Weird Science Wednesday

Tea Bag Hot-Air Balloon

What you will need

• 1 Tea Bag (the kind with a string and a tag)
• Staple Remover (or very strong fingernails)

• Small Plate

• Matches

How to do it

• Remove the string from the tea bag.

• Remove the staple and empty out the tea leaves.

• Stand the empty bag, which should be shaped like a cylinder, on it's end on a small plate.

• Light a match and set fire to the top of the tea bag.

• As the flame burns down, the burning tea bag will shake a little and then float up into the air.

This happens because the flame makes the air around the empty tea bag hot, and hot air rises. The tea bag also looses mass when it is burn and these two factors combine perfectly for lift off!