Modern magicians call spells “constructs”. This is partly to do with the fact that human magic generally requires apparatus (special equipment like a mind lens) to work. The apparatus helps to channel the power called forth by the wizard. Fae don’t need apparatus to make magic (a constant source of annoyance for human magicians).
For this experiment we’re going to make a volcano simulacrum. Yes you guessed it, a baking soda and vinegar volcano. This is one of the oldest spells in the book, we know, but it's so super important that we just had to include it, plus it’s great fun. It's an example of an acids base reaction, which among other things, is the reaction that makes cakes rise. Imagine, no acid base reaction, no cake at your birthday.
Later in the book, we have some other fun things you can do with this reaction. When I was a child this was the first thing I ever saw that made me realise I could do cool science at home. Now, with the internet, you can find a load of wonders. Let’s make some magic!
First we must make the ‘cone’ of the volcano.
Mix 6 cups flour, 2 cups salt (optional), 4 tablespoons cooking oil, and 2 cups of water. The resulting mixture should be smooth and firm (add more water if it’s too stiff). If you like sprinkle it with cocoa to give it a nice brown color. Alternatively you can add a little red and blue food color to the flour for a similar result. You can even drizzle the sides with chocolate sauce but probably don’t eat it, it won’t taste the best. Be creative, but please, ask your parent for permission before making too much mess.
I think, with a little experimentation that you could make an edible chocolate cake volcano, with a tart (i.e. sweat and sour) lava flow. I haven't tried, but I think it must be possible.
Back to our experiment.
Take your conical flasks and stand it in a large baking pan then mould the dough around it into a volcano shape. Don’t cover the hole of the flask and try not to drop dough inside it.
Three-quarters fill the bottle with warm water and add a bit of red food color (this can be done before sculpting if you don’t take so long that the water gets cold).
Add 6 drops of detergent to the bottle contents. The detergent helps trap the bubbles produced by the reaction so you get better lava.
Add 2 tablespoons baking soda to the liquid.
Slowly pour vinegar into the bottle. Watch out — eruption time.
There is a good online guide here from ThoughtCo*: Baking soda volcano
Let’s look at the chemistry to find out what’s going on with a vinegar and baking soda volcano. You can also watch this great video from “Chemistry with Cat” (consider subscribing if you like Cat’s content).
The baking soda and vinegar volcano erupts because of an acid-base reaction (in chemistry an acid is the opposite of a base. When they come together there is a reaction. The stronger the acid and base the stronger the reaction :
baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) + vinegar (acetic acid) → carbon dioxide + water + sodium ion + acetate ion
Acetic acid (a weak acid) reacts with and neutralises sodium bicarbonate (a base). The carbon dioxide that is given off is a gas and is responsible for the fizzing and bubbling during the ‘eruption’, the reaction.
We can use symbols from the periodic table to represent this.
Note Don’t worry if you don’t get the symbols from the periodic table there are plenty of resources online that will explain it to you.
Sodium bicarbonate NaHCO3(s) + Acetic Acid CH3COOH(l) → (gives)
Carbon dioxide CO2(g) + Water H2O(l) + Sodium ion Na+(aq) + Acetate ion CH3COO-(aq)
(where s = solid, l = liquid, g = gas, aq = aqueous or in solution)
Na -> symbol for sodium, H -> hydrogen, C-> carbon, O -> Oxygen,
CO2 -> Carbon dioxide, H2O -> water
Breaking it down:
NaHCO3 → Na+(aq) + HCO3-(aq)
CH3COOH → H+(aq) + CH3COO-(aq)
H+ + HCO3- → H2CO3 (carbonic acid)
H2CO3 → H2O + CO2
It doesn't matter if you don't understand all of the above. What you will see is that we end up with the same number of Sodium (Na), Carbon (C), Oxygen (O) and Hydrogen (H), however they've changed form.
Much of chemistry and magic relates to changing form. That's why science is magic!
Did you know? Did you know that frozen carbon dioxide is called dry ice? It’s used at Halloween and in movies to make fog role along the ground so that things look really creepy.
Carbon dioxide (which is a by-product of many chemical reactions) is also a large contributor to global warming.
Questions Do some research and see if you can draw a molecule of Carbon Dioxide (hint: use Google and check out the images).
An acid is the opposite to a base - why? What's the difference?
How does CO2 contribute to global warming?
*I reference ThoughtCo quite a bit. They have a great site and they explain things well. Youtube is another great source of information. Use these sites if you need more information.