I made some red jello to use as gore for halloween and I want to put it in my "bloodbath"/birdbath out the front of my house. The weather isn't hot (Colorado) but I'm still worried about it melting and disappearing on me. Therefore I'd like to know the temperature at which it will melt.
2006-10-24 07:07:05 · 2 answers · asked by Chark Finn 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
Jello is made with denatured collagen (gelatin) and flavour (mostly sugar). Sugar is very soluble and does not contribute to the gel structure. Collagen is composed of three polypeptide strands wrapped in a triple helical structure. Gels form when two (a polypeptide chain can fold back on itself) or three single stranded gelatin molecules recrystallize in triple helical junction zones such that there is connectivity from one end of the container to another. Under an electron microscope a gel looks like a sponge. In general gels are not in thermodynamic equilibrium, so there is no fixed melting point. The melting point depends upon the size and density of junction zones, which in turn depend upon the gelatin concentration and the thermal history of the gel. These factors can shift the melting point by 2 or 3 degrees C. All that being said, the melting point will be close to 42 C.
2006-10-24 18:45:12 · answer #1 · answered by d/dx+d/dy+d/dz 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Jello melts around 100-110 degrees normally. If you're using it for decoration use a pack of plain jello and it will raise you're melting point a bit. if you mix jello with extra water it will lower the melting point.
2006-10-24 15:45:53 · answer #2 · answered by Max J 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋