Drinking Bird, 4C31.30a

pira200 Listed

Location:

• Cabinet: Thermodynamics Cabinet

• Bay: (A2)

• Shelf: #5

Description: Also called Dippy Bird or Tippy Bird.

Setup:

1. Make sure that the drinking bird is assembled. If not do the following.
   • - Insert the Pivot into the openings at the top of the two legs as per the photo above and make the bird move to and fro freely.
2. Fill a 150 ml. beaker with cold water.
3. Put the head into the water and make it get wet completely and place the bird near the beaker, then the bird begin drinking water herself. (The more the head wet the fast the bird starts drinking the water.)

Cautions, Warnings, or Safety Concerns:

1. Do not break the tube( bird body). The red liquid (dichloromethane or methylene chloride) is an acute inhalation hazard and can cause optic neuropathy and hepatitis.

2. Be sure to keep the bird's body dry, otherwise the bird will stop to drink.
3. Be sure keep the bird's in the place where the air ventilating regularly.
4. If the bird's sways backward adjust the metal part straight or haend a little bit forward.

Demonstration:

Put water on the head of bird. When water evaporates, it makes the temperature of the glass head lower. This makes some of the red liquid (dichloromethane or methylene chloride) vapor to condense. From ideal gas law, the pressure in the head of the bird drop due to the lower temperature and condensation.The difference of the pressure between the head and base of the bird causes the red liquid to be pushed up from the base. Then the head of the bird become heavy and tips over. While the bird tips over, it makes air hole that can make red liquid flows back to the bottom bulb and this makes bird go back to its vertical position again. And this will occur periodically until the water on the head of bird dry.

DrnkingBird.mpg

References:

1. Wikipedia

Change of State

Demonstrations

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