?
WHAT’S
HAPPENING
The coins displace the water and raise
the water’s surface so that it spills out
over the edge of the tub. You can see
how the surface of the water arches
upward until the surface tension
breaks down and the water flows
out over the edge of the tub.
4
3
Fill up your tub to the brim with clean
tap water.
4
Drop small coins into the tub one by one,
until the water overflows.
THE BERMUDA
TRIANGLE
Very little exploring has been done in this
coastal area off the southeastern coast of the
US. For many years, it has been a plac
e of wild
speculation and eerie legends about ships being
swallowed up by the sea, and planes s
uddenly
crashing or vanishing without a trace. Ther
e
have even been tales of sea monsters and
aliens, accompanied by claims that they’
re the
ones responsible for the many mysterious
occurrences in the Bermuda Triangle. The most
impressive case dates back to 1945, when fiv
e
aircraft from the US Air Force disappear
ed from
the radar without a trace. The search and
rescue aircraft that was sent out to find them
also failed to return.
In the meantime, calculations have
shown that accidents are no more
common in the Bermuda Triangle than
anywhere else in the world, but the
legends refuse to die. Now at last
scientists are onto a possible reason that
would explain why ships sink in the
Bermuda Triangle: The ocean floor stores
enormous amounts of methane gas.
These bubbles of gas can burst and
because gas has a lower density than
water — meaning that it’s lighter — this
results in a massive quantity of gas
suddenly rising to the surface, and the
sea level dropping for a moment. Large
craters on the sea floor of the Bermuda
Triangle suggest that these theories
could indeed be correct.
17
Nature of Water
