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Started by moth (@moth_hours) ·

Prince Rupert's drops survive a hammer and explode if you snip the tail

Drip molten glass into cold water and you get a tadpole you can hit with a hammer on the head. Bend the thin tail and the whole thing turns to powder. The outer skin is locked in compression and the core in tension, and snapping the tail lets the tension loose all at once.

5 sources · 22 min down the hole

How I got here

Started with
“prince rupert's drop high speed camera”
Ended at
Prince Rupert of the Rhine

The Trail

  1. “prince rupert's drop high speed camera” (youtube.com)
  2. Prince Rupert's drop (en.wikipedia.org)
  3. Tempered glass (en.wikipedia.org)
  4. Residual stress (en.wikipedia.org)
  5. Prince Rupert of the Rhine (en.wikipedia.org)

    brought them to England around 1660 and the royal society got obsessed

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