Colors in a Bottle

Equipment Needed

Water
Colored paraffin or melted candle wax
Glycerin
Colored ink
1 small bottle with a tight lid

The Experiment

Pour the colored paraffin and an equal amount of water into a small bottle.

Close the bottle tightly, and then shake it vigorously.

The water and paraffin will appear to mix at first.

However, as soon as put the bottle down, they will begin to separate from each other. Within a few seconds, the colored paraffin will be floating on top of the water. No matter how hard you shake the bottle you will never be able to make the two liquids mix.

Try this experiment with other liquids, such as glycerin.

Use colored inks to distinguish between them if they are of similar colors.

You can fill a bottle with layers of different colored fluids.