Is it possible to squeeze an egg and break it

The curved shell can distribute this pressure rather than concentrating it all on one area. When an egg is cracked on the side of a bowl, it breaks as the pressure is concentrated on one side.

This also explains how a hen can sit on an egg and not break it, but a tiny little chick can break through the eggshell — the weight of the hen is evenly distributed over the egg, while the pecking of the chick is an uneven force directed at just one spot on the egg. This egg shell squeeze experiment is amazing. We have more food science ideas for your child to explore. For more kids activities like these, please take a look at some of these ideas:.

What do you think now? Is an egg shell strong or fragile? What happened in your egg squeeze experiment? Although she swears she is not crafty, this momma never lacks in creativity and enthusiasm - her ultimate goal is making exceptional memories for her family. Actually Great.

I am also a specialist in this topic therefore I can understand your effort. Your email address will not be published. Skip to content. Previous Previous. Once the egg is nestled nicely in the palm of your hand, try to make a fist by closing your fingers around the egg. Your fingers should wrap around the egg and so that the egg is almost covered completely by your hand. You might want to hold your egg over the sink, bowl, or plate.

We chose to do it over a countertop surface that was easy to wipe up the mess just in case the egg broke! When you realize the egg is not breaking, go ahead and use all the muscles you have to try and break the egg! After a few minutes of squeezing with all your strength you will soon realize that breaking the egg this way is impossible! Using the hand that has a ring on it, squeeze the egg again as strong as you can and see if it will break this time!

You might need to slide the ring up or down slightly on your finger until you get it into a position that contacts the egg while squeezing it. The egg is more likely to break this time, so make sure you are holding the egg over a bowl, sink, plate, or surface that is easy to clean up.

If you squeeze the egg hard enough with the ring on your finger, it will break and allow slimy, gooey raw egg to slide through your fingers! The unique shape of an egg gives it an incredible strength to withstand the force of your hand squeezing it. The ends of an egg are the strongest points and act similar to the architectural design of an arch. This shape of the egg disperses the pressure on the egg throughout the whole surface area of the eggshell.

So, how does it work? Eggs are similar in shape to a 3-dimensional arch, one of the strongest architectural forms. The egg is strongest at the top and the bottom or at the highest point of the arch.

The curved form of the shell also distributes pressure evenly all over the shell rather than concentrating it at any one point. By completely surrounding the egg with your hand, the pressure you apply by squeezing is distributed evenly all over the egg. However, eggs do not stand up well to uneven forces which is why they crack easily when you push on just one side or wear a ring or why it cracks on the side of a bowl.

The uneven pressure of the ring against the shell will result in an amusing display of flying egg yolk for your audience members.