Hooked on Science: Hard-boiled scrambled eggs

Have you ever cracked open a hard-boiled egg and gotten scrambled eggs? By doing a little science with the egg before you boil it, it could happen.

Materials

* Raw egg

* Several rubber bands

* Non-stretch pant leg

Instructions

STEP 1: Place the raw egg inside the non-stretch pant leg. Move the raw egg to the center of the non-stretch pant leg. Hold the raw egg in place by placing a rubber band on each side of the raw egg.

STEP 2: Holding the ends of the non-stretch pant leg, spin the egg toward you, and then quickly pull the ends of the non-stretch pant leg away from the egg. Do this several times.

STEP 3: Bring water to a boil. Place the raw egg into the boiling water. After 15 minutes, crack the egg and observe.

Explanation

The First Law of Motion says an object at rest or in motion will either stay at rest or will move with a constant speed, in the same direction, until acted upon by an outside force. When you spin the egg, it will continue to move at a constant speed in the same direction until you pull the ends of the non-stretch pant leg away from the egg. This force causes the yolk to break and mix with the rest of the egg.

Jason Lindsey is a science outreach educator with Hooked on Science. Check out his website www.hookedonscience.org for webcasts and experiments.