If you’ve never done this experiment, you have to give it a try! This activity will show you the REAL reason that you should never look at the sun through anything that has lenses in it.
Because this activity involves fire, make sure you do this on a flame-proof surface and not your dining room table! Good choices are your driveway, cement parking lot, the concrete sidewalk, or a large piece of ceramic tile. Don’t do this experiment in your hand, or you’re in for a hot, nasty surprise.
As with all experiments involving fire, flames, and so forth, do this with adult help (you’ll probably find they want to do this with you!) and keep your fire extinguisher handy.
Materials:
- sunlight
- dead leaf
- magnifying glass
- fire extinguisher
- adult help
Here’s what you need to do:
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Magnifying lenses, telescopes, and microscopes use this idea to make objects appear different sizes by bending the light. When light passes through a different medium (from air to glass, water, a lens…) it changes speed and usually the angle it’s traveling at. A prism splits incoming light into a rainbow because the light bends as it moves through the prism. A pair of eyeglasses will bend the light to magnify the image.
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