CDs & DVDs are an everyday occurrence now. And like everything, they wear out, get scratched, and eventually become useless. There are many reasons to microwave a CD; it has become so scratched it can no longer be used, it was a bad burn, the data needs to be destroyed, it was an
AOL cd, or for whatever reason, microwaving it is a worthy burial.
This is a standard CD, you see them everywhere, and from our vast amounts of experiments, there is no difference between a CD-R, or a CD-RW, and the color of the back does not matter either. Professional pressed CDs however are hit or miss. Some produce good light shows, while others (mostly AOL ones as luck would have it) don't do much of anything. DVDs, all types, on the other hand always produce nice shows. The following experiments were done with CDs:
Professional CD
CD-R 1
CD-R 2
CD-R 3
Each CD produces nice sparks as the data that was on it is quickly destroyed.
We tried many different ways to microwave each CD/DVD.
CD-R Raised
Professional CD raised
Because CDs don't really do much, and, they all do the same thing, we have though up new ways to experiment on them, the first comes with the help of some copper wire:
Suspended CDs
The CDs gave the basic reaction that they always do, the copper wire on the other hand provided a nice new thing to the mix. The copper wire burnt a hole through the painter's tape, and caused the CDs to fall to the floor. Overall, not a bad experiment.
The next thing we did with CDs was make a house out of them. This is easier said then done. After nearly 2 hours of work, and much help from our great friend Maria, we finally got a decent house together. The copper wire played a major part in the structural integrity of the house, and building it on the table was one thing, setting it up inside the microwave, that was another!
CD house video
The CD house proved worth the wait, as it was a spectacular disaster when microwaved.
Because the first CD house was so amazing, we built another one. This one included a chip bag lawn, and a light bulb bell tower. Together, they made a beautiful experiment.
CD House 2
One other thing we decided to do to CDs to try and get more interesting effects out of them was to heat up a nail with a lighter, and then push it through the plastic of the CD. This created some interesting looking peicies of "art". They also proved interesting when microwaved:
Melted CD
Melted AOL CD
Because our supply of CDs is near infinite, we did this to more then one CD, one being a professionally pressed AOL CD. Not supprisingly, that CD was not very reactive at all to the microwave. Turns out AOL can't do much well at all huh!
It's a pretty basic CD nonetheless, but, it was an interesting altrenative to the standard CDs.
