MovieChat Forums > Anna and the King (1999) Discussion > The egg trick??

The egg trick??

posted 17 years ago by minerva-23
12 replies | jump to latest

I'm wondering if anyone can explain the egg trick that Anna did with the egg going into the bottle. How does that work?

Thanks in advance!

...I'm standing here solidly on my own two hands, going crazy

[–] elvinakoay 17 years ago

Two possibilities:

1) The burning flame heats up the bottle. The bottle expands. The egg falls in.

2) The burning flame heats the air in the bottle. Pressure inside the bottle increases. Egg is placed, then when the air inside the bottle cools, the pressure inside drops. The air pressure in the bottle is lower than the air in the atmosphere outside the bottle, so the egg is pushed in (Higher pressure always goes the direction of lower pressure).

[–] cmcintos-sfu 17 years ago

(2) is correct.

[–] Rodney_McKay 17 years ago

Actually, as I understand it, the flame consumes all the oxygen in the bottle, creating a vacuum which sucks the egg into the bottle. (Anna had written "nature abhors a vacuum" on the blackboard behind her).

[–] Pieriku 17 years ago

If you read the name of the lesson, it's "Nature abhors a vacuum", which says all about the egg trick.
Vacuum is made inside the bottle due to the consumption of oxygen, and so the egg is pulled inside the bottle.

[–] jonathan-m-stone 15 years ago

A vacuum is not made inside the bottle... the pressure is merely reduced due to the Oxygen levels being reduced. Oxygen only makes up about 20% of the air. The nitrogen (78% of air) would be completely unaltered by the experiment and therefore no vacuum produced.

[–] toxic_schizm 16 years ago

i just saw the movie..
Wouldnt the egg break once it falls in the bottle?
or was it a hard boiled egg..
I was watching it carefully and the egg appeared shiny..
so its safe to assume that it was hard boiled right?

were all alone now.. i need something to sing about..

[–] svaughn-3 16 years ago

It was a peeled hard boiled egg.

[–] RJas486 16 years ago

Fire -> absence of oxygen -> vacuum

I just wonder how they're gonna get that egg out :)

[–] dani151 15 years ago

smash the bottle probably or be really gross and suck it up with a straw!
actually they couldnt do that

[–] ak47wong 9 years ago

It's all explained in this highly educational video featuring Professor Julius Sumner Miller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM-0FBu62MA

[–] ak47wong (485) 2 years ago

I see the video I originally posted has been taken down, so here's another:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98Ya3F6jVFM

[–] roadrunner777 9 years ago

Many people are so close to the real explanation!

1. A burning piece of paper is placed in the bottle and the egg quickly placed on top.
2. The burning paper heats up the air in the bottle. The film accurately depicts the egg popping up slightly with a little noise as the paper burns. This is because the heat from the flame is expanding the air in the bottle.
3. The paper burns out because the oxygen has been consumed. The oxygen does not just disappear however, it is converted to carbon-dioxide by the burning process.
4. The air in the bottle cools, reducing the pressure in the bottle.
5. The egg is drawn into the bottle by the reduced pressure (vacuum).

The same thing could have been done by simply heating the bottle externally.

The eggs are hard boiled and peeled, and often the rim of the bottle has been coated with a film of oil or jelly to help seal the works and also help the egg through the neck of the bottle.