• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Casa Bouquet

let your joy bloom

  • Home
  • About
  • Culture
  • Home-making
  • Education
  • Travel
  • Style
  • Series
You are here: Home / Education / Nitinol memory wire experiment for kids

Nitinol memory wire experiment for kids

April 25, 2020 by Lisa Grable 5 Comments

Nitinol memory wire is metal that remembers its original shape when heated (alloy of nickel & titanium). Experimenting with nitinol memory wire is fun like a magic trick, but it demonstrates physical principles of thermal energy and elasticity.Nitinol memory wire is metal that remembers its original shape when heated. Kids will enjoy thermal energy experiments!

Safety note: Be sure to explain safety precautions to children. This experiment uses hot water. Eye and skin protection should be used. Disclaimer: All information provided on this site is for entertainment and education purposes only. Using any information from casabouquet.com is at your own risk.

Instructions for nitinol memory wire experiment

  • Give the children 3 cups or bowls. You may want to use coffee cups to help with insulation. Label with a marker: hot, cold, room temperature.nitinol-bowls
  • Ask the children to make observations of the nitinol memory wire and its qualities and make a sketch.
    nitinol-package
    nitinol-memory-wire

  • Distribute water and ice cubes and water that is close to boiling. Record the temperature of each cup.nitinol-temperature
  • Twist and bend the wire into a new shape.nitinol-twisted
  • Put on safety glasses. Nitinol memory wire is metal that remembers its original shape when heated. Kids will enjoy thermal energy experiments!
  • Use tongs to carefully lower the nitinol wire into the room temperature water. Observe and record the results.

What questions can you answer with an experiment like this? Does the shape you bend in the metal make a difference? Can you think of how it could be useful to have a metal that can be easily returned to its original shape? What inventions already exist? What could you invent?

Supplies

Affiliate links: if you make a purchase using these links, I’ll receive a small compensation towards maintaining this blog, at no extra cost to you.

  • Safety glasses
  • 3 cups or bowls
  • Nitinol wire 3 inch length or 12 inch length
  • very hot water
  • water with ice
  • room temperature water
  • tongs
  • thermometer or temperature sensor
  • paper towels,
  • paper or notebook for recording results, pen

Tips for teachers: 1) I did not have hot tap water or a microwave available in my classroom. I tried to use the old immersion heating coil that is relatively inexpensive. I found it dangerously hot to use around children and it shorts out easily. My favorite was a plug in teakettle. It costs a bit more, but is safer, long lasting, and portable. 2) Children really do need to use caution with this experiment because the wire can fly into the air. With younger children, we used a large clear plastic box to help with shielding.

What is the science?

Content: thermal energy, elasticity, crystal structure

Nitinol is a silvery metal alloy made with nickel and titanium. It has shape memory from the combination of the crystal structures of the two metals. Its elasticity is 10 or more times that of other metals. Elasticity is the ability of a metal to return to its original size and shape after a distorting force is removed. There are a number of medical applications of nitinol, along with military, and industrial.nitinol-hot

Resource links

  • http://www.need.org/Files/curriculum/guides/IntScienceofEnergy.pdf
    • Science of Energy from need.org has a whole set of energy lab activities and worksheets
  • https://www.vernier.com/product-category/?category=temperature-sensors&page_num=1
    • Temperature sensors from Vernier Software & Technology
  • http://www.chemistrylearner.com/nitinol.html
    • Nitinol from Chemistry Learner
  • http://www.physics4kids.com/files/thermo_transfer.html
    • Energy transfer from Physics 4 Kids
  • http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/bp/ch13/unitcell.php
    • Unit cells (crystals) from Purdue Chemistry
  • https://www.flinnsci.com/resources/safety-reference/
    • General Lab Safety resources from Flinn Scientific. Be sure to check out the Student Safety Contract.

I’ll be looking for comments below, or contact me at lisa [at] casabouquet[dot]com.plumeria bar

Affiliate links: if you make a purchase using these links, I’ll receive a small compensation towards maintaining this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Related posts

Freezer bag ice cream Glow stick experiment Hand warmer reaction
Share this post:
error
fb-share-icon
Tweet
fb-share-icon

Filed Under: Education, Science Tagged With: elasticity, energy experiment, live wire, Memory wire, nitinol, thermal energy

Previous Post: « Learn to solder – build a circuit kit – STEM skills
Next Post: Wailua River, Kaua’i boat tour and luau »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. marilyn1998

    May 3, 2020 at 7:26 pm

    Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Please stay safe and healthy. Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn

    Reply
  2. Julie Bagamary

    September 9, 2016 at 1:08 pm

    What fun!

    Reply
    • Lisa Grable

      September 12, 2016 at 7:08 am

      Yes it is, Julie! It’s fun for kids to try and imagine how they would use the nitinol for an invention.

      Reply
  3. Life Breath Present

    September 6, 2016 at 8:00 am

    This is really neat! I’ve never heard of nitinol and can certainly see the happiness and excitement Monkey Boy would get if we did a project with it! Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂

    Reply
    • Lisa Grable

      September 6, 2016 at 2:00 pm

      Thanks so much for coming by! As long as you follow safety procedure, this is a pretty enchanting lab to do!

      Reply

What are your thoughts? Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Hey, I’m Lisa

Lisa Grable, Casa BouquetI’m an educator, grandmother, classic movie fan, sewer and crafter, and I love Hawaii. Read more about me …

Subscribe for email updates

Don't miss a post! Receive an email when new posts are published. Get freebies!

Please follow & like us :)

Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Pinterest
Pinterest
fb-share-icon
Instagram
Follow by Email
RSS

Amazon

Zoom hula classes from Kanoe Miller

kanoe miller hula Oct. 2022Kanoe Miller teaches 5 week hula sessions on Zoom. Kanoe dances at the Hale Kulani in Waikiki and began her hula studies with Maiki Aiu Lake. Call or email to register. Times listed are Hawaii Standard.

Recent Posts

joy of giving giveaway hostesses Nov 2022

Joy of Giving giveaway 11.12.22 – 12.15.22

back to school giveaway 08.27.22 - 09.27.22

Back to school giveaway 08.27.22 – 09.27.22

summer cash giveaway

Summer Cash Giveaway 07.23 – 08.23.2022

College preparation at the end of high school includes planning, tips, and checklists. Entrance tests, applications, financial aid, and more!

6 tips for college preparation – applying, FAFSA

Posts by Category

Casa Bouquet parties

Over the Moon

Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party
Wonderful Wednesday
Thursday Favorite Things

Featured series

Casa Bouquet pie recipes series.
College planning posts for middle and high school students. Download free checklist, cost calculation, and career interest worksheets. Resource links!

Copyright © 2022 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework · Design by Stephanie Jones

 

Loading Comments...