'Watch the burst of colours in this simple kitchen experiment using only milk, food colouring and a little bit of soap! Milk is mostly water but also contains proteins, and tiny droplets of fat suspended in solution which are sensitive to changes in the surrounding solution. The secret of the bursting colors is the chemistry of that tiny drop of soap. Dish soap, because of its bipolar characteristics weakens the chemical bonds that hold the proteins and fats in solution. The soap\'s polar, or hydrophilic (water-loving), end dissolves in water, and its hydrophobic (water-hating) end attaches to a fat globule in the milk. The molecules of fat bend, roll, twist, and contort in all directions as the soap molecules race around to join up with the fat molecules. This rapidly mixing fat and soap causes swirling and churning where a soap cluster meets a fat droplet. There’s another reason the colors explode the way they do. Since milk is mostly water, it has surface tension like water. The drops of food coloring floating on the surface tend to stay put. Liquid soap wrecks the surface tension by breaking the cohesive bonds between water molecules and allowing the colors to zing throughout the milk.'
Tags: Food , science , fun , education , Learning , color , milk , chemistry
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