Frostbite Theater - Liquid Nitrogen Experiments - Exploding Rubber Stopper!

Science EducationPrivacy and Security Notice Frostbite Theater Previous Video (Pewter Bells) Frostbite Theater Main Index Next Video (Popping Film Canisters!) Exploding Rubber Stopper! What happens when a rubber test tube stopper is placed in a pool of liquid nitrogen? Play the video to find out! Sometimes, materials behave in unexpected ways! [ Show Transcript ] Announcer: Frostbite Theater presents... Cold Cuts! No baloney!Joanna and Steve: Just science!Joanna: Hi! I'm Joanna!Steve: And I'm Steve!Joanna: And this is a container of liquid nitrogen!Steve: And this is my favorite rubber stopper!Joanna: Let's see what happens when we place the rubber stopper in the liquid nitrogen!Steve: Okay!The rubber stopper is at room temperature but the liquid nitrogen is 196 degrees below zero Celsius, or 321 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.Joanna: Since the stopper is so much hotter than the liquid nitrogen, it's causing the nitrogen to start boiling rapidly.Steve: As the stopper gets colder, it contracts. However, there is a problem. The stopper is made from rubber and rubber isn't a very good conductor of heat. The outside of the stopper gets cold and contracts, but the inside stays warm and doesn't.Joanna: This is causing great stress on the inside of the stopper. Eventually that stress will become so great that it will cause the stopper to blow itself apart!Joanna and Steve: Gasp!Joanna: Thanks for watching! I hope you'll join us again soon for another experiment!Steve: Guess I gotta get another stopper... Subscribe to Jefferson Lab's YouTube channel and be notified when we post new videos! This page is maintained by Steve Gagnon.Citation and linking information