Silly+Putty

**__ Silly Putty __** Materials: Beaker Spoon Borax Water Elmer's Glue Cup Procedure: 1. Add two spoons of glue to a beaker. Then add two teaspoons of water to the same beaker. Stir. 2. Then take a cup and fill it with to the top with hot water. Add three teaspoons of borax. Stir. 3. Now take three teaspoons of the dissolved borax with water and add that to the beaker with diluted glue. Video: COMING SOON :) Explanation of Chemistry Behind Demo: The Elmer’s glue is made up of polyvinyl acetate, a type of polymer. A polymer is a large molecule composed of small units called monomers. You can think of a polymer as a chain of paper clips. Each paper clip is a monomer and the entire link of paper clips is a polymer. This polymer reacts with borax, or otherwise known as sodium borate. The polymer of the glue cross links to the polymer of borax. Cross linking is when a polymer makes a bond or connects with another polymer, creating a bigger polymer. <span style="color: #1a3ba8; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">History Behind Silly Putty: <span style="color: #e36d6d; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">During World War II, chemists were trying to produce synthetic rubber. A man named James Wright was working for General Electric at that time and accidently dropped a bit of boric acid into a container of silicon oil. The substance produced had interesting properties and was called ‘nutty putty’. He shared this discovery with other chemists but it wasn’t useful during the war. By 1949, people were bouncing it like a ball, breaking it, and even stretching it out. Peter Hodgson was a former advertising copywriter who ran a public local toy store. He bought the marketing rights from GE and bought $147 worth of goo. He divided them into one ounce slices and packaged them in little plastic eggs selling them for a dollar each. <span style="color: #e36d6d; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">This toy has been a favorite of American kids since the 1950s and a couple million of eggs are sold each year. <span style="color: #3562bb; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Practical Applications: <span style="color: #e36d6d; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">One of the materials used in making silly putty is borax. This is a common house hold item. It can be added to the laundry to help remove tough stains and improve the cleaning power of the detergent. It can also be used in the bathroom to help eliminate odors. Borax can also be used in the kitchen to wipe off grease and grime off of plates. This one item can be helpful in numerous situations. <span style="color: #517fd6; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Photo: <span style="color: #5164cd; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Works Cited: [] [] [] []