Rollercoaster host Ruben Meerman is on stage before an audience of kids. From the back of the audience, co-host Elliot Spencer comes running down to join him. He wears one green and one red glove.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Oh! Oh! Me with the gloves, can I come on down, Ruben?
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Yeah, yeah, come on.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
I've always wanted to be on a science game show. Wicked! And we're still playing with liquid nitrogen.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Yes, we are.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Right. I've got my safety goggles on.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Thank you.
Ruben starts blowing up a blue balloon.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Elliot, what am I blowing into this balloon?
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Your stinky breath.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
What else do we call it?
ELLIOT SPENCER:
It's garlic. Um… air.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Very good. Today…
ELLIOT SPENCER:
With stink in it.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
..we are going to find out what happens to this invisible stuff we call air. It's all around you, you breath it in and out. But we're gonna find out what happens to it when you make it super, ultra, mega, freezing-cold by pouring liquid nitrogen all over it. What do you think's gonna happen?
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Interesting question. Um, do you reckon it's gonna pop, everyone?
KIDS:
Yes!
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Oooh! Or do you reckon it's gonna shrink?
KIDS:
Shrink!
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Whoa! Well, let's find out.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Let's find out who's right.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
On the count of three.
ALL:
One, two, three!
RUBEN MEERMAN:
On goes the liquid.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Nothing's happening. Great. Wow, so exciting. Thanks. Might just go home.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Come back. It didn't pop.
The blue balloon wrinkles and starts shrinking down into a bowl.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
It's getting wrinkles. It's getting wrinkles. (Gasps) Look, it's ageing.
Ruben presses on the balloon and it rustles like plastic.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
(Gasps) It's turned into a plastic bag. Quick! Ban it.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
(Chuckles) No, no, it's OK, it's still made out of rubber. It hasn't turned into plastic…
ELLIOT SPENCER:
It's all gone! And you're compacting it, you're squashing it, you're making it… smaller.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
It looks like there's no air left inside this balloon at all, but all the air is still in there. You've just learned a fact of nature, Elliot. When you make air cold, it gets…
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Smaller.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Excellent. What do you think is gonna happen when I take the balloon out of the liquid nitrogen? Do you think it's gonna get even smaller or will it get…?
ELLIOT SPENCER:
It'll get bigger.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Very good. On the count of three, out comes the balloon. One, two, three!
Ruben removes the balloon. The balloon is flat and crinkled.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Ooh, now look at it. It doesn't look so happy, does it? Keep watching.
Ruben blows on the outside of the shrivelled blue balloon.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Come back, little fella.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
It's coming back to life! Look at that!
The balloon reinflates itself.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
And… it's all the way back…
ELLIOT SPENCER:
You've restored it!
RUBEN MEERMAN:
..to normal. Incredible.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
That is fantastic. This is a really good trick, but what if I want to replicate this at home?
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Right, well, you can put a balloon in your freezer at home, but it's only minus-20 in your freezer — that means the air inside will only reach a minimum of minus-20. Your balloon will shrink a bit, so you can try it. And you will notice some shrinking — nothing like this. But if you do want to prove to your friends and family — anyone — that air expands and shrinks, well, try it this way.
Ruben places a jar on an upside down black container.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Elliot, could you pour some boiling water in there, please?
Text on screen — 'Use parental supervision when using boiling water.' Elliot pours the water into the jar.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
If you're using boiling water, you really need an adult supervisor.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Say 'when'!
RUBEN MEERMAN:
When. Thank you. So, we already know what happens when you heat air up, so what's gonna happen when we put that bottle into that container?
Ruben holds up a bottle. On the top, attached to the lip, is an empty green balloon.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
OK. That balloon is gonna come to life because the air is going to expand. That's what I think.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
One, two, three. In goes the bottle.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Look at it! (Giggles)
The balloon partially inflates. Elliot punches at it, and it bounces on the bottle lip like a punching bag.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Now, what do we need to do to get that balloon to fall back down again, Elliot?
ELLIOT SPENCER:
What do we do? I say we have to cool it. Everyone agree?
KIDS:
Yes!
ELLIOT SPENCER:
OK.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
So could you please put the cold water on top of this container?
ELLIOT SPENCER:
It's stuck.
Elliot lifts an iced jug of water on top of the upside down container.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
There we go. Into the cold water. Watch the balloon.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
I got a feeling you're going down. Yeah, knock it down.
The green balloon shrinks. Ruben boxes at it.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
It's that big right hook you've got there.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Eh! Nearly there!
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Poor little balloon.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
The air inside the bottle cooled down and it shrunk again. Amazing, huh?
ELLIOT SPENCER:
I'm very excited by this, but I think I speak on behalf of all the audience when I say… can we shrink another balloon?! Yes! Yes!
RUBEN MEERMAN:
I propose that this time we do it with one of these balloons.
Ruben holds up a thin, long balloon.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
I can turn these into balloon dogs, one of two types — would you prefer a poodle or a sausage dog?
ELLIOT SPENCER:
OK. Poodle?
KIDS:
Yes!
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Poodle, poodle, poodle? And what about…?
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Sausage dog?
KIDS:
(Louder) Yes!
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Sausage dog is funnier.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
OK, here we go. So we've gotta inflate the balloon first.
Ruben proceeds to twist the balloon into the shape of a sausage dog.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
You make three bubbles, you join them all together by aligning them like so, and then you just twist them. Now you gotta make some legs, and because it's a sausage dog, they have little, tiny legs so you make little, tiny bubbles. There they are. They're gonna be legs. Right, nearly there. Gotta make two more legs on the end here and he's got a cute little tail. Join them together. Now, there's one problem with this sausage dog — it's got standy-up ears. So you've gotta tuck his neck in there and tuck his head in there and you get a very cute…
Ruben holds up his completed balloon sausage dog.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Oh! (Barks and howls)
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Look what that is! Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Snoopy the stunt dog. And Snoopy is about to perform for you the liquid nitrogen dive of death into liquid nitrogen. Please don't be worried about Snoopy's health and safety — he's gonna be fine, he's a fully trained stunt professional. On the count of three. Are you ready, Snoop?
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Yeah, yeah. Call a vet.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
One…
ALL:
..two, three!
Ruben lowers the balloon sausage dog into a vat of liquid nitrogen. It shrinks and disappears inside.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
In he goes. Oh, it's a slow-motion dive!
ELLIOT SPENCER:
This is really cold in here. It's really co… Snoop? Snoop?
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Snoopy?
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Snoop dog? Snoop dog's gone.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Hang on, he's trying to tell us something. He said, 'Don't worry about me, I'm just chillin'.' Ahh! This is called 'coming back to life'.
ALL:
One, two, three!
Ruben removes the flat balloon sausage dog from the liquid nitrogen.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Now give him the kiss of life.
Elliot puffs repeatedly on the balloon. It slowly inflates again.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Ooh! Ooh!
RUBEN MEERMAN:
And he's OK! Um, his head's come undone. Let's take him to the chiropractor. Ah, gotcha. OK. And, look, he's… a little different.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
So good to have him back.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
He's fine.
ELLIOT SPENCER:
This is awesome! You know what I've learnt?
RUBEN MEERMAN:
What have you learnt, Elliot?
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Liquid nitrogen is the ultimate shrink ray.
RUBEN MEERMAN:
Shrink ray?
ELLIOT SPENCER:
Yeah, in a liquid form.
Text on screen: 'Science Week 2008. This carefully controlled mayhem was conducted by experienced presenters in a supervised theatre.'