My youngest brought home an assignment for school the other day looking into what material would be the best insulator. The test was to put a soda can in insulation 3 cm thick and see whose insulator k
ept the water hottest the longest. Through my studies for emergency preparedness, I learned that certain types of foam are the best insulator for bodies. (I will post that information another day.) Here is the assignment on paper.Armed with that information, I told her she should try foam. I had some foam from a fruit box that was given as a gift. She took an old yogurt container and off she went, making her foam insulated soda can.
First, she too
k the yogurt container and made three rings as it could be 3 cm thick and the foam was 1 cm thick. She put them in the bottom of the yogurt container. Then, she traced the length of the can onto the foam and cut enough strips to wrap it around three times. Then made three circles large enough to fit on the top.
k the yogurt container and made three rings as it could be 3 cm thick and the foam was 1 cm thick. She put them in the bottom of the yogurt container. Then, she traced the length of the can onto the foam and cut enough strips to wrap it around three times. Then made three circles large enough to fit on the top. She used duct tape to 
keep the foam in place and over the top of the can. We couldn't find a thermometer that went high enough to test the water temperature so we made the water hotter than touch and after five minutes in the insulated can, it was still too hot to touch.
keep the foam in place and over the top of the can. We couldn't find a thermometer that went high enough to test the water temperature so we made the water hotter than touch and after five minutes in the insulated can, it was still too hot to touch. I think this would be a 
great science fair project for someone. Here are the results of some of the things they tested at school.
great science fair project for someone. Here are the results of some of the things they tested at school. We sent the can in to be tested with the rest of the kids. Friday, they did the test and she is quite sure, she won. I will update this through the day when she arrives home. It really makes me want to post about our foam clothes for tomorrow!
She won the class competition getting a large "Symphony" bar as a prize. They will have the class winners face off this week. Hers only lost a few degrees in ten minutes. Big Congrats to the winner!
She won the class competition getting a large "Symphony" bar as a prize. They will have the class winners face off this week. Hers only lost a few degrees in ten minutes. Big Congrats to the winner!
UPDATE: October 10th, she won the school competition with her foam thermos! She came home very excited to day. I still think this would be a great science fair project even if the foam was wet going in, the heat pushes the water out of the foam!
I have heard a little about using argon gas as an insulation, or for cold weather gear. It is what they put in the double pain glass windows now. A layer of argon has the same thermal conductivity as a layer of down or synthetic fiber insulation three times as thick, and unlike those materials, it’s unaffected by wetness or compression.
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