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G430: Pressure and Temperature – The Collapsing Can

Introduction

A small amount of water is added to an aluminum soda can and brought to boiling on a hot plate or with a Bunsen burner. The water gas molecules will occupy all the space inside the can since the air molecules have been pushed out. The hot gas molecules are the same pressure as the air outside the can. When the can is placed in cold water upside down, the hot gas water molecules are cooled very rapidly. Some of the gas molecules are condensed back into liquid water so there are less molecules of water in the gas phase inside the can. The cold water will also cool any remaining gas molecules, decreasing their kinetic energy and therefore decreases the number of collisions with the walls of the can. This decreases the pressure inside the can. Since the air pressure outside the can is stronger than that inside the can, it causes the can to collapse.

H2O(g) à H2O(l)

To Conduct Demonstration

Place the can containing water on a hot plate (turned to high) or a ring stand with a Bunsen burner underneath.
Allow several minutes for the water to come to a full boil.
Steam must displace the air inside the can; wait until you see a steady flow of steam exiting the spout, then immediately remove the can from the heat and place in the ice water bath.
As the hot steam cools and condenses to water, a vacuum is created inside the can and atmospheric pressure will crush it.
250 ml water to a 5 gallon can
20 min to boil, 1 or 2 min to collapse. Collapsing will take longer if the can is left to heat longer and it itself gets hot.
Requires a large hotplate.

If using a large can do not continue heating the can after inserting the rubber stopper as pressure will increase.

G410: Gases – Boyle’s Law
G430: Prep Notes
G440: Evaporation and Expansion – The Drinking Bird
G450: Effusion – Relative Effusion Rates of H2, He, and O2
G460: Charle's Law
G420: Graham’s Law of Diffusion – NH3 and HCl Diffusion

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Level of Education

Post Secondary

Recommended Age

Time Required

~10 minutes
~20 minutes
~30 minutes
~45 minutes
1 day or more

Number of people

100 – 200 €

Supervision

Collapsing Metal Can WIP

Meta Description

Learning Objectives

To investigate the effects of change in pressure.

To understand how a vacuum is created when water vapour condenses in a confined space.

Vacuum A space void of matter.

Atmospheric pressure The pressure caused by the weight of the atmosphere.

Condensation The change of state from gas to liquid, commonly used to denote the formation of water from water vapour.

Step 1 Pour some water in the metal can.

Step 2 Place the metal can on the fire stove and start heating.

Step 3 Wait a couple of minutes until the water starts boiling and water vapour is seen coming out of the can.

Step 4 Use safety gloves to seal the can using the rubber stopper and place the metal can in a tray of cold water.

Step 5 Pour more cold water on the metal can, to cool all the surfaces.

Step 16 Wait until the metal can implodes.

Wear safety gloves when handling the hot metal can.
Make sure the water is boiling before sealing the can with a rubber stopper.
The metal can must be thoroughly cooled by placing it in a tray of cold water and also pouring water on it.

Sometimes it might feel like the weight of the world is pressing down on your shoulders, but it turns out this is only partly true. You may not notice it, but the air around you and above your head is pressing down on you all the time. It’s actually pretty heavy! So why are we not crushed by the weight of it all? Well, it turns out, we have the same pressure in our bodies, applying an equal and opposite force against the air pressure. Things only get dangerous when these pressures are different. When the pressure inside you is greater than that of the air around you, you explode! If the pressure in your body is less than the air pressure, you implode! Either way, not a great way to go.

For safety sake we are going to use a metal can instead of your body to demonstrate the crushing power of the tonnes of air above your head.

What is happening to the water as it boils? The water turns from a liquid to a gas, taking up more space.

What happens upon cooling the can with water? The vapour inside condenses back to water, creating a vacuum.

Why does the can collapse? The vacuum creates a change in pressure causing atmospheric pressure to crush the can.

When water is boiling in the metal can, water vapour occupies most of the volume within the can. As soon as the can is sealed with a rubber stopper no gases can escape. When the metal can start to cool the vapour inside condenses back to liquid which occupies much less volume, resulting in a rapid fall in internal pressure.

Standard atmospheric pressure exerts 101.3 kilopascals, which is more than sufficient to crush the metal can as shown in the demonstration. ( http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/07/13/3268575.htm )

The ideal gas law describes the relationship between pressure, volume, and temperature within a system, it is described by the following equation:

where P is the pressure, V is the volume, n the number of moles, R is the universal gas constant and T is the temperature in Kelvin.

Assuming that the temperature is just above the boiling point of water, i.e. 100°C , for one mole of water we have:

P = 101325 Pascals T = 373 K R = 8.314 J K-1 mol-1 n = 1 mol

V = 0.0306 m3.

Meaning that one mole of water converted into steam occupies 0.0306 m3 of volume.

The mass of one mole of water is 0.018 kg and thus the density of one mole of water at atmospheric pressure is

density (steam)=0.018/0.0306

0.588 kg m-3

Now, the density of liquid water at room temperature is 1000 kg m-3, so the relative density of liquid water to steam at atmospheric pressure is:

density (water)/density (steam)=1000/0.588

Thus, the volume of steam occupies 1700-times less volume when converted back to water. This explains why when the hot can, filled with water vapour is cooled, a pressure difference is created large enough for the external atmospheric pressure to completely crush the can. Notice that when the can is crushed the volume inside is minimized such that the external and internal pressure are equilised.

( http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/07/13/3268575.htm )

Applications

In meteorology, the change in atmospheric pressure is used to forecast weather. Changes in atmospheric pressure cause mass air movement and thus changes in pressure can be a good indication of the upcoming weather conditions. ( http://www.theweatherprediction.com/habyhints/18/ )

Research In Ireland, research has been carried out on a hull design optimisation of a service vessel used in an offshore wind farm. The main objective of the research was in making better designs that can withstand high pressures. ( https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312174757_Offshore_Wind_Farm_Service_Vessel_Hull_Design_Optimisation )

Cool the metal can with different water temperatures and investigate the time it takes for the can to collapse.
Investigate how different geometries of the metal container used can resist pressure differently.

Preparation: 15 mins

Conducting: 20 mins

Clean Up: 15 min

Number of People

2 participants

Tray Metal can or drum Gas stove Water Beaker Rubber stopper Safety specs Safety gloves

Contributors

Imploding drum

Offshore Wind Farm Service Vessel, Hull Design Optimisation/span>

CHANGES IN ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

Imploding Drum

Additional Content

Imploding Drum (Beginner)

Imploding Drum (Moderate)

Offshore Wind Farm Service Vessel, Hull Design Optimisation (Advanced)

Cite this Experiment

Vella, R., & Styles, C. (2019, November 12). Collapsing Metal Can. Retrieved from http://steamexperiments.com/experiment/collapsing-metal-can/

First published: November 12, 2019 Last modified: July 28, 2020

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ScienceDemo.org

Collapsing Can

The collapsing can demo is one I loved seeing for the first time when I was at school, although my teacher used a tin with a screwed down lid which took a little more time to cool down. In some ways I prefer the version using a can with a screw lid because the additional waiting time makes for an even more dramatic “collapse”. Doing the demo with a drink can is of course far cheaper (and I think, more reliable as it doesn’t depend on the lid being screwed down properly) and I suspect this is why the approach we use in our video has become far more widespread in schools.

I like the demo a lot but, as I hope we’ve managed to convey in the video, I think we need to be careful how and why we use it in our lessons. This is a really fantastic demo for using the Predict, Observe, Explain (POE) approach as the explanation of what’s going on is not entirely straightforward – there are a couple of things relating to the behaviour of particles and the action of forces that need to be considered and this can lead to some really interesting discussion with students, providing they’re familiar with the relevant concepts.

We’ve suggested in our video that the collapsing can demo can be used in conjunction with another demo, as a way of “ scaffolding ” (I really hope I’ve used that term correctly – I think this may be the first time I’ve used it in writing in this context).

Once you’ve done the demo live in class, you’ve got the perfect justification for showing your students this video of a rather more spectacular demonstration of the same physics at work:

6 thoughts on “Collapsing Can”

I always like the collapsing can demo – it challenges even the most able kids to use the particle models they already know to come up with an explanation. I’ll try it with the vacuum fountain in future too – that’s a handy extra tool to help with the particle theory models.

Beautifully presented and shot. Thank you. FYI pressure using a rotary pump like that in that small volume after 15 seconds is likely to be ‘a few’ millibar – i.e. less than 1% of atmospheric pressure.

For a few years now I’ve been using the collapsing can as one of five ‘amazing pressure demos’ that A2 students have to explain in terms of kinetic theory. They like it (it goes bang), they can show their friends (beer cans and a camping stove at a festival), and if they’re really good they can explain it too in terms of the kinetic theory! Good point about it being a long chain of argument, I’ll definitely include the water fountain next year as its a more obvious demo. BTW, the other demos I use are (1) the inverted tumbler of water with a piece of card over the top (very difficult to explain using kinetic theory, I do it as an example) (2) the poor man’s magdeburg hemispheres (one student pushes together a pair of rubber sink plungers, then attempts to pull them apart) (3) a small sealed balloon inside a bell jar connected to a vacuum pump and (4) the ‘boiled egg into the bottle’ trick, done with a conical flask and nothing more than a trough of ice water and a trough of very hot water. My favourite for sheer theatricality (and ease of explanation) is the egg into the bottle. There’s no sudden bang, but a long hard squeeze instead.

Do you plan to make more of these? I often feel that non specialists struggle out of their subject area and would benefit from this sort of resource. Written instructions are great but a video helps so much more. What would be good to see is video accompanying the practical physics website so that each experiment had an accompanying video – a massive project!

Pupils do experience the effect outside of the classroom, every time they use a straw they create a region of low pressure and form their own internal water fountain but very few will think of it being to do with difference in pressure, just a suck.

Pingback: I'll show you impact | ScienceDemo.org

Hi Alom, Great video and nicely explained demonstration. I really like the addition of the YuoTube video at the bottom with the imploding tank. I think it really shows how the same principle works on a much bigger scale. Kids can crush a can with their hand, but crushing a whole tank of those dimensions is another story 🙂 Very nice, thanks! Alessio.

Theatre, props and explanations, oh my!

-->

Gilla:		Dela:

1 empty soda can
1 pair of grill tongs

Short explanation

Long explanation.

What happens if you have no water in the can, but instead heat the air in it before dipping it in cold water?
What happens if you use a larger metal can?
What happens if you have lukewarm water in the bowl?
What happens if you don't turn the can upside down, but instead dip it bottom first in the water?

Gilla:		Dela:

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Crushed Can Experiment

Love exploding experiments? YES!! Well here’s another one the kids are sure to love except this one is an imploding or collapsing experiment! All you need are a coke can and water. Learn about atmospheric pressure with this incredible can crusher experiment. We love easy science experiments for kids !

How to Crush a Can with Air Pressure

This simple science experiment has been on our to-do list for a while now because we wanted to know if air pressure can really crush a can! This soda can experiment is a great way to get your kiddos excited about science! Who doesn’t love something that implodes?

Check out our chemistry experiments and physics experiments !

Grab an empty soda can (Suggestion – use the soda for our pop rocks and soda experiment ) and find out what happens when you put a hot can in cold water! Make sure to have an adult involved with heating the can!

F ree printable STEM activities pack!

Can Crusher Experiment

Also check out how changes in pressure can suck an egg into a bottle.

Empty aluminum can
Heat source Eg stove burner
Bowl of ice water

INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1. Prepare a bowl with ice and water,

STEP 2: Put about two tablespoons of water in an empty aluminum can.

STEP 3: Set the can on a stove burner or over a flame until the the water in the can turns to steam.

THIS STEP SHOULD ONLY BE DONE BY AN ADULT!

STEP 4: Use an oven mitt or tongs to carefully remove the steaming can from the heat source and immediately turn the can upside down into a bowl of cold water.

Prepare for a loud POP as the can implodes!

Why Does a Hot Can Crush in Cold Water

Here’s how the collapsing can experiment works. As the water in the can gets hot, it changes to steam. The steam or water vapor is a gas and so it spreads out and fills the inside of the can. This a great example of states of matter phase change, and a physical change !

When you flip the can and put it in cold water, the steam condenses quickly or cools and changes to a liquid state. This reduces the number of gaseous molecules in the can, and so the air pressure inside becomes lower.

Air pressure is the the force exerted onto a surface by the weight of the air. The difference between the low air pressure inside and the pressure of the air outside creates an inward force on the walls of the can, causing it to implode!

What does implode mean? Implode refers to exploding violently inwards rather than outwards.

MORE FUN EXPLODING EXPERIMENTS

Why not try one of these science experiments below!

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Imploding can, hours and location.

You might not be able to feel it, but air actually has a lot of weight pushing down on us. See what happens when you create a soda can that can’t fight back against this pressure — and be sure to bring your earplugs!

What you need

Empty soda can
Gas burner or Bunsen burner

Safety first!

When experimenting with fire, always make sure that there is adult supervision and help. You must have extinguishing materials (a fire extinguisher or blanket) nearby, in case there is an accident.

Put a spoonful of tap water into the can. The exact amount is not important.
Fill your bowl with cold water. Add ice as well.
Place the can on the gas burner, or use the tongs to hold it over a Bunsen burner. Turn it on. WARNING: Only adults should be doing this step. Make sure you have an extinguisher nearby and that nobody touches the burner while it’s on.
Wait until you hear the water boiling inside and see steam coming out. Wait about 30 seconds.
Turn the burner off.
Pick up the can using the tongs. Keep in mind that you will momentarily be flipping it upside down, so hold it in a way that makes turning it over easy. Make sure that you have a good grip on it.

Pick up the can, and quickly flip it upside down into the bowl of water. You will hear a loud noise and the can will be crushed into itself!

When you heated up the water inside the can, it evaporated. The water vapour created pushed out the air that used to be in the can, and some of the vapour escaped as well. The remaining gas then became all that was taking up space in the can.

When you plunged the can into the cold water, the water vapour rapidly condensed (changed from a gas to a liquid). The amount of gas left only was enough to become a very small amount of water. Because you have blocked the hole at the top by plunging it into water, no air can enter to fill up that empty space. This leaves the pressure in the can to be lower than the pressure of the air and water around it. The force of this pressure is what pushes the can inward, crumpling it.

When people go deep-sea diving, they have to go in a pressurized chamber that mimics the pressure on land. The weight of all that water makes the deep sea an extremely high pressure environment, and without protection, the gases in their bodies would compress so much that they would be crushed. They wouldn’t completely implode though, as most of the human body is made of water which cannot be compressed.

You will have probably noticed that the can is filled with water soon after you submerged it. Can you figure out why? Think about the fact that the air exerts pressure on the bowl of water.

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Acknowledgements

Collapse a Soda Can

DESCRIPTION: When a small amount of water is heated inside the can, steam is produced, filling the can. When the can is inverted into cold water, all of the steam condenses quickly causing the can to implode.

TOPICS COVERED: – Charles’ Law – physical change – thermal conduction – thermal convection

MATERIALS NEEDED: – soda can full ~1/4 of the way with water – hot plate – oven mitt or potholder – large beaker mostly full of cold water

PROCEDURE: 1. heat the soda can until the water is boiling 2. using the oven mitt put the soda can into the beaker of water upside down

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: The soda can will make a loud pop as it is inverted and the quicker it is inverted into the beaker the better.

SAFETY: Boiling water is involved so safety glasses should be worn and precautions should be taken to protect against burns.

REFERENCES: Shakhashiri, B.Z. Chemical Demonstrations; University of Wisconsin Press: Madison, 1985; Vol. 2, pp 6 – 8.

STORY: For any age, the person doing the demo could challenge the audience to come up with a way to collapse the can using only the materials set out (no smashing the can allowed).

This problem set practices calculating mass from density, manipulating the equation: q = mCΔT, calculating the heat required to vaporize water, and unit conversions.

Charles' Law Physical Change Problem Sets Thermal Conduction Thermal Convection Uses Household Items

3.3c CH.5b ES.12d PS.5a PS.7c

Air Pressure
Newton's 2nd Law - Unbalanced Forces
Condensation's Effect on Pressure
Equilibrium
As the water is heated and boiled, steam displaces the air in the container above the water. When the soda can is plunged into cold water, the vapor condenses quickly, leaving a vacuum in most of the can. The resulting large discrepancy between the outside and inside air pressure leads to a large net inward force on the can, ending with its rapid crushing.
The one gallon can operates similarly, but its capping and the fact that it is not plunged into cold water results in a slower condensation of the moisture inside the can. The one gallon can is much sturdier but atmospheric pressure is such that not even this container can withstand its forces. The can collapses as a vacuum is formed.
The can has air pressure exerted on it both from outside and inside and those forces are responsible for the can's subsequent demise.
Newton's second law deals with the sum of the forces. As long as the forces inside and outside are balanced and equal, the can undergoes no change. When the forces are unbalanced, changes in the shape of the metal container can and will take place.
Pressure in a container is the sum of the partial pressures of the constituent gases. If one gas is removed (water vapor condensing) the total pressure of the gases in the container declines.
As the container collapses, the volume of the container decreases. The pressure of a gas is related to the volume of its container. At some point the diminished volume results in an adequate pressure inside the container to prevent continued collapse.

1b. Students know that when forces are balanced, no acceleration occurs; thus an object continues to move at a constant speed or stays at rest (Newton’s first law). 1c. Students know how to apply the law F=ma to solve one-dimensional motion problems that involve constant forces (Newton’s second law).

H.S. Chemistry

4c. Students know how to apply the gas laws to relations between the pressure, temperature, and volume of any amount of an ideal gas or any mixture of ideal gases.

4i.* Students know how to apply Dalton’s law of partial pressures to describe the composition of gases and Graham’s law to predict diffusion of gases.

Students know that an aluminum can can be crushed by hand but stronger cans such as a one gallon can, cannot.
Students know that as one dives deep into a pool, they feel pressure against their ears.
Steam can return to a liquid when cooled.
Does atmospheric pressure exert enough force to crush cans, even strong ones?
Can students relate air pressure (14.7 lbs/in 2 ) to a force when applied over an area?
Since students don't experience pressure's effects often they overlook it.
The quantitative value of air pressure, 14.7 lbs/in, seems small and unable to have an effect.
Steam is not a gas.
Gases exert little pressure.

Illustrations
Problem Sets
Calculators

There are many variations on the theme, but the basic experiment involves heating a small amount of water inside of a metal container (usualy a soda can). The can is then sealed and cooled rapidly. This results in a drop in pressure inside of the can. The drop in pressure inside of the can allows the higher external pressure from the atmosphere to crush the can.

Why does this setup not demonstrate Charles' or Gay Lussac's Laws?

Charles' Law and Gay-Lussac's Law each explore two and only two parameters. In both cases, all but the two parameters of interest are held constant.

Gay-Lussac's Law explores the relationship between pressure and temperature assuming volume * and number of molecules of gas remain constant.
Charles' Law explores the relationship between temperature and volume assuming pressure and number of molecules of gas remain constant.

In the soda can experiment, the boiling water fills the can with water vapor, driving out other gases. When the can is sealed, most of container is filled with water vapor. As it is then cooled, the water vapor condenses, drastically reducing the amount of gas particles in the can. It is the drop in the amount of gas rather than a change in temperature of a fixed volume of gas that allows the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the can to crush it.

charles' Law
temperature

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Crushing Can Experiment : Effect of Atmospheric Pressure

December 3, 2020
7-9 Year Olds , Physics , Rainy Day Science

You may be used to crushing can using foot or hand. Have you crushed it using an implosion?

Today were are going to explore effect of Atmospheric Pressure with ‘Crushing Can Experiment’.

Crushing Can Science Experiment For Kids

Air Pressure Can Crusher Experiment

The pressure created in the air surrounding us plays an important role while doing this activity.

Objective: To crush the empty soda can and explore simple science concepts like air pressure, equilibrium, water vapor, condensation, and unbalanced forces.

Hypothesis: If water in a can heated to reach its boiling point and then dipped by inverting in a cold bowl of water, this would create vacuum and result in decreased vapor pressure resulting in crushing of the can (implosion).

Safety Measures: Of course, the activity looks simple and easy while offering a lot of fun! But this experiment is in need of a burner or any other heat source and implosion happens suddenly. So, this experiment is not to be done by kids. However, under adult supervision, the activity can be explored.

Materials Mandatory to Gather:

Material Required for Can Crushing Experiment

A Glass Bowl
Empty Cans (we chose 3 empty soda cans)
Burner or Stove or any other heating source

Simple Guide to the procedure of the Crushing Can Experiment

Let us step into the simple instructions guide!

Step-1: Clean all the Necessary Containers

Cleaning is the foremost and important step to do before we start any experiment. Because the remnants attached to the glass bowls and other containers may change the final results of the experiment.

So, in the process of cleaning, pick the empty soda cans and glass bowls. And rinse them thoroughly with clean water. Make sure they are clean and perfect for using in the experiment.

Step-2: Pour Cold Water into the glass bowl

Take the cleaned glass bowl and fill it with fresh ice cubes to its half. Then pour some normal water into the bowl. Such that we are making sure the water in the bowl are cold for longer time.

Or else you can use cold or chilled water directly from the freezer and pour it in the glass bowl.

Step-3: Fill the Empty Cans

Now it is time to fill the cleaned empty soda cans with a little amount of water. 2-3 table spoons of water is more than enough to pour into the cans.

Normal and regular water is preferred to use. But make sure the water you are using is fresh and clean.

Step-4: Heat the Cans

The next step is the precautionary step as we are bringing burner into the picture. Yes, switch on the burner and take the water filled cans on to the burner. You can see the videos or pictures attached to get an idea.

We took three empty cans and filled with 2 table spoons of normal water. Then, we brought all these three water filled cans on to the burner and set the right temperature to make it boil.

Wait for some time until the water inside the cans are boiled enough. It just takes a couple of minutes to do the job.

Note: If your child is performing this experiment on his/her own, then this is the step where adult supervision is compulsory to avoid unnecessary accidents that happen with the heat. So, adults please supervise your children to heat the cans on the burner.

Step-5: Take out the Heated Can

Place the heated can in inverted position in cold water to crush the can

Once you feel the sounds of water bubbles formed due to enough heat supplied to the water inside the cans, wait for one more minute.

And then observe the water vapor fumes coming out of the cans. That is the time, you need to switch off the burner and take out the cans from the burner.

Do not forget to use the tongs in order to handle the heated cans.

Step-6: Place over the heated can upside down into the Glass Bowl

This is another important step to do with extra care!

Yes, to see the positive results, you need to perform this step with utmost care.

Soon after you remove the cans from the burner, using tongs place the cans over the glass bowl filled with cold water.

The trick here is you need to place the cans upside down into the glass bowl. That’s it! You can see and hear a loud noise of popping out sound from the can.

Can you guess why we hear that sound? That’s the sound of the crushing can!

As soon as the heated cans brought in to the glass bowl filled with cold water upside down, the cans get crushed and collapses on their own.

Crushing Can Experiment Calculations

In this modern world, we generally come in touch with 12oz drink cans like soda or beverages can.

Mostly, we find them in aluminum material. The approximate measures of these cans are like: 4.75 inches or 12cm in height and 2.5 inches or 6.5cm in diameter which in total makes the whole area of this cylindrical can to 49.5 square inches or 315 square cm.

The dimensions of the cans are also designed specially in order to withstand the outside pressures. A square inch of a soda can bears 80-90 pounds of force from outside.

One atmosphere pressure force is equals to 720lbs or 3200newtons. So, in order to crush a soda can, you need to give nearly 50 pounds of force.

Do you want to know what the science behind Crushed Can?

An empty aluminum soda can is full of air molecules. When you apply enough force or pressure on the can from outside, there happens an imbalance between the pressures outside and inside the can.

In fact, the pressure outside the can is stronger and more than the pressure inside the can.

At the time, the can from outside experiences enough pressure, it collapses and gets crushed immediately. This is how air pressure plays important role in crushing an aluminum can in our hands.

Let us know what is air pressure? Air pressure is the pressure or force created by the surrounding air on the surfaces within the atmosphere as gravity pulls. Hence, it is otherwise known as atmospheric pressure.

Science behind Crushing Can Experiment

As I already told you, the empty can is not really empty instead filled with air molecules.

When the can filled with little water and arranged for heating on the burner, the water inside the can starts boiling.

Once the water starts boiling, there happens the transformation of liquid state to gaseous state.

This means we can observe water vapors coming out of the can through the fumes. Evaporation is the process of converting liquids into gases, which is the result of heating cans on the burner.

Eventually, the can is filling with vapors replacing the air molecules. Soon after you remove the cans from the burner and bring it over the chilled water in a bowl, the water vapor condenses.

You can see the condensation process clearly when there is formation of a few drops of liquid back on the can inside.

Unfortunately, these little liquid droplets are not strong enough to produce enough pressure inside the can. That is the reason the pressure outside the can is much more and stronger than the pressure inside the can.

Hence, the strong pressure developed outside the can is good enough to crush the can from outside.

Here, we need to talk about “Implosion”. Implosion is nothing but a sudden process of something collapsing themselves towards inside violently.

Implosions happen when there is heavy pressure from outside an object rather inside and finally destroys the object inwards. Explosion is quite opposite to implosion.

Matter and energy plays important role in causing explosions and implosions.

In this experiment, due to imbalance of pressures between outside and inside surroundings of can, implosions happens.

Because to maintain and bring the balance between outside and inside pressures of can.

What happens after Implosion?

After implosion, just observe the inside of the can, you can observe water filled inside the can. This is the water dragged from the glass bowl due to stronger pressure build outside the can.

This high pressure created pulls the water from the glass bowl into the can where there is less pressure.

What is Gas Law and How it works?

Gas laws are the laws which establishes the association among pressure, volume, temperature, and the quantity of gas. In simple words, gas laws were designed around 16th-17 th century to learn the amazing properties of matters of gas regarding amount, volume, pressure, and temperature.

Generally, there are different types of gases available and all these gases behave differently while showing their chemical properties but strictly follow gas laws in the same way.

P= Pressure

n= Amount of Substance

R= Ideal Gas Constant

T= Temperature

The three principal and basic laws of gas includes: 1) Boyle’s Law

2) Charles Law

3) Avogadro’s Law

These three gas laws states different equations and properties but at the end they all come under Ideal Gas Law and General Gas Equation. Well, let us the three main gas laws in detail:

Boyle’s Law

Robert Boyle put Boyle’s Law into words in 1662 stating that the pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to volume of a gas. To keep it simple, if there is less volume of gas then there is more pressure on the gas at constant temperature. This law is otherwise known as Boyle–Mariotte law or Pressure-Volume Law.

V is inversely proportional to 1/P

Charles Law

Jacques Charlesformulated Charles Law that states that when pressure remains constant, the volume of stable amount of gas is directly proportional to temperature. In simple words, the rise in the volume of gas tends to increase the temperature as well. This law is otherwise known as Temperature-Volume Law.

Avogadro’s Law

Amedeo Avogadro established the Avogadro’s Law which states that volume of a gas is directly proportional to amount of gas at constant temperature and pressure. Modern Avogadro’s Law states that equal amount of volume of gas consists of equal amount of molecules at constant temperature and pressure. This law is otherwise known as Volume-Amount Law.

All these experimental gas laws are a part of Ideal Gas or General Gas Equation Law. Let us see what ideal or general gas equation law is.

Ideal Gas Law

Ideal Gas Law is also known as General Gas Equation Law. It states that it is a combination of all three gas laws and finally proves that pressure, volume, temperature, and amount of a gas relate each other. The gases that are fit to establish perfect relation between volume, temperature, pressure, and amount of gases are referred as ideal gases. The equation says:

When the aluminium can is hot, the pressure outside and inside the hot can are same. And when it is flipped upside down over the glass bowl containing cold water, immediately you can see sudden drop in temperature. Hence, the water molecules get cool rapidly causing imbalance in the outside and inside pressures around the can. The pressure outside the can is stronger and more compared to the pressure inside and hence the can pops out and collapses itself towards inside.

Crushing Can Experiment proves the Boyle’s Law, which is one of the major fundamental and experimental gas law of ideal gas equation law. Boyle’s law states that the volume of certain amount of gas is inversely proportional to pressure of a gas.

According to the sources and research studies, 10-20 pounds of force is necessary to crush an aluminium can. If you just want to open the mouth of the aluminium can, you need 1-2 pounds of force. Whereas nearly 50 pounds of force is necessary for crushing a steel beverage can. Remember that these numbers are just an estimated ones.

Take an empty aluminium soda can and pour two table spoons of normal fresh water. Now bring the can on to the burner and heat it until you hear the boiling water sound. When you observe the steam coming out of the can, switch off the burner. And pick the hot can using tongs and carefully flip it upside down over the glass bowl containing chilled water. That’s it, you can see the hot can crushing with a pop sound.

Jacques Charles formulated Charles Law that states that when pressure remains constant, the volume of stable amount of gas is directly proportional to temperature. In simple words, the rise in the volume of gas tends to increase the temperature as well. This law is otherwise known as Temperature-Volume Law. V T

Soda cans are generally encompasses of aluminium to keep its structure solid and strong enough to withhold the outside pressures. A regular soda can bears 80 pounds-90 pounds of pressure per every square inch. According to the research studies, 1pound-2pound force is necessary to open the mouth of the soda can whereas to crush it completely, nearly 50 pounds of force is necessary.

We have so many real life examples to discover Charles law around us but we just ignore to observe. Here is a classic example: the tyres of vehicles get deflated during chilled winter season whereas the same gets inflated during summer months: this phenomenon is due to Charles Law. During winter days, because of chilled temperature, the gas inside tyres get more cool and starts shrinking as well. While during summer months, due to hot temperature the sir inside tyres gets hot and starts expanding. This is the reason why tyres of some vehicles expand during summer and deflate during winter months.

Charles law does show its impact on human body but it is not much. You all might have observed shortened breath during winters and normal breathing during summer months. This is because of Charles law. Yes, during winter months, the chilled temperature outside causes the change in inside temperature of lungs. The inhaled cold air when passes through sinuses, gets warmed and expands in its volume. When the volume increases, you need to take shorter breaths in order to balance the increased volume. In this way, Charles law affects human body.

A: In real life, we can observe a lot of things happening around us which are actually related to ideal gas laws. Let us see a few of commonly happening things: 1) An inflated football shrinks when left aside during winter months—Proves Charles Law 2) Leave the slightly inflated rubber life raft under sun light for some hours and observe the swelling of the raft– Proves Charles Law 3) Increase in number of bubbles blowing out by a scuba diver especially when approaching the surface or river banks—Proves Boyle’s Law 4) Death of deep sea fish when brought to the surface or land– Proves Boyle’s Law 5) Expansion of lungs when filled with air and shrinks when air released—Proves Avogadro’s Law 6) Humid air is more thick than damp air—Proves Avogadro’s Law

Gases have low densities than solids and liquids because in solids and liquids the molecules are tightly and narrowly filled. Whereas gaseous molecules do not pack up closely and occupy more volumes because these molecules fall apart. This is the reason why gases have low densities.

Before heating, the air pressure outside and inside the open soda can measures equal. Because the open can is not really empty instead occupied with air molecules.

When you pour two table spoons of water inside can and kept on the burner, the water reaches its boiling point and leaves steam. This steam occupies the rest portion of the can inside and substitutes all the air molecules.

The process of conversion of a gas into a liquid is known as condensation. The reverse process of conversion of a liquid turning in to gas is known as evaporation. Evaporation and condensation are the nature’s fundamental phenomenon and goes hand in hand.

Crushing Can Experiment Worksheets

Simple worksheet for Class room : https://www.wlwv.k12.or.us/cms/lib/OR01001812/Centricity/Domain/2114/Can%20Crush%20Key.pdf

https://www.csub.edu/chemistry/_files/The%20Can%20CrusherAO.pdf

Explanation with method to do the experiment in large setup : https://www.flinnsci.com/api/library/Download/12267d76eaf04431b63a82777bb16195

Interesting Air Pressure Experiments

Balloon in a Bottle

Tornado In a Bottle

Drip Drop Water Bottle

Candle Rising Water Experiment

DIY Balloon Rocket

One comment

How is the can crushed if it is not sealed? Surely it would simply suck up the cold water you mention that is used for condensing the steam.

Soda Can Crusher

Use the amazing power of air pressure to crush a soda can.

Print this Experiment

You could use your foot, your hands, or even your head (not advised) to crush a soda can. But nothing compares to the fun you’ll have doing the soda can implosion experiment. Just wait until the can goes “POP!” Then you’ll see who has nerves of steel.

Experiment Videos

Here's What You'll Need

Empty soda cans (search the recycling bin or start drinking), electric stove or hot plate, cooking tongs, let's try it.

Start by rinsing out the soda cans to remove any leftover soda goo.

Fill the bowl with cold water (the colder the better).

Add 1 generous tablespoon of water to the empty soda can (just enough to cover the bottom of the can).

Place the can directly on the burner of the stove while it is in the “OFF” position. It’s time for that adult to turn on the burner to heat the water. Soon you’ll hear the bubbling sound of the water boiling and you’ll see the water vapor rising out from the can. Continue heating the can for one more minute.

It’s important to think through this next part before you do it. Here’s what’s going to happen: you’re going to use the tongs to lift the can off the burner, turn it upside down, and plunge the mouth of the can down into the bowl of water. Get a good grip on the can near its bottom with the tongs, and hold the tongs so that your hand is in the palm up position. Using one swift motion, lift the can off the burner, turn it upside down, and plunge it into the cold water. Don’t hesitate . . . just do it!

Wow, and you thought that you had nerves of steel. The can literally imploded. Before you jump ahead to the explanation, stop to ponder how this works. What force is great enough to crush the can?

Don’t just sit there . . . get back to that stove and do it again! Each time you repeat the experiment, carefully observe what is happening in order to try to figure out what’s going on.

How Does It Work

Here’s the real scoop on the science of the imploding can. Before heating, the can is filled with water and air. By boiling the water, the water changes states from a liquid to a gas. This gas is called water vapor. The water vapor pushes the air that was originally inside the can out into the atmosphere. When the can is turned upside down and placed in the water, the mouth of the can forms an airtight seal against the surface of the water in the bowl. In just a split second, all of the water vapor that pushed the air out of the can and filled up the inside of the can turns into only a drop or two of liquid, which takes up much less space. This small amount of condensed water cannot exert much pressure on the inside walls of the can, and none of the outside air can get back into the can. The result is the pressure of the air pushing from the outside of the can is great enough to crush it. The sudden collapsing of an object toward its center is called an implosion . Nature wants things to be in a state of equilibrium or balance. To make the internal pressure of the can balance with the external pressure on the can, the can implodes. That’s right, air pressure is powerful!

One more thing . . . you probably noticed that the can was filled with water after it imploded. This is a great illustration of how air is pushing all around us. Specifically, the outside air pressure was pushing downward on the surface of the water. Since the air pressure inside the can was less than the pressure outside the can, water from the bowl was literally pushed up and into the can.

This action is similar to what happens when you drink from a straw. Though we say we are “sucking” liquid up through the straw, we really aren’t. To put it simply, science doesn’t suck . . . it just pushes and pulls. Outside air pressure is pushing down on the surface of the liquid. When you reduce the pressure in your mouth (that sucking action) the outside pressure is greater than the pressure inside your mouth and the soda shoots up through the straw and into your mouth. The same thing is true with the can. The outside air pressure pushing downward on the surface of the water is greater than the force inside the can and the water gets pushed up into the can.

Safety Information

WARNING! IMPORTANT SAFETY RULES This experiment requires the use of a burner on a stove to heat some water. Children should not perform this experiment without adult supervision. Adults shouldn’t do it either unless a really smart kid is watching over their shoulder.

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IMAGES

Collapsing Can Explanation
Imploding/Crushed soda cans
The Collapsing Can: A Fun Science Fair Project
Soda can collapse
Crushing Cans Science Experiment
Exploding Soda {Fun with Science

VIDEO

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Soda Can Explosion Ender
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The Whisper Network in Retrospect
Cosmosphere Phenomena: The Mysterious Rolling Can
A Can of Soda in Space

COMMENTS

Watch The Can Collapse Before Your Eyes
Heat. The Demonstrations: An Aluminum can is crushed using only air pressure! Quick Physics: When the can is heated, the water inside boils and escapes. When the can is put in the cold water, a partial vacuum is created, crushing the can. The Details: The collapsing can demonstrates that things contract, or get smaller, when they get cold.
Collapsing Can Experiment
For this experiment you will need: an empty aluminum soft-drink can. a 2- or 3-liter (2- or 3-quart) saucepan. a pair of kitchen tongs. Fill the saucepan with cold water. Put 15 milliliters (1 tablespoon) of water into the empty soft-drink can. Heat the can on the kitchen stove to boil the water. When the water boils, a cloud of condensed vapor ...
G430: Pressure and Temperature
250 ml water to a 5 gallon can; 20 min to boil, 1 or 2 min to collapse. Collapsing will take longer if the can is left to heat longer and it itself gets hot. Requires a large hotplate. Safety If using a large can do not continue heating the can after inserting the rubber stopper as pressure will increase.
Collapsing can
Collapsing can. Collapsing can or can crusher experiment is a demonstration of an aluminum can being crushed by atmospheric pressure. Due to the low pressure inside a can as compared to the pressure outside, the pressure outside exerts a force on the can causing the can to collapse. [1]
Collapsing Soda Can (Rapid Condensation in a Closed System)
Mr D demonstrates the collapsing can: 2-3 Tablespoons of water are boiled in a can and then the can is quickly inverted into cold water. The steam rapidly c...
Crushing Cans Science Experiment
Tongs. Two bowls. Ice. Grab two soda cans. Put a small amount of water in each can. You just need enough to cover the bottom of the can (about a half inch of water). If you use a lot of water, it will take longer to boil, and the experiment won't be as impressive. Set the cans in your frying pan, and heat over high heat until the water boils.
Collapsing Metal Can
Place the metal can on the fire stove and start heating. Step 3. Wait a couple of minutes until the water starts boiling and water vapour is seen coming out of the can. Step 4. Use safety gloves to seal the can using the rubber stopper and place the metal can in a tray of cold water. Step 5. Pour more cold water on the metal can, to cool all ...
Collapsing a Can
Set the can on the burner of a stove and bring the water to a full boil. Let it boil for about a minute, but be careful not to let all the water boil away. With a large pair of tongs or hot pads, remove the can from the stove. Don't touch the can; it's very hot! Place the can upside down in the sink or pan of cold water.
Collapsing Can
Collapsing Can. The collapsing can demo is one I loved seeing for the first time when I was at school, although my teacher used a tin with a screwed down lid which took a little more time to cool down. In some ways I prefer the version using a can with a screw lid because the additional waiting time makes for an even more dramatic "collapse".
Imploding soda can
Step 2. Place the can directly on a burner and turn up the heat. This works on an electric cooktop and a gas cooktop, but if you have an induction cooktop, you will need to place the can in a saucepan. Wait until the water in the can boils vigorously.
PDF 10.1 Collapsing can
10.1 Collapsing Can Subjects: Gaseous properties, ideal gas law Description: A small amount of water is heated to boiling in a metal can (aluminum soda can or large 20 L solvent drum) filling it with water vapor. The can is removed from heat and sealed. The
Crushed Can Experiment
INSTRUCTIONS: STEP 1. Prepare a bowl with ice and water, STEP 2: Put about two tablespoons of water in an empty aluminum can. STEP 3: Set the can on a stove burner or over a flame until the the water in the can turns to steam. THIS STEP SHOULD ONLY BE DONE BY AN ADULT!
Imploding Can
Make it. Put a spoonful of tap water into the can. The exact amount is not important. Fill your bowl with cold water. Add ice as well. Place the can on the gas burner, or use the tongs to hold it over a Bunsen burner. Turn it on. WARNING: Only adults should be doing this step. Make sure you have an extinguisher nearby and that nobody touches ...
2B30.15
Put 20 ml of water into a pop can and put onto the hot plate. Let the water come to a boil and continue for 2 minutes. Quickly take the can off the hot plate with the tongs and invert into the cold water. The can should collapse dramatically. 1 gallon and 5 gallon cans can also be collapsed in this manner. References: Hewitt, "Figuring Physics ...
Collapse a Soda Can
Collapse a Soda Can. When a small amount of water is heated inside the can, steam is produced, filling the can. When the can is inverted into cold water, all of the steam condenses quickly causing the can to implode. The soda can will make a loud pop as it is inverted and the quicker it is inverted into the beaker the better.
Can Crushing
Condensation's Effect on Pressure. Equilibrium. As the water is heated and boiled, steam displaces the air in the container above the water. When the soda can is plunged into cold water, the vapor condenses quickly, leaving a vacuum in most of the can. The resulting large discrepancy between the outside and inside air pressure leads to a large ...
Not Gay-Lussac's Law
Crushing a can by heating it, sealing it and cooling it rapidly is an excellent demonstration of the existance of atmospheric pressure. Many youtube videos describe the crushed can as an illustration of either Charles' Law or Gay-Lussac's Law. I don't agree. There are many variations on the theme, but the basic experiment involves heating a small amount of water inside of a
Crushing Can Experiment : Effect of Atmospheric Pressure
Air Pressure Can Crusher Experiment. The pressure created in the air surrounding us plays an important role while doing this activity. Objective: To crush the empty soda can and explore simple science concepts like air pressure, equilibrium, water vapor, condensation, and unbalanced forces. Hypothesis: If water in a can heated to reach its boiling point and then dipped by inverting in a cold ...
Use Science To Collapse A Can
Can you use science to collapse a soda can? Let Mr. Wizard show you how. Subscribe now for more science, nature and technology clips from the 1980's Nickelod...
Crushing Soda Cans with Air Pressure
Procedure. Preparation: First, open the tap of the soda can and empty it with the body intact. You could either drink it or dispose of the liquid by pouring it into the sink. Fill approximately one third of the can with water. Prepare a good amount of cold water in the bowl. Room-temperature water is also okay.
Soda Can Crusher
Start by rinsing out the soda cans to remove any leftover soda goo. Fill the bowl with cold water (the colder the better). Add 1 generous tablespoon of water to the empty soda can (just enough to cover the bottom of the can). Place the can directly on the burner of the stove while it is in the "OFF" position. It's time for that adult to ...
Why Soda Fizzes
Opening the bottle releases the built-up pressure by the gas inside, causing the gas-liquid mixture to rush out the bottle. In this activity, you will demonstrate with the help of air- and water-filled balloons how a gas changes volume depending on its pressure. This activity is not recommended for use as a science fair project.