By: Laura Bassein

Everyone loves a magic show, right? And how could a magic show be any better than when it's a "Chemistry Magic Show"? If you're curious about what it really means to put chemistry together with magic, read on.

Magic involves the exercise of sleight of hand or conjuring for entertainment, or the use of premeditated deception or concealed equipment to produce baffling effects. Chemistry is the science of the composition, structure, properties, and reactions of matter. So chemistry, combined with magic into a Chemistry Magic Show, could really be a blast.

The Chemistry Magic Show will begin with dramatic demonstrations at 2pm, but come earlier to take advantage of the last weekend of Explorit's related exhibition "What's the Matter? Solids, Liquids and Gases." On Saturday, chemistry demonstrations will take place approximately every half hour between 2pm and 4pm. In between the demonstrations, try your hand (or sleight of hand...) at some chemistry experiments of your own.

You won't believe who's doing the Chemistry Magic Show. It's the UC Davis student members of the Chemistry Club. If you think you've heard of these chemistry magicians before, you're probably right. This is the same Chemistry Club that presents the chemistry shows for Picnic Day ... you know those sold out shows, the ones with the long lines and few remaining tickets.

Explorit brings you the Chemistry Magic Show as part of its Meet the Scientist program. Approximately once a month, Explorit hosts scientists who share their scientific knowledge in a way that's fun and easily accessible to people of all ages. The next Meet the Scientist program will be February 20, when the Society of Women Engineers at UC Davis will kick off National Engineers Week with an afternoon full of engineering feats requiring your participation. For more information, call (530)756-0191.

As you're enjoying chemistry this weekend, consider how chemistry matters in your life. When you make yourself a cup of hot chocolate, notice that as heat is applied to the water (a liquid) it turns to steam (a gas). If you melt too much butter when baking cookies and you need to refrigerate that melted butter, notice that it becomes solid as it cools and the solid takes up less volume than the liquid.

So now you've got chemistry down cold, right? When liquids are cooled they turn solid and get smaller. Hmmm.... Why is it then that when you put water all the way up to the top in the ice cube trays, the frozen ice cubes are sticking up over the top of the tray? Well, water's different. The solid form takes up more space than the liquid form. Water is unique in the unusually open crystalline structure of its solid phase.

All right, so you knew it all except the part about where ice behaves differently than other solids. We'll try another one. When liquids are heated they change to gases. Isn't that correct? Try cracking open a raw egg. It's liquid, right? Drop the egg onto a hot frying pan. The egg should "vaporize" right before your eyes, shouldn't it? Now wait a minute. The egg seems to be getting more and more solid as it heats. Egg behavior is mostly a matter of protein chemistry, in particular the chemistry of coagulation. Heating actually changes the protein bonds so that they are more densely clustered.

Don't get discouraged. You really can learn chemistry at Explorit, and it really does work at home. It's generally true that solid phases take up less space than their liquid counterparts. And it's also generally true that applying heat to a liquid will cause it to change to a gas. It's just that exceptions always seem to bubble up.

So remember, to have fun and learn even more about chemistry, come to Explorit's Chemistry Magic Show this Saturday from 2-4pm. And take advantage of the exhibition "What's the Matter? Solids, Liquids and Gases" before it closes this Sunday. When you tell your friends where you're going, it'll be sure to produce an extraordinary reaction.

------------------------------------------------------

Explorit Science Center is located at 3141 5th Street in East Davis. The current exhibition is What's the Matter? Solids, Liquids and Gases. Public hours are Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sunday from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., and Tuesday through Friday from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. Regular admission is $3; members, teachers (with school ID) and children under 4 are free. For more information, visit Explorit's web site at www.dcn.davis.ca.us/GO/EXPLORIT/ or call Explorit at (530) 756-0191.