Hooked on Science: Flying Styrofoam packing peanuts 12/27/12

Do you have packing peanuts left over from all the packages you received from the holidays? If so, grab them and a vacuum cleaner hose for an experiment that will teach you about air pressure.

Materials

* Vacuum Cleaner Hose

* Styrofoam

Instructions

STEP 1: Place several Styrofoam packing peanuts on a table.

STEP 2: Spin the vacuum cleaner hose above your head while placing the other end of the hose close to the Styrofoam packing peanuts

Explanation

A low pressure forms inside the vacuum hose as you spin it above your head. The higher pressure outside of the vacuum hose pushes the Styrofoam packing peanuts into the hose and out of the other end.

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