Learning Real Life Science Lessons

On the way to soccer practice today we learned a real life science lesson.

A glass prisim (roughly the size of a soccer ball) will ignite fabric when placed in direct sunlight. ;-)

So, as you can imagine there's a story that goes with this. Isabella had her week with the Elite Cup Trophy. It's a beautiful glass soccer ball trophy that we didn't let anyone touch for the week it was in our house. Tonight we were returning the trophy to the coach. So, I placed the coveted glass trophy in the passenger seat near me so I could make sure it didn't break in the final 15 minutes in our care.

I'm in traffic and I notice a weird mark on my seat under the trophy. I move the trophy and inspect it thinking my seat had a sudden tear in it...odd.

A few blocks later I am stopped at a stoplight. It's at least 95 (maybe 100) degrees outside. I notice more small tears in the seat and now I see smoke too. Yikes! Instantly, I put the science together and grab the trophy and pass it to Isabella and instruct her to put it int he shade quickly. I'm patting my seat trying to make sure it doesn't spread and remembering that automotive interiors are likely non-flamable (right?).

Isabella at this point is scared to even hold the trophy. Here's a picture of her holding it after the incident and she's starting to stress that she can feel it buring her uniform. LOL.