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Materials:
- Half a glass of water
- Plastic Spoon
- 3 spoonfuls of borax (available on the laundry aisle of supermarkets, a major
brand is “20 Mule Team Borax”
- White Glue, such as Elmer’s, or woodworking glue (it's neat if you have both kinds, because they make slightly different superballs)
Procedure
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Add the borax to the water and stir until dissolved.
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While continuously stirring the borax solution, drizzle glue into the solution. A stringy, rubbery substance will form in the cup and wind round the spoon.
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Quickly gather up a glob of the strings and form into a ball in the palm of
your hand. Squeeze the water out of it. Try to get it as round as
possible.
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Now, drop the ball on the table and see it bounce. Bounce it on the floor. Now make a few more and see which
one bounces best.
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THE SCIENCE:
The glue is composed of polymer chains. The borax molecules combine with
the polymer glue molecules, further linking them together into a rubbery, bouncy material.
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| These kids used chemistry to convert glue into superballs. Cool. |
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| Bill Y the Science Guy bounces a Polymer Superball |
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