This is looks like a chemical reaction but it’s not – it’s really just a physical change. It’s a really neat trick you can do for your friends or in a magic show. Here’s how it works:


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You can use styrofoam beads, packing peanuts, styrofoam packing materials, or even a styrofoam cup and place it in your glass jar containing acetone. Styrofoam is made up of polystyrene foam, which is mostly air (that’s why foam is so lightweight). When you add the foam cup to the acetone, you’re removing the air in the foam which makes it look like you’re dissolving this huge amount of cups (you can go through a whole stack with only a cup of acetone).


Why does this work? You are removing the structure that supports the shape of the foam, and are left with only the foam molecules at the bottom of the container (it will look like a blob). Think about a camping tent: when you take away the poles, what happens to the tent? It loses its support structure and collapses down. The same thing is happening to the foam when you place it in the acetone – you are removing the structure that holds the shape. Acetone is found in most nail polish removers.
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Comments

3 Responses to “Disappearing Foam Cup”

  1. If you look under the video it will show you the different options to making this experiment work.

  2. karlapatricia1 says:

    what do I need.

  3. joriley0810 says:

    this is my fav way to make slime 🙂