the marble breaks through the tissue paper and allows the baking soda to fall into the vinegar. Alternatively, you can invert the bottle and stand it on the cork, such that the bottle launches upwards (in this case the marble may be omitted).
Clean-up: All waste may be rinsed down the drain with water.
Hazards: The corks can pop out of the bottle with significant force, and could theoretically break something fragile or cause an injury if pointed at someone.
Principle: The reaction between NaHCO3 and CH3COOH produces carbon dioxide (CO2) that can’t escape the closed bottle; this causes the pressure to build until the cork out.
Notes: Audience members may come up to perform these demos provided they are wearing proper attire and don full PPE. If performing the demo using the first method, the bottle must be corked very quickly, otherwise it turns into a very simple baking soda/vinegar volcano in your hand.