This is a list of scientific demonstrations used in educational demonstrations and popular science lectures.
Physics Balsa wood bridge — demonstrates compressive strength and tensile strength, teaches engineering thinking Egg drop competition — demonstrates compressive strength, teaches engineering thinking Hand boiler — demonstrates vapour-liquid equilibrium and simple heat engine principles Newton's cradle — demonstrates elastic collision, conservation of momentum, and conservation of energy Gauss gun Plate trick or Dirac belt trick — demonstrates spinors and the double cover of SO(3) by SU(2) Prince Rupert's Drop — demonstrates supercooling and tensile stress Self-siphoning beads — demonstrates momentum, energy and inertia Water rocket — demonstrates conservation of momentum, conservation of energy, the gas laws and basic rocketry Franklin bells — demonstrate electric charges Oxford Electric Bell — an experimental electric bell that was set up in 1840 and which has run nearly continuously ever since Wimshurst machine — an electrostatic generator Shooting a candle through a plank Foucault pendulum — demonstrates the rotation of Earth
Chemistry Ammonia fountain — introduces concepts like solubility and the gas laws at entry level. Barking dog reaction — demonstrates rapid exothermic chemical reaction Blue bottle (chemical reaction) — demonstrates reduction and oxidation reactions, and chemical colour change Chemical garden Diet Coke and Mentos eruption — demonstrates bubble nucleation Dry ice color show Elephant toothpaste Fizz keeper Flame test Magic sand — demonstrates hydrophobic substances Mercury beating heart — demonstrates electrochemical redox reaction. and an effect of a non-homogeneous electrical double layer Screaming jelly babies — demonstrates the energy within candy Using liquid nitrogen to shatter a rose Detonating a cloud of flour