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Wow! Did you know water can walk?! In this week’s Saturday Science from Coffee Cups and Crayons, learn how to fill an empty jar with colorful water … without pouring!
Materials
- 3 empty glasses
- Water
- Food coloring
- Paper towels
Process
- Choose two of your favorite colors you want to mix.
- Fill two of the jars with water and add a food color to each.
- Place the empty jar between the colored water jars so that they are all in a line.
- Cut a paper towel in half and fold both pieces into quarters lengthwise.
- Take one folded paper towel and stick an end into one of the colored water jars and one end into the empty jar. Repeat with the second paper towel and the second colored-water jar.
- Now watch the water walk!
Summary
Did the colored water make its way up both paper towels and into the empty jar?
“Walking water” is an effect known as “wicking.” Water is adhesive so it looks for things to stick to. Paper towels are made up of multiple criss-crossing fibers. When the water sticks to one fiber, it immediately finds the next fiber above it, and so on until the paper is completely soaked.
Water is also cohesive, which means it sticks to itself. As the colored water walks up and down the paper towel, it pulls more water with it. When the water from your two color-water jars reached the end of each paper towel, it drained into the empty jar and the two colors mixed creating a new color!
Want more Saturday Science? See all of our at-home activities on the blog or Pinterest.
