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How to Crush a Can with Air Pressure
Last Updated: May 1, 2024 Fact Checked
This article was co-authored by Meredith Juncker, PhD . Meredith Juncker is a PhD candidate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. Her studies are focused on proteins and neurodegenerative diseases. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 216,587 times.
You can crush a soda can using nothing more than a heat source and a bowl of water. This is a great visual demonstration of some simple scientific principles, including air pressure and the concept of a vacuum. The experiment can be performed by teachers as a demonstration, or by mature students under supervision.
Crushing a Soda Can
- Continue only with adult supervision.
- If you smell something strange or metallic, move on to the next section right away. The water might have boiled away, or the heat might have been too high, causing the ink or aluminum on the can to melt. [3] X Research source
- If your stove burner cannot support the soda can, use a hot plate, or use tongs with heat-resistant handles to hold the soda can over the stove.
- Be prepared for a loud noise as the can is rapidly crushed! Because of the sound, avoid performing the experiment around children younger than kindergarten-age.
How it Works
- Despite the can losing some of the air inside it, it doesn't get crushed yet, because the water vapor that took the place of the air is pushing from the inside instead.
- In general, the more you heat a liquid or a gas, the more it expands. If it is an enclosed container so it can't keep expanding, it exerts more pressure. This is known as Gay-Lussac’s Law.
- Space that has nothing in it is called a vacuum .
Helping Students Learn from the Experiment
- If a student thinks the water (not the water vapor) inside the can was responsible for it getting crushed, have the students fill an entire can with water, and see if it is crushed.
- Try the same experiment with a sturdier container. The heavier material should take longer to be crushed, which will give the ice water more time to fill it.
- Try letting the can cool for a short time before putting it in the ice bath. This will result in more air being present in the can, and thus less severe crushing.
Expert Q&A
- Lower the can into the water with the tongs, rather than dropping it. Thanks Helpful 8 Not Helpful 8
- Older children (ages 12+) may be able to do the activity themselves, but only under adult supervision! Never allow more than one person to do the demonstration at a time, unless there is more than one supervisor present. Thanks Helpful 7 Not Helpful 8
- The can and the water inside will be hot. Have participants stand back as the can is flipped into the water, to avoid getting injured from hot water spray. Thanks Helpful 5 Not Helpful 5
Things You'll Need
- Empty aluminum soda cans
- Tongs large enough to comfortably handle the hot cans
- Stove, hot plate, or Bunsen burner
- Bowl of cold water
You Might Also Like
- ↑ https://www.physics.colostate.edu/physics-demos/can-crush-by-air-pressure/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHzb8QMeZmI
- ↑ https://circus.physics.ucsb.edu/2021/12/07/crushing-soda-cans-with-air-pressure/
- ↑ http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/incredible-can-crusher
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Crushed Can Experiment
Love exploding experiments? YES!! Well here’s another one the kids are sure to love except this one is an imploding or collapsing experiment! All you need are a coke can and water. Learn about atmospheric pressure with this incredible can crusher experiment. We love easy science experiments for kids !
How to Crush a Can with Air Pressure
This simple science experiment has been on our to-do list for a while now because we wanted to know if air pressure can really crush a can! This soda can experiment is a great way to get your kiddos excited about science! Who doesn’t love something that implodes?
Check out our chemistry experiments and physics experiments !
Grab an empty soda can (Suggestion – use the soda for our pop rocks and soda experiment ) and find out what happens when you put a hot can in cold water! Make sure to have an adult involved with heating the can!
F ree printable STEM activities pack!
Can Crusher Experiment
Also check out how changes in pressure can suck an egg into a bottle.
- Empty aluminum can
- Heat source Eg stove burner
- Bowl of ice water
INSTRUCTIONS:
STEP 1. Prepare a bowl with ice and water,
STEP 2: Put about two tablespoons of water in an empty aluminum can.
STEP 3: Set the can on a stove burner or over a flame until the the water in the can turns to steam.
THIS STEP SHOULD ONLY BE DONE BY AN ADULT!
STEP 4: Use an oven mitt or tongs to carefully remove the steaming can from the heat source and immediately turn the can upside down into a bowl of cold water.
Prepare for a loud POP as the can implodes!
Why Does a Hot Can Crush in Cold Water
Here’s how the collapsing can experiment works. As the water in the can gets hot, it changes to steam. The steam or water vapor is a gas and so it spreads out and fills the inside of the can. This a great example of states of matter phase change, and a physical change !
When you flip the can and put it in cold water, the steam condenses quickly or cools and changes to a liquid state. This reduces the number of gaseous molecules in the can, and so the air pressure inside becomes lower.
Air pressure is the the force exerted onto a surface by the weight of the air. The difference between the low air pressure inside and the pressure of the air outside creates an inward force on the walls of the can, causing it to implode!
What does implode mean? Implode refers to exploding violently inwards rather than outwards.
Related Science Experiments to Explore
- Balloon Rocket: Release a balloon and watch it “rocket” along a string to demonstrate how air pressure changes create movement.
- Balloon In A Jar Experiment: Explore how changes in air pressure can cause a balloon to get pulled into a jar!
- Rising Water Experiment: Place a burning candle in the water and watch what happens to the water. A fun way to explore how heat affects air pressure.
- Tea Bag Rocket (Thermal Expansion) : This experiment uses a hollow tea bag to demonstrate thermal expansion. When lit on fire, it rises due to the expansion of air inside.
- Egg in a Bottle Experiment : In this experiment, a hard-boiled egg is sucked into a bottle using the power of air pressure.
- Hot and Cold Air Balloon Experiment: Use a balloon and a plastic bottle to explore how warm air expands (increasing pressure), while cool air contracts (decreasing pressure).
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