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It's not the one I was looking for but illustrates the situation:
http://www.stevespanglerscienc...

It may not be an actual course structure, but if you want to do some fun experiments look at Steve Spangler Science. It has lots of interesting projects and experiments along with the instructions and descriptions of what you are learning about and what is happening. I bought some plastic tubes (2L bottle preforms) for geocaching containers and even they came with a dozen experiments you can use them for. I have also seen some really fun looking books at the library for experiments to do with kids.

Since a Pepsi can is made of aluminium, it would simply dissolve in HCl (and blow up if it was closed due to the build-up of hydrogen). And the rest of your statement is just as nonsensical - what, transferring files through FTP is somehow more dangerous than through HTTP?

Aluminum cans have a lining that prevents the acid from eating away at the inside of the can.

Try "Steve Spangler Science" http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/ (Shameless plug - my daughter works there) Honestly - we've had a lot of fun with their products.

Check out: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/

I think you are right. One of the few classes I vividly remember from college was chemistry. The guy did some extreme science. He let us stick our hands (very quickly) into liquid nitrogen and even poured it over his head. He'd also stick a piece of dry ice in his mouth and blow the smoke out. He loved explosions and at least 2 times a week he'd blow something up.

I didn't care if I had the flu I dragged myself to his class because I never wanted to miss an explosion.

Check out http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiments/ he's done some experiments on Ellen and has a collection of fun science. Though the site is geared to sell you stuff some of the experiments are a blast. I love the cornstarch & water one.

Just like helium is less dense than air and makes your voice appear much higher than normal, SF6 is much more dense than air and lowers your voice accordingly.

Most explanations I've read also point to the gelatin and gun arabic in the mentos, saying it reduces the surface tension of the soda, which also makes the bubbles for much more easily. It seems the added nucleation sites and the reduced surface tension both contribute to the explosion. The same thing applies to root beer floats. There's a decent write-up here.

I've seen lots of cola and mentos experiments, but that was definitely the best one. Anyone who want to know how this works: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/000 00109

Here's the correct one: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/000 00109

This is best done outdoors. Procure a two-liter bottle of soda and roll of the Freshmakers.

Step-by-step directions (plus videos of the results) here:

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/000 00109/

Bear in mind, in the page you linked, they mentioned "three seconds"... Well, yeah... Ever paid close attention to a microwave? You push start, and after about three seconds or so, you hear this crackling hiss kind of like static inside the thing. This is because the microwave emission unit is not started the instant you press the button, it gets revved up a moment later, thus making that static-like hiss. The frying of any electronic item of sufficient size to get fried occurs almost immeidtaely thereafter.

Regardless, with a $20 bill, it is entirely possible that the quantity and concentration of iron-impregnated ink across the face of the portrait creates sufficient size and conductivity to catch microwaves and convert them into electricity. This arcs (Just like on a CD) and thus burns. And Poof! Burnt bill, with or without RFID.

Now, please bear in mind that I am not looking at a bill when I write this, so there may be other factors involved. But somebody might want to look into this with this new information under consideration.

The Wham-O Air Blaster. I had such fun with that as a kid in the early 70's.. of course, the cats hated it.. Since my currents cats have not had the pleasure of experiencing the Air Blaster, I may just have to build my own.

I also enjoyed my Whee-lo - especially trying to see how fast I could get it to go...

I have been on the lookout for several years for a robust version of the classic Drinking Bird I remember seeing as a kid in the '60s -- http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/1169 -- but every version I've found lately is made of incredibly fragile, thin glass too easily breakable; the pivoting mechanism hangs and (metaphorically) sputters as the thing tries to work.

What this country needs is a good $10 Drinking Bird!
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