Lively Scorpion All sorts of strange experiments can be made with camphor, and here is one that will cause lots of fun and amusement. Obtain a few pieces of hard camphor and exercise some kill in cutting them into small ovals and spheres. When you have a fair supply of these, bore a hole through each with the aid of …

Inverted Flame Obtain a large cardboard box, as well made as possible. Cut out a portion about 5 inches square at one end and paste over the opening a piece of tracing paper. At the opposite end of the box make a large pin hole, but see that the hole has a clear cut circumference without any frayed pieces of …

They Change Places This experiment is rather difficult to perform because its success depends on exact conditions; it is, nevertheless, well worth all the trouble you may expend on getting it accurate. Look first at the accompanying drawing. You will see two wine glasses, one inverted over the other. Naturally, this will call for two glasses of exactly similar dimensions. …

Porous Materials Practically everything is porous, but some articles are more so than others. In the case of things which are only slightly porous, it requires tremendous pressure to reveal their porosity and, for ordinary purposes, we might say they are non-porous. A piece of sheet tin, for instance, might come under the heading of non-porous bodies, but a postcard …

Misleading Reflections You can perform quite a number of curious experiments by the agency of reflections. In fact, many of the optical illusions seen on the stage are the result of misleading reflections. Here is one item that will be certain to mystify a good many of your friends. Construct a cardboard box that is a perfect cube. A 6 …

Writing in Fire The following piece of chemical magic is rather interesting. Take a thin sheet of paper, about the size of this page, and draw or write on it a simple design, taking care to note that the lines of the drawing are continuous; that is to say, they must follow on. For ink, use a strong solution of …

Cooling a Candle Flame Take a long length of copper wire, the thicker the better, and wind it loosely around a round ruler. When you have made a spiral coil about an inch and a half long, slip it off the ruler and leave a length of the wire to serve as a handle. Now, light a candle, and hold …

Electrified Mirror A silver-backed hand mirror on a lady’s dressing table looks very unlike an electrical instrument, yet a number of electrical experiments can be made with its help. A friend of the writer once described how he had used one in intercepting a wireless message. Perhaps he will be inducted to tell the story some day, but it is …

Floating Match Take a small enamelled bowl and fill it with water. When all the ripples have died away and there is no movement, gently place a matchstick on the surface, in the centre. An inch from the middle of the match, suspend a lump of sugar so that it is partly submerged. This can be done by running a …

How Air Comes In and Goes Out of a Room This is an experiment which can best be performed on a winter’s evening when your dining-room is nice and warm because the fire has been alight for some hours. Just open the door an inch or more and hold a lighted candle near the opening. First, we want you to …