Heating things up with science

From Brownian Motion to boiling points. After discussing Brownian Motion we explored the link between the measurement of temperature and the rate of atomic motion on the invisible scale. Today we demonstrated the nature of the second law of Thermodynamics, and charted the rate of temperature increase over time in water. We heated crushed ice over the stove, measuring its temperature every minute until well past the boiling point. It was fun for Calvin, but a true letdown for the dog, who was hoping we were cooking something delicious and would drop a morsel or two.