Thursday, January 30, 2025

Bulletproof Glass - Prince Rupert Drop

Who has heard of the Prince Rupert Drop?  It was new to me, and so fascinating I had to share!

So what is it the Prince Rupert Drop?  If you take molten glass and allow it to "drip" in cold water and cool super fast in the "droplet" shape, it creates the Prince Rupert Drop. This quick cooling, or quenching, creates a unique structure inside the glass and can be described as an oversized teardrop.   

The head of the drop is incredibly strong because it's under a lot of pressure on the outside. It is actually so strong that a press or even a bullet cannot break bulbus end of the glass, BUT if you break the fragile tail the entire thing explodes.  

The Prince Rupert's Drop shows us how something can be super strong yet super fragile at the same time. It's a lesson that in science, and maybe in life, things aren't always what they seem on the outside. Even what looks unbeatable can have a weak spot, reminding us to look closer to really understand what's going on.

Enjoy doing a little research and I'll leave you with a short video showing this stuff in action.

Much Love, Lynn


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2 comments:

The enlightened one said...

What if you drop a perfectly round globule of molten glass in water? That would be indestructible!

Lynn White, Focus Sessions said...

Yes, if you get it exactly round you are right. The tail is the weak spot. Very cool.