Glowing Pickles Experiments Educational Resources

Glowing Pickles Experiments Educational Resources

Glowing Pickles

A dramatic demonstration of the principle behind sodium arc lights, by passing an electrical current through a pickle of other salty foods.

Top: Science: Educational Resources: Experiments: Glowing Pickles

- Attributes the origins of the glowing pickle demo to the children of Catherine Ireland, a chemistry teacher from Manhasset High School of New York, in July of 1987.
- Tongue-in-cheek technical report on the phenomenon of electroluminescence in pickles, with apparatus diagrams and plots of current and temperature versus time. The practical applications of glowing pickles are also explored.
- Abstract of article extending prior work on glowing vegetables to non-sodium ions. Intended as an aid to science classroom demonstrations.
- A personal anecdote from Mr. Wizard's housekeeper, with reviews and descriptions of many sites describing the glowing pickle trick.
- Discussion of various wavelengths of light, comparison of the colors of potassium, sodium, and lithium flames, and QuickTime movie of a demonstration of these concepts, by a high school chemistry teacher. Also has instructions on how to make a glowing pi
- The tale of a teacher in search of compelling classroom demonstrations. Also discusses, but does not explain, a demonstration where he set his tie on fire to satisfy a student's repeated requests.
- Abstract of article on electrical conductivity in foods. Intended as an aid to science classroom demonstrations.
- Philosophical discussion of the meaning of the experiment, and multimedia files (.AVI, .MOV, .WAV) of the results.
- Short description of the science demonstration, with annotated bibliography of print references. From the Simon Fraser University Physics Department lecture demonstration index, classification PIRA 5D30.30.
- Attributes the origin of the glowing pickle trick to Steve Jacobs, a science educator who arranged for Mr. Wizard to perform the trick on The Tonight Show in 1990. Includes a plot of the sodium emission lines in the spectrum of the emitted light.
- Details how to build a glowing/flaming Pickle. Includes photos of the apparatus using heavy-gauge wire and glass jars as insulators, and a plugged-in pickle glowing only at one end.
- The Glowing Pickle: Born of Boredom. Essay on discoveries made by bored scientists, from Post-It Notes to pickle-based sodium arc lights.

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