The surprising experiment I am about to describe proves that air is all around you and that it presses down upon you. Air pressure is a wonderful force. When you swim underwater, you can feel water push down your body. The air all around you does the same. However, your body is so used to it that you do not notice this. The pressure is caused by a layer of air called the atmosphere. This layer surrounds the Earth, extending to about five kilometers above the Earth's surface.
The following experiment is an easy one that you can do at home. But make sure that you are supervised, because you will need to use matches. Now for the experiment!
What you need is a hard-boiled egg without the shell, a bottle with a neck slightly smaller than the egg, a piece of paper and a match.
Metheod: check that the paper will sit firmly on the neck of the bottle, tear the paper into strips and put the strips into the bottle, light the paper by dropping a burning match into the bottle and quickly sit the egg on the neck of the bottle.
Astonishingly, the egg will be sucked into the bottle. Your friends will be amazed when you show them the experiment. But be careful when you handle matches.
Do you think it's a simple and interesting physical experiment? Why did it happen this way? As the paper burns, it needs oxygen and uses up the oxygen (air) in the bottle. The egg acts as a seal in the neck of the bottle, so no more air can get inside. This reduces the air pressure inside the bottle. The air pressure must equalize, so more air from outside must enter the bottle. The outside air presses against the egg and then the egg is pushed into the bottle! This proves that air is all around and that it is pressing down on us.
