The very hungry radical

 

That's so cute...and it explains polymerization pretty well (initial creation of radicals via UV exposure, radicals breaking C=C bonds to create more radicals, eventual termination by 'meeting' another radical)...and it references Eric Carle's classic book.

Thanks to @diflourine for creating this and allowing it to be shared in classes.

Playing with Polymers: make slime at home

Maki Naro is a webcomic artist with a blog on Popular Science's website. On the blog recently, Maki posted these instructions and explanations for making 'slime' from Elmer's glue, borax, water, and food coloring. (They're available in higher resolution over there.)

The instructions aren't anything revolutionary, nor is the explanation, but I look at this like Greg Louganis who always included an incredibly simple dive in his competition routine. Yes, the degree of difficulty was low, but he executed it perfectly.

Nice job, Maki.

How slow can you flow?

Sci-ence.org strikes again!

Cornstarch and water - non-Newtonian...

Catsup...ketchup (you say potato, I say tomoato, let's call the whole thing a vegetable)...non-Newtonian fluid...

PVA slime...non-Newtonia fluid...

Silly Putty...non-Newtonian fluid...

Chilled caramel topping...non-Newtonian fluid...

Apparently pitch...non-Newtonian fluid...

I've tried the whole "let's put the Silly Putty in a funnel and see what it does," but I've not yet spent eighty-six years watching it drip...drip...c'mon, just frickin' drip!

Feel free to tune in all year long as a ninth drop in those eighty-six years is expected to fall, and the process is viewable streaming online.

The Great Glass Taper, Part 1

Source - sci-ence.org (We're clearly waiting for part 2, Maki. See below)

The age-old 'is glass a liquid or a solid?' question shows maybe a little sign of coming to an answer this week with an article in Nature Communications about research on a 20-million-year old sample of amber. I'll readily admit that I have pretty much no idea what the article - at least the summary posted on sciencedaily's website - says or on which side of the line the article falls, but such is life.

The whole solid/liquid debate is a fun one when you get two experts, two materials scientists, two history docents, two whatevers arguing from positions of absolute certainty and knowledge going at each other with no doubts in their mind. Give it a try someday.

And check in on sci-ence.org from time to time for their typically funny, and often informative

Update: Part 2 has been posted along with Maki's commentary on the debate and new article.