SING-ALONG: a folk-science song that explains how water boils

I’m declaring “casual Friday” again, and what’s more casual than a sing-along? It seems that the science-folk genre just isn’t what it used to be, so I’m bringing it back to the limelight. Back in 1959 Tom Glazer teamed up with Dottie Evans to record a series of albums called “Singing Science”. Their little ditties covered a wide range of topics from “Constellation Jig” to “A Thumbnail Sketch of Atomic Energy”.

You probably even know Tom Glazer, but you don’t know you know. His peak of commercial success came with a parody he wrote and performed entitled “On Top Of Spaghetti”, the tale of a lost meatball. The science songs were written by Hy Zaret, who brought home the bacon when he co-authored the mega-hit “Unchained Melody”. With a team like that, it’s no wonder the Singing Science albums were so awesome.

Taking inspiration from them, this morning I got out the ol’ guitar and am pleased to present, with huge apologies to Eva Cassidy, a science sing-along of my own composition…

(You can click above to play the song, or grab the MP3 file)

“Weight on the Water”

Put the water in the pot, then wait on the the water
turn on the burner so it gets hot, that’s how you boil the water

But what happens in that pan, while you wait on the water?
I’m gonna explain it the best I can about the boiling point of water

If you put some water on a plate, it will eventually evaporate
It goes from a liquid to gaseous state, just like boiling water

You see water always wants to boil, but it can’t. Its plans are foiled
by the crushing weight of the air above, that pops all the bubbles before they can get out of… the water

[insert science ramble because it's REALLY hard to make all the facts rhyme]

Now when you apply some heat, into the water
the vapor pressure and air pressure meet, as the pot gets hotter

Now the bubbles start to form, in the middle of the water
they rise up and take their vapor form, and that is boiling water

So there you have it, the facts are true, straight from a scientist, through me then to you
It’s a story of hope, of overcoming, it’s the story of boiling water

• Fact source: http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/education/ask/index.html?quid=1316
• Thankfully, you can download (free!) many of the original Singing Science songs here: http://www.acme.com/jef/singing_science/