PROVO — You don't have to travel to Mars to see what ice cream would be like there. In fact, the conditions of Mars, including its low pressure, cold temperatures and carbon dioxide atmosphere, can be all recreated in your own home or classroom, says a Brigham Young University professor.
"Mars in a Jar" is a simple science experiment created by David Allred, a professor of physics and astronomy and faculty adviser for the BYU Mars Research Team. For less than $100, even elementary school students (with adult supervision, of course) can make their own Mars ecosystem and can test how various things — including ice cream — will react on Mars.
When Allred showed his son's third-grade class the Mars in a Jar experiment, the students wanted to know what ice cream would be like in Mars. The ice cream turned out to be hard as a brick.
"The kids figured they could build with ice cream on Mars because it was so hard," Allred said.
To create the Mars in a Jar experiment, Allred recommends using a chemistry flask instead of a jar because the chemistry flask is stronger. "We just used 'jar' because it rhymes with 'Mars,' " Allred said.
All the chemicals and items needed for the experiment are available through chemical stock stores. Stores don't usually sell less than a liter, but people may want to share the chemicals with others who are doing the same experiment. Students can also ask their college professor or high school science teacher how to obtain the chemicals. There are also science supply stores on the Internet, Allred said.
Other items needed for the experiment, like copper tubing and a Swage Lok cap that seals the copper tube, can be purchased through heating and ventilation stores.
However, the experiment does use cryogenic chemicals including liquid nitrogen. Those chemicals are used to recreate Mars' chilling atmosphere, which can get as cold as minus 123 degrees Celsius during the winter. Only adults or high school students with proper supervision should handle the material, Allred said.
Although Mars' low gravity can't be recreated in the experiment, close to every other aspect of the Martian environment can. Students can even get Martian-like soil, which is basically volcanic rock dust found in Hawaii, to put in their Mars habitat. The soil can be purchased over the Internet.
"I actually hope that they (students) can come up with new ideas of what needs to be tested on Mars," Allred said. "I believe students can make the same contribution at the same levels scientists do. I have great hope for students to make meaningful contributions."
To see the complete experiment, visit webs.byu.edu/dallred/MARS/marsjars02.htm or e-mail Allred at allred@byu.edu.
The following are the basic steps in the experiment:
First you need two beakers or jars. One of these will be the Mars Jar, which will sealed with a rubber stopper. This container also needs to be strong enough to hold a vacuum. The second jar will be used to create the South Pole of Mars. This jar will be open to the atmosphere.
Next, decide what you want to test. Besides ice cream, students could test if bacteria will survive on Mars or if seeds could germinate in Martian conditions. Whatever the item, drop it into the container that you'll use for the Mars Jar.
The next step is to create the Mars South Pole. This is created by a long, copper tube. This will link the Mars Jar and South Pole together. Put the Swag Loc cap on one end of the tube.
Displace all the air from the Mars Jar. You can do that by putting dry ice (one-half teaspoon) in the Mars Jar. Dry ice produces carbon dioxide, and since it is heavier than air, it will displace the jar's air and push it out.
In the empty beaker, put enough n-propyl alcohol (also known as 1-propanol) to cover the base of the beaker. Continue to add liquid nitrogen until the n-propyl turns into jelly form.
Now take the copper tube that is sealed with the Swage Loc cap. Put dry ice in the copper tubing so it displaces the air, as happened in the Mars Jar.
Put the open end of the copper tube through the rubber stopper. Then use that to seal the Mars Jar.
Put the closed end of the copper tube in the jelly n-propyl alcohol. This will suck out the carbon dioxide from the Mars Jar and freeze the carbon dioxide in the tube. In a minute or so, the sealed Mars Jar will have the same pressure the surface of Mars has, which is one-one hundredth that of Earth.
In a Styrofoam cooler box, mix 1 cup of anti-freeze and 1 cup of water. If you want to increase the amount, always keep it at a 1:1 ratio. This mixture will cool down to minus 55 degrees Celsius, which is the average temperature of the surface Mars. Add dry ice to the mixture until it all turns into a very stiff jelly. This ice bath will keep the experiment cold for a few hours. Remember, this mixture is cold enough to give severe frost bite, so be very careful when doing this part of the experiment.
Put the Mars Jar in the Styrofoam box. After a few minutes, pull it out and see what happened to what you tested. If it was ice cream, you'll notice it turned rock hard.
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