Color Changing spoons experiment
Channel: Kids Fun Science
Date: 24/10/2021

Color Changing spoons experiment
Made for parents and teachers

Science Kits and more
https://elementarysciencen.wixsite.com/sciencekits

Here are Color Changing Reusable Mood Spoon, Set of 24,
https://amzn.to/3GkyR42

Color Changing Reusable Ice Cream Kit - 4 bowls, 4 spoons, 12 straws, 1 scoop 
https://amzn.to/2ZdwOOm

Kids Fun Science Online Store 
https://teespring.com/stores/kids-fun-science

My Filming equipment:
Cell Phone Tripod 54 inch Travel Tripod with Bluetooth Remote - https://amzn.to/34REzbB 
Blue Yeti USB Microphone - https://amzn.to/3ePJwGu 
Green screen & lights - https://amzn.to/2XT9Yc1 
Apple iMac 21.5in 2.7GHz Core i5 8GB memory - https://amzn.to/34ZMIe7
iPhone 8 - https://amzn.to/3byn4zw
iMovie for editing

Chapters
0:00 Kids Fun Science Intro
0:38 Subscribe and Like
0:44 Experiment with Ice Cream
1:31 Experiment with warm and cold water
2:13 Science Behind it
How it Works link on Leuco dyes

I went into my local ice cream place Toppings and started to fill my bowl and noticed my bowl was changing colors. I could smell science in the air. Bottom line, these spoons and bowls are awesome. But have you ever wondered how they work? Today I investigate the basic color changing spoons and bowls and Science Behind them. 

There are two types of thermochromic inks that make these color changes possible: Thermochromic Liquid Crystals (TLCs) and Leuco dyes, which we will be talking about.

Have you ever heard the term Thermochromic? If no don't worry, most people haven’t. The word comes from the Greek words thermos = mean, chroma = color.  Thermochromic represents materials that signal temperature change by changing colors. In the case of color changing materials, they can be found in a variety of objects such as mood rings, battery testers, coffee cups and yes, color changing spoons and bowls. But the science behind this goes beyond just changing colors. It turns out many materials react in one way or another. 

In the case of color changing spoons and bowls however we want to look at temperature sensitive dyes known as Leuco dyes, which start off as a particular color and become visible when the temperature rises or falls. Leuco dyes are organic chemicals that change color when energy makes their molecules shift back and forth. Based on if the temperature is hot or cold will determine how these molecules reflect light and thus present different colors.

So as magical as these spoons and bowls appear, we are afraid there is no magic to it. Simply science which allows us to have these awesome spoons that everyone can enjoy.
This type of Thermochromic ink is Leuco dyes. These dyes are a bit different than TLCs. For starters, they feature more “durable” chemistry. A well known way Leuco dyes have been used is in Coors Light beer cans. Remember the mountain featured on the can? When the can is at room temperature, the mountains appear white. However, once cooled to around 45 degrees fahrenheit the mountains turn blue.
For more information on Leuco dyes and their sizes which prevents them from being damaged from other chemicals, check out How Stuff Works https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/other-gadgets/thermochromic-ink.htm#pt2 explained in great detail on the science behind Leuco dyes. I just covered this at a high level.