Video: The cold-weather lab

Posted at 11:04 AM on January 21, 2011 by Bob Collins (12 Comments)
Filed under: Weather

There were a fair number of videos posted to YouTube from Minnesota today, each showing the time-tested past-time at this time of the year: Throwing hot water into the air to see it turn to steam (and then ice crystals). It never really gets old. Here's one from Tim Freeland at KYMN...

At News Cut, we're nothing if not curious. What other substances would work?

Here's the don't-try-this-at-home disclaimer: Don't try this at home. It's not shown on the video but when I tried to microwave the Scotch, I forgot about the properties of alcohol and after about a minute, the cup full of Scotch "flashed." No damage was done, but everything in the microwave will, presumably, smell of Scotch for a few days.

I'd hoped the orange juice would be more colorful, but that was not to be. I thought about pureeing cottage cheese and other substances, but I had to get to work.

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Comments (12)

That is a shameful waste of scotch, Bob.

Posted by atom | January 21, 2011 11:12 AM

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That was fun.

Posted by bj | January 21, 2011 11:19 AM

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Hot Tottie FAIL!

Posted by andy | January 21, 2011 11:19 AM

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It shouldn't be turning into steam instantly but rather ice crystals. The first video has it right when the guy calls it "instant cloud".

Very cool though, are you going to blow bubbles too? That was always my favorite as a kid, but I'm pretty sure we only did it at home because they weren't allowed to take us outside when it was that cold at school.

Posted by Caitlin Vanasse | January 21, 2011 11:39 AM

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I suppose the juices and scotch work since they are partly or mostly water. I would expect little or no water in the sesame oil.

Posted by John P. | January 21, 2011 12:44 PM

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An OJ and scotch snow cone....mmmmm....

Posted by vjacobsen | January 21, 2011 12:51 PM

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That was indeed fun, Bob. I found myself thinking, "No, not the sesame oil!" and "No, not the maple syrup!" I've always heard about this phenomenon but have never seen it.

NewsCut has become one really good blog, Bob. Not just because of the fun stuff (I laughed out loud at "Mrs. News Cut"!). More importantly, you often have a different perspective from the rest of The Media, and I don't always agree with you, but you always make me think about things in a new way.

Posted by Jqmie | January 21, 2011 1:20 PM

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an OJ and scotch snowcone with a tomato garnish. Sounds awful! but it was a fun video--thanks, Bob.

Posted by momkat | January 21, 2011 2:56 PM

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Bob you're the coolest ever

Posted by Matt | January 21, 2011 4:33 PM

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Mrs. News Cut came home from work this afternoon and detected a very strong scent of alcohol in the living area. She then let the dog out through the garage door to fenced in yard, and met her (as usual) at the back door. Mr. News Cut's "lab area". There were spots of red, yellow, orange, etc. sprinkled all over the snow on our deck. At first I was certain the dog had "played" with another rabbit, then decided Mr. News Cut had used some unusual cleaning methods and tossed out the remaining liquids. The microwave is SPOTLESS! I then migrated to my "office" and heard the 4:20 News break on the Current and all became all too clear. Can we say cabin fever?

Posted by Mrs. Newscut | January 21, 2011 4:43 PM

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Mrs. Newcut,

Let me say, for all the readers and viewers, you must be a saint.

Posted by GregS | January 22, 2011 6:48 AM

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"you must be a saint."
Thanks for your vote of confidence Greg, but far from saint. All I can say is "sometimes payback is a bitch". grin

Posted by Mrs. News Cut | January 23, 2011 6:21 PM

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