Screaming jelly babies
"Screaming jelly babies", also known as "Growling gummy bears" , is a classroom chemistry demonstration, variants of which are practised in schools around the world. It is often used at open evenings to demonstrate the more light-hearted side of secondary school science.
The experiment shows the amount of energy there is in a piece of confectionery; jelly babies or gummy bears are often used for theatrics. Potassium chlorate, a strong oxidising agent, rapidly oxidises the sugar in the candy, causing it to burst into flames, producing a "screaming" sound as rapidly expanding gases are emitted from the test tube. The aroma of candy floss is also given off.
Other carbohydrate or hydrocarbon containing substances can also be dropped into test tubes of molten chlorate, with similar results.
