Q&A for How to Get an Egg Into a Bottle

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  • Question
    Will a hard plastic bottle work or just glass?
    Meredith Juncker, PhD
    Scientific Researcher
    Meredith Juncker is a PhD candidate in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. Her studies are focused on proteins and neurodegenerative diseases.
    Scientific Researcher
    Expert Answer
    Because you're putting matches or candles in the bottle, it's best to use glass. The heat from the flame from a match or candle may melt the plastic.
  • Question
    How do I get the egg out?
    Community Answer
    Turn the bottle upside down. Make sure the egg is positioned well in the bottle neck. Continuing to hold the bottle upside down, hold it over your mouth and blow hard into the bottle. Quickly raise the bottle up and the egg will immediately pop down out of the bottle onto your mouth. The reason is that you added so much more air pressure into the bottle than the pressure outside the bottle. The pressure inside balanced with the outside by expanding the egg out of the bottle. A second method for removing it is to put the bottle in a cold ice chest or the fridge or freezer for several minutes to get the bottle air cold. Then remove the bottle upside down, and wait patiently several minutes.
  • Question
    How do I get the egg inside the bottle with a matchstick?
    Community Answer
    The matchstick burns inside of the bottle consuming all of the oxygen. This creates a vacuum, causing the egg to get sucked into the bottle.
  • Question
    How does that happen scientifically?
    Community Answer
    When air heats up, it expands, so some air is forced out of the bottle. When the air cools, it creates a vacuum and pulls the egg into the bottle. You could likely also do this by running hot water over the outside of the bottle to heat the bottle and the air inside, then put the egg on top.
  • Question
    How much time does it take to get an egg into a bottle?
    Community Answer
    Boiling an egg takes about five minutes and then getting the egg into the bottle takes about two minutes.
  • Question
    What are the procedures for the egg in the bottle?
    Community Answer
    First, you need a clean dry bottle with an opening and neck slightly smaller than your hard-boiled egg. Set a piece of paper or other flammable material inside the bottle, and light it with a match. Make sure the material doesn't go out too quickly. Right after lighting the material, place the hard-boiled egg (smaller side down) into the opening of the bottle. The warm air will suck the malleable egg into the bottle and plop it to the bottom.
  • Question
    Can I use an egg that is not boiled?
    Community Answer
    No. A boiled egg is soft, the raw egg will be a liquid. Also, because the shell is hard, it will not get sucked in.
  • Question
    Who is the author and editor of this article? When was it published?
    Community Answer
    There are 84 co-authors of the article, according to the current data under 'about this article' on the side of the page. If you click, you can see them all as well as the date the article was last modified.
  • Question
    What will happpen to the egg inside the bottle?
    Community Answer
    Nothing actually happens to the egg when it goes inside the bottle. You can still eat it after getting it out.
  • Question
    Can I put a piece of paper on fire and into the bottle? Would the egg drop work that way, too?
    Community Answer
    Yes, it would. Just be careful not to burn yourself.
  • Question
    Why would you want to put an egg in the bottle?
    Community Answer
    It's a fun and popular science experiment that is often used in school. It teaches students about air pressure, eggs, bottles and heat.
  • Question
    How many eggs I can put in a single bottle?
    Community Answer
    In order to put another egg in, you have to light another match which will likely cause the previous egg to ignite. So, I do not suggest using more than one egg.
  • Question
    What is the science behind getting an egg in a bottle?
    Community Answer
    It is the physics of air pressure. When you insert the lit paper or birthday candles, the air molecules inside the bottle heat up. Heated molecules become excited and spread out, making the air less dense, and some of them will even escape from the bottle.
  • Question
    What happen if you don't take the shell off the egg?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    Nothing will happen. The air-pressure change inside the bottle is not strong enough to break the shell and pull the egg and shell through the neck of the bottle.
  • Question
    Can I use a wine bottle?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    No, the neck opening on a wine bottle is not big enough to allow a chicken egg to pass through.
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