Play With Invisible Licorice
Did the candy melt or disappear? Amaze your munchkins with this experiment, courtesy of RedTri.com.
Materials
Licorice
Tall, skinny drinking glass
Cooking oil (vegetable, olive, etc)
Directions
Pour some oil into the glass
Put the candy stick into the glass. At the surface of the oil, does the candy look as if it has been cut in half?
Lean the candy stick against the side of the glass. (If the licorice doesn’t lay flat against the side, make a bend near the bottom of the stick to help hold it in place.)
Look at the side of the glass, and slowly turn it. Does the licorice get wider and narrower?
Why Does It Work?
You’ve probably noticed how light bends in a glass of water. This is what makes things inside a glass of water look so distorted and strange. Oil bends light even more than water does. In fact, it can bend the light so much that, if you hold the glass the right way, a piece of candy nestled against the side of the glass is completely hidden from your eyes.
adapted from RedTri.co.nz