Breadcrumb
2C60.40 - Silly Putty
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Code Number: 2C60.40
Demo Title: Silly Putty
Condition: Excellent
Principle: Elastic Recovery of a Highly Viscous Fluid, Shear Force
Area of Study: Heat & Fluids
Equipment:
Silly Putty, Large Hammer, Corn Starch, Water.
Procedure:
Set the silly putty on a very solid surface. HIT THE PUTTY VIOLENTLY WITH THE HAMMER!!! Due to the fact that silly putty has a lower viscosity for slow shear rates and a high viscosity for fast shear rates the putty will shatter like a large crystal.
Another product that acts much the same way as silly putty is called mung. This is made by mixing corn starch and water to the desired solid/fluid consistency. Again this has a high viscosity for fast shear rates.
References:
- Rod Cross, "Elastic Properties of Plasticine, Silly Putty, and Tennis Strings", TPT, Vol. 50, # 9, Dec. 2012, p. 527.
- Rod Cross, "Elastic and Viscous Properties of Silly Putty", AJP, Vol. 80, # 10, Oct. 2012, p. 870.
- Jearl Walker, "Serious Fun with Polyox, Silly Putty, Slime and Other Non-Newtonian Fluids", The Amateur Scientist, November, 1978.
- Jearl Walker, "Easy Ways to Make Holograms and View Fluid Flow, and More Funny Fluids", The Amateur Scientist, February, 1980.
- "Toy Origins", Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, p.169.
- "Silly Putty", Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, p.267.
- Ed Sobey, Woody Sobey, "Silly Putty", The Way Toys Work, p. 125.
- Janice VanCleave, "Glob", 200 Gooey, Slippery, Slimy, Weird, & Fun Experiments, p. 55.
- Janice VanCleave, "Sticky Sand", 201 Awesome, Magical, Bizarre, & Incredible Experiments, p. 54.
- 4.127: Jearl Walker, "Die-Swelling Silly Putty", The Flying Circus of Physics with Answers.
- 4.128: Jearl Walker, "Bouncing Putty",The Flying Circus of Physics with Answers.
- Brandon Specktor, "Toys That Weren't Meant to Be Toys", Readers Digest, Sept. 2015, p. 134-135.
- Herb Strongin, “Investigating a Solid / Liquid“, Science on a Shoestring, p. 18.
- Borislaw Bilash II, “Silly Putty“, A Demo A Day – A Year of Physical Science Demonstrations, p. 201.
- The Book of Unusual Knowledge, Publications International, Ltd., "8 Things Invented or Discovered by Accident", Chapter 15, p. 450.