Polyacrylamide Polymer Vanishing Act
These spheres of hydrophilic polymer have an almost identical index of refraction as that of water- thus when submersed they become invisible. Note the elasticity of these spheres from the way they bounce, while at the same time they refract their surroundings as a spherical lens. The super absorbent spheres start as 1.5mm hard crystals and grow to 10mm when immersed in water for an hour or so.
Reference:
http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/materials-science/material-science-products.html?TablePage=16372116
Video source for the gif via physicsfun
#physics #science #hydrophilicpolymer
Wonder if they are edible at all, could be a good drug delivery method as they could be stored, then add water or fruit juice to make them palatable
ReplyDeleteVery cool!
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