The Magic Ball
Science brain teasers require understanding of the physical or biological world and the laws that govern it.
There was a magic show. A man put a solid metal ball under an opaque cover. After a while, he took the cover off of the ball and there was nothing left but some liquid.
What happened?
Answer
It was a ball of gallium at 80F. After the ball was heated to 85F, it melted and became a liquid. Gallium's melting point is 85F.
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Comments
contagion
Oct 29, 2001
| Or water... or any other matter that is liquid at room temperature and solid at not too extreme low temperatures. |
EEBaum
Nov 21, 2001
| I'm guessing the magician isn't going to live past 40, doing tricks with mercury. |
friesx100
Nov 21, 2001
| according to... the bottom comment... water isnt opaque |
Don Ray
Dec 02, 2001
| re: the last comment - ya, magician to mad hatter...
Anyway, I guessed a snowball - at any rate, it sounds like we all came to the same chilling conclusion - what I want to know is, what kind of a "get a life" audience is gonna sit there and wait for something to MELT?
(I can just picture it - then the magician says, "Ta Da!!!"  |
trainer
Dec 07, 2001
| It is maybe carved ice |
Mogmatt16  
Apr 22, 2002
| ice is opaque |
electronjohn  
Nov 12, 2002
| Hg is too dangerous to try this with. Instead use Ga (Gallium) which is also a metal (by the way this question would be better if it said a metal ball) and freezes at room temp and melts in your hand. So you would just put the gallium ball in your hand, close your hand for a minute or less, and when you open it there would be liquid gallium. TaDa |
jimbo
Nov 24, 2003
| That's some freezer you got there -38 Degrees C? |
thompson1
May 25, 2006
| Water is not a metal! |
bookworm999 
Apr 02, 2007
| I don't get this and isn't there already a brainteaser like this one? If you know, please tell me the answer to either! |
ttt3142  
Feb 23, 2010
| Gallium is definitely better for this trick. |
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