Whoosh Bottle Experiment And Video

Whoosh Bottle Experiment And Video

The bottle begins full of air and oxygen. After we put the Methanol in the bottle it becomes volatile and evaporates rapidly. The liquid Methanol becomesMethanol vapor as we swirl it around the bottle. As it evaporates, a mix of air / oxygen and methanol is left inside the bottle. By adding a flame in the form of a

match, we are adding heat energy. This causes a combustible chemical reaction to occur between the oxygen and another Methanol vapor). The result is an exothermic reaction (a reaction in which heat is released). When you hear the sound of the "Whoosh" most of the oxygen has been used up and a jet of flame shoots up from the bottle neck . After which you may see a flame dance around inside the bottle and pulse for a few seconds. This happens due to left over methanol remaining in the bottle. However most the oxygen has been used up, so fresh oxygen is sucked down into the bottle from outside which re-ignites the methanol vapor again. This repeats until the vapor is gone. After the experiment you will notice the bottle has liquid in the bottom. This is carbon dioxide and water which is produced as a by-product of the reaction.