If you have ever tried to break an egg by squeezing it as hard as you can in your hand, you probably know it is basically impossible…unless you use this little trick that we teach you in this Breaking an Egg With One Hand Experiment!
Find more Egg Experiments For Kids here!
It only takes 3 household supplies to discover the science behind how an egg can be so incredibly strong and so very fragile at the same time!
Breaking an Egg With One Hand Experiment
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Supplies Needed:
Impossible Egg Crush
- Lay a raw egg sideways in the palm of your hand.
- Wrap your fingers around the egg in your hand.
- Squeeze the egg with all the strength you can muster.
- Now set the egg down and slide a ring onto your finger.
- Squeeze the egg again with the ring on your finger and see if the egg breaks!
Step 1: Put a Raw Egg In Your Hand
To get started with this breaking an egg with one hand experiment, grab a raw egg and place it in the palm of your hand.
Make sure the egg is lying horizontally in your hand so that one end of the egg is near your pinky and the other end is near your index finger.
Step 2: Close Your Hand Around The Egg
Once the egg is nestled nicely in the palm of your hand, try to make a fist by closing your fingers around the egg.
Your fingers should wrap around the egg and so that the egg is almost covered completely by your hand.
Step 3: Hold The Egg And Squeeze It
Not it’s time for the fun to begin! You might want to hold your egg over the sink, bowl, or plate.
We chose to do it over a countertop surface that was easy to wipe up the mess just in case the egg broke!
Start squeezing the egg in your hand as hard as you can!
You might be a little hesitant to squeeze hard at first.
When you realize the egg is not breaking, go ahead and use all the muscles you have to try and break the egg!
Step 4: Put a Ring On Your Finger
After a few minutes of squeezing with all your strength you will soon realize that breaking the egg this way is impossible!
So carefully set the egg back down and grab your secret weapon (a ring).
Slide a ring over one of your fingers and get ready to try breaking the egg again.
Step 5: Squeeze The Egg Again
Using the hand that has a ring on it, squeeze the egg again as strong as you can and see if it will break this time!
You might need to slide the ring up or down slightly on your finger until you get it into a position that contacts the egg while squeezing it.
The egg is more likely to break this time, so make sure you are holding the egg over a bowl, sink, plate, or surface that is easy to clean up.
If you squeeze the egg hard enough with the ring on your finger, it will break and allow slimy, gooey raw egg to slide through your fingers!
Why Does an Egg Not Break When You Squeeze It?
The unique shape of an egg gives it an incredible strength to withstand the force of your hand squeezing it.
The ends of an egg are the strongest points and act similar to the architectural design of an arch.
This shape of the egg disperses the pressure on the egg throughout the whole surface area of the eggshell.
In this Balloon and Pin Experiment, we can see the same concept of a force over a given area illustrated.
A force dispersed over a greater area of an object allows it to withstand much more pressure than if the force is focused on a small area.
This makes it nearly impossible to crush an egg when your hand is wrapped around the egg and creating a lot of pressure dispersed over the whole egg.
When a ring is placed on your finger and the egg is squeezed, the egg will break much easier.
This is because the force is concentrated into a small area where the ring and the egg contact each other.
This is the same reason why a hen can sit on an egg without breaking it, but a baby chick can peck a hole in the egg to escape!
PIN THIS EXPERIMENT FOR LATER
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