Our previous attempt to use surface tension to float objects found that a paperclip was too heavy. Looking around online, it seems like there might have been a flaw in our approach. By dropping the paperclip in, we might have broken the surface tension. This time, we first floated a piece of paper and dropped a dry paperclip on the paper. Then, using a pipe-cleaner, we pushed the paper under water, being careful to not touch the paperclip. The paperclip stayed floating on top of the water. I then gave Jr. scientist A a couple paperclips to drop in the water and he watched in amazement as his paperclips just dropped to the bottom while mine floated (thanks to the paper trick I used with mine). True to the physics of floating-by-surface-tension, we added a squirt of dish detergent to the water and the floating paperclip sunk like a stone... er... like a paperclip.
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