Balls are great objects of play any day. If they are transparent and bouncy, then it just adds to the fun. In this tutorial, you are instructed to make polymer balls that are invisible when put in water, but as you scoop up the water with your hand, they come out in a spherical shape. Polymers are nothing but a type of plastic. They can be made of synthetic materials or organic substances. Their molecules display repeating structures. Make them at home for some science fun.
Invisible Polymer Balls Experiment
Ingredients
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Calcium bicarbonate
- Iodized salt
Recipe
- In a glass, add 1 tsp of baking soda to an oz of vinegar and constantly stir to mix.
- Put it in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Take the glass out and add its contents to ¼ cup of calcium bicarbonate kept in another glass.
- Stir constantly to mix well. It froths.
- Add ½ cup of iodized salt o the mixture. Mix well. Effervescence occurs.
- Put the solution in a pan and boil for 7 minutes as you stir constantly.
- Pour it into a plastic container and let it sit for 15 minutes.
- Immerse your hand in the solution and take out the invisible polymer balls.
Take the DIY polymer balls out and put them in water. They become invisible. Hence the name. Now take them out and put them in another container. Pour water over them. After some time, you will be able to scoop up bigger balls. Repeat to create giant sized balls. Note that the water balls are made without borax.
The DIY balls get their spherical shape on coming in contact with air. They become invisible in water as they share the same refractive index. They gain in size in water as they can absorb enormous quantities of the same.
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