Foamy Lemon Egg

[Guest guest]

Just happened to receive this email about the same time as I received the herbal remedies digest with the lemon egg foam question.

Alison

 

 

KRAMPF [KRAMPF] Sunday, January 25, 2004 8:57 PMkrampf Subject: Krampf #359 - Egg Bubbles - Experiment of the Week

Robert Krampf's Experiment of the Week<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<This Week's Experiment - #359 Egg BubblesThis week's experiment is a simple one, but it should make you think a bit. You will need:a raw egga clear glass of hot waterBe sure to use a clear glass, so you can see what is happening. Fill the glass with hot water from your kitchen sink. We will put the egg into the water, so leave enough room so that the water does not overflow. Your main goal is to have enough hot water so that the egg will be completely under water.Let the hot water sit for a few seconds, so that any air bubbles can float to the top. Carefully place the egg into the hot water. Watch for a minute. What do you notice? You should see one or more thin streams of bubbles rising from the egg. The bubbles will continue for quite a long time. If you listen carefully, you may also hear a tiny squeaking sound that sounds almost like a baby chick.What is happening? If you have ever peeled a boiled egg, you know that there is an air bubble inside the shell. As we have seen in past experiments, when you heat air, it expands and takes up more space. The air bubble inside the egg is expanding as it is heated by the water. It is pushing outwards, and it has to go somewhere.The streams of bubbles were coming from microscopic holes in the egg shell. Those holes are too small for the liquid part of the egg to flow through, but they let air get in, so the developing chick can breathe. As the air inside the shell expands, it flows out through the tiny holes. If the water is too hot, then the air will expand faster than it can flow through the tiny holes, and the shell will crack. That sometimes happens when you are boiling eggs. To prevent that, start with room temperature water and heat the water slowly after you add the eggs. That gives time for the air to expand slowly enough to keep from cracking the shell.The air forcing its way through the tiny pores sometimes makes a tiny whistling or chirping sound. I tried several eggs, and it did not happen with all of them. The eggs might spoil if you put them back in the refrigerator, so only experiment with eggs that you are ready to eat.

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