Disappearing Beaker

Perform an amazing optical magic trick right on your counter with this mind-bending disappearing beaker experiment!

 

Materials Needed

• large Pyrex glass beaker
• small Pyrex glass beaker
• vegetable oil

 

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Place the small Pyrex beaker inside the center of the large Pyrex beaker

Step 2: Slowly pour vegetable oil directly into the small inner beaker until it fills up and overflows into the larger outer beaker

Step 3: Continue pouring vegetable oil until the inner beaker is completely submerged

Step 4: Watch in amazement as the smaller glass beaker vanishes completely inside the oil

Learn More

This vanishing trick works because of light bending and refraction! When light travels through transparent materials, it bends and reflects whenever it moves between substances with different refractive indices—which is why you can normally see a clear glass sitting in air or water. However, Pyrex borosilicate glass and vegetable oil have almost the exact same refractive index! Because light passes straight through both the oil and glass without bending or bouncing, your eyes can no longer detect the edges of the inner beaker, making it seem completely invisible!

If your young scientist loved discovering light tricks and optics, explore more visual science with the Light up Infinity Mirror!