Microwave Science Experiments - Will it blow up? What can we stick in? Microwave Night at MITERS

Step 4 Ivory Soap

What's so special about Ivory Soap?

What the heck does a bar of soap do when you put in in a microwave?

It's inexplicable, until you watch Alien, and then everything comes clear.

Comments

[j626no]

if you want the real reason, its because there are loads of mini air pockets in the soap (thus it floats in water...that was their initial sales pitch that got them on the market -- it would float in the bathtub while the others would sink.) The soap (as i'm sure you know) is still usable after this is done. the only thing i was curious about, is after it expands and you use it, does it last longer than the original bar would? if so, this would be great for people on tight budgets or people that want to protect the environment more (less soap down the drain). just a few thoughts.

[surfreak]

Nah, probably last about the same. This foam is less dense, so more volume, but you'd use more volume per wash.