Directory of Glowing Pickles Resources

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A dramatic demonstration of the principle behind sodium arc lights, by passing an electrical current through a pickle of other salty foods.

Resources in This Category

• Glowing Pickle

  http://isaac.exploratorium.edu/~pauld/activities/aaptelectric/glowingpickle.html
  Two enhancements to the standard demonstration apparatus: using a ground fault interrupt (GFI) to reduce the risk of electrocuting the demonstrator, and using potassium chloride (a dietary salt substitute) to produce a pink glow rather than the traditional sodium yellow. Also discusses the mechanism of the single-ended glow.

• Shady Hollow

  http://members.tripod.com/~Shady_Hollow/Projects/gpickle.html
  Details how to build a glowing/flaming Pickle. Includes photos of the apparatus using heavy-gauge wire and glass jars as insulators, and a plugged-in pickle glowing only at one end.

• The Electric Pickle as Will and Idea

  http://ygraine.membrane.com/hubris/notes/electric_pickle.html
  Philosophical discussion of the meaning of the experiment, and multimedia files (.AVI, .MOV, .WAV) of the results.

• X Magazine: Please Pass the Science

  http://www.cardhouse.com/berk/science99_3.htm
  Reader feedback with a list of precautions to be taken when electrocuting pickles, of more humorous than practical value.

• X Magazine: Please Pass the Science

  http://www.cardhouse.com/x10/x10science.htm
  The Glowing Pickle: Born of Boredom. Essay on discoveries made by bored scientists, from Post-It Notes to pickle-based sodium arc lights.

 

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