Hooked on Science: How Santa gets down the chimney

It's that time of year when Santa brings gifts to children all over the world. Using this experiment, see how Santa uses science to get down the chimney. Adult supervision is recommended.

Materials

* Hard-boiled egg (for Santa)

* Jar with a 1/2-inch round neck (for the chimney)

* Matches (fire)

Instructions

STEP 1: Ignite two matches and immediately place the matches into the jar or chimney.

STEP 2: QUICKLY put the egg or Santa on the opening of the jar and watch how Santa goes down the chimney.

Explanation

When the flames inside the bottle extinguish due the lack of oxygen, the gas inside the jar cools. This cooling causes the pressure inside the jar to become lower than the pressure outside the jar. The higher pressure outside the jar pushes the egg or Santa into the jar or down the chimney. Since Santa has fireproof clothes and boots he can then safely place your gifts under the tree.

Jason Lindsey is a Science Outreach Educator with Hooked on Science. Check out his website "Hooked On Science" at hookedonscience.org for webcasts and experiments that might get you hooked on science. Send him your science questions at jlindsey@hookedonscience.org. More science experiments can be found at www.semissourian.com.