Mystery of Prince Rupert’s Drop at 130,000 fps
What’s cool is that the glass droplet actually explodes from damaging the tail. Hitting the head with the hammer isn’t what breaks it — and so the high tension left over from it’s formation releases, starting a chain reaction at ~1 mile/second. Awesome!
Watch the video here:
Mystery of Prince Rupert's Drop at 130,000 fps - Smarter Every Day 86
They're surprisingly easy to make, and it's always impressive to take one, put it on an anvil, whack it with a hammer, leaving dents in the anvil and hammer but leaving the glass unharmed, then snap the tail and watch it blow up. But, as I learned, don't bother making a whole bunch so you can just pull them out and show them off later. They spontaneously shatter over the next couple of days, so your box of carefully built drops will contain nothing but shattered chunks when you pull it out a month later.
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting for you to make one John Bump =)
ReplyDeleteMaking ones as big as that requires special cooling oil, but I've made buckets of marble-sized ones. I'd send you some, but as per previous, they don't travel well.
ReplyDeletePicture or didn't happen =)
ReplyDeleteIf I have time... I've way too much stuff on my plate right now, although I do have the glassblowing equipment set up.
ReplyDelete