Prince Rupert's Drop

[JDeMoss]

Every time I try a Prince Rupert's Drop, it doesn't work. What the hell?

I have tried it with a large glob of glass.
I have tried it with a small glob of glass.
I have tried it in ice cold water.
I have tried it in room temp water.
I have tried it in a box.
I have tried it with a fox.
I have tried it in a house.
I have tried it with a mouse.
I have tried it here and there.
I have tried it everywhere.


but seriously, wtf? I'd like to be able to show a class of kids that I'm teaching next week.

I am using boro by the way, if that makes a difference.

thanks

[menty666]

Run a search, I know it's been discussed before, but if I recall it doesn't work as well with boro. Bring along a stick of clear 104 if you have it?

[PTrautman]

smaller drops seem to work better. The temp of the blob effects it too. try letting it cool a few second before letting it drop into the water.

[michaelangeloglass]

It's easy to make them in the hotshop, if your ever out this way I'll make u one.

[Ubatuba]

When you make them out of soft glass, you need to let the gather run and "fold" onto itself, on its own heat. Then let it drop in to the water and flick your end to detach the tail.

If you hear it pop then it didn't work.

An Erie silence after the sizzle, then you have a winner

Does it even work with boro?

[Hefe]

im wondering the same thing..wanna try it!

[pacosaki]

I guess I'm too noob to know....what is a prince Rupert's drop?
I thought you had a problem with a piercing........

[jjglass]

I don't know but I had Prince Albert in a can once...

[jr23]

ha ha penis piercer.

[menty666]

I guess I'm too noob to know....what is a prince Rupert's drop?
I thought you had a problem with a piercing........

Drop of hot glass dropped into some water to cool it fast. The bulk of it's strong enough to pound on with a hammer, but if you snip the tail it smashes.

[pacosaki]

better let him out! Arg, arg, arg :)

OK..I looked it up. Now I know....it's not trouble with a piercing...phew!

From what I can see and understand, I would think it wouldn't work out too good with boro because of the low thermo expansion index. The whole idea is, the outer shell cools and can not shrink while the inner core remains molten and hot so as it cools, it shrinks and opens up a void internally. But you need a large thermo expansion index to make this work.....seems to me.


And if that piercing keeps giving you trouble or it starts to ooz......better see a doc quick!

[pacosaki]

thanks menty...that's pretty much what the wiki said too!

[Alfred]

Works fine with boro,use a 5mm rod and make them small.

[Zed]

Here4's a beter demo (drunkx repy)

Takr as pointy, b;poe thin bubbl,e,

add tap water,

heat in torch until zsteam burnz youy finger,

quicly plunge open pint into glass of water

become mystified as water fillls point and bubble

seell as maginifying thing

++ bionus points if you cvan seal it.

<erase this

linux nerd shit>>

[menty666]

Friends don't let friends post drunk. Zed, hand over the keys on your keyboard.


:D

[jjglass]

Rofl

[michaelangeloglass]

Itwould be kewl to know how to make the Prince Ruperts Pipe...... Snap, What pipe? lol



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-GOwtikSO0

[Hefe]

aha..prince ruperts pipe


what officer.dont make me snap this tale!..SMASH..in his eyes.....

[Bryan]

that water tech is cool. Been kicking myself bc i had made some that have been lying around the shop and then i saw that infomercial on the planter watering things.....

[menty666]

It might be fun to make a few of them to bring and demo to the kids during show season. It's fun, educational, and you get to see glass explode. Everybody wins!

[Zed]

Now that I'm a little more sober, I'll try to explain the demo I was talking about if anyone cares. I got this out of a 60's scientific lamp book years ago, the Hammersfar and Strong one. Easy and impressive demo.

Pull a 1 inch point on some 1 inch tube, although actual tube diameter doesn't matter.

Blow the point out into a thin but sturdy bubble

Let it cool

Put a drop of water into the bubble, and heat at the torch until the water turns to steam. Hold the point with gloves to aviod steam burns.

Just after the steam stops escaping, plunge the point into a glass of water

the vacuum created by the expulsion of steam will suck the water into the point. Alot of times the pressure will act funny, and the water level will move up and down, up and down until finally the tube fills with a thunk! sound.

If you get your heat exactly right you can get the bulb to fill, then the water will hit the still hot glass and expell again, then fill again... I made one once that did this 4 or 5 times.

If you prep your point right, you can seal the end and use these as cheap magnifiers. Or you can put the point back into the flame and shoot hot water at other people in the studio.


I've always thought this was a cool demo. I'm still waiting for a video or better explanation of Roger Parramores, floating marble with a air bubble thing. That sounds super cool.

Prince Ruperts drops are cool too, the more demos you know the better right?