Destin from Smarter Every Day revisits his previous experiment on Prince Rupert's Drops, a type of glass that is extremely tough but explodes when its tail is nicked. He attempts to recreate an experiment performed by Robert Hooke, one of the first scientists to study Prince Rupert's Drops, by suspending the drop in epoxy and then nicking it to observe the spatial fragment distribution of the glass as it shatters.
Destin and his assistant, Trent, use high-speed cameras to capture the explosion and analyze the footage. They encounter several setbacks, including an exothermic reaction in the epoxy and difficulties in achieving the desired viscosity. However, they eventually succeed in capturing the explosion and observe a shockwave propagating through the glass.
Despite not achieving the desired "galaxy frag pattern," Destin is thrilled with the results and finds the slow-motion footage to be "awesome." He concludes that the experiment was a success, even if it didn't turn out as expected, and that the process of exploration and discovery is what makes science so rewarding.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. Destin is the host of the YouTube channel Smarter Every Day.
2. Destin is at Lookout Mountain, Alabama, visiting Orbix Hot Glass.
3. Destin wants to recreate an experiment performed by Robert Hooke, one of the first scientists to study Prince Rupert's Drops.
4. Prince Rupert's Drops are made by dripping molten glass into cool water.
5. When the glass hits the water, it freezes and then contracts as it cools down.
6. The inside of the glass is still molten and pulls in on the outside shell, creating high compressive stress.
7. The outside of the glass is extremely tough, but the inside is under high tensile stress.
8. If the tail of the Prince Rupert's Drop is nicked, it will explode.
9. Destin wants to understand the explosion of the Prince Rupert's Drop and characterize the spatial fragment distribution of the glass.
10. He uses a two-part epoxy to create a plexiglass box to contain the explosion.
11. Destin uses high-speed cameras to capture the explosion.
12. The epoxy was mixed using a manual mixing device called the Mix-o-tronic 3000.
13. The epoxy was degassed to remove air bubbles.
14. Destin used bolt cutters to pinch the Prince Rupert's Drop instead of pliers to minimize torque.
15. The experiment was repeated with smaller boxes to reduce the amount of epoxy used.
16. Robert Hooke used a glue made from fish bladders to suspend the Prince Rupert's Drop.
17. Destin's experiment was not able to perfectly capture the fragmentation of the Prince Rupert's Drop.
18. The epoxy was too hard in some areas and too soft in others, causing the fragmentation to be uneven.
19. Destin learned that the Prince Rupert's Drop creates a shockwave that propagates through the epoxy.
20. The video is sponsored by Brilliant, an interactive learning platform for STEM concepts.
21. Destin is grateful for the support of his patrons, which enables him to rent high-speed cameras and perform experiments.
22. Destin coated a Prince Rupert's Drop with a layer of epoxy to create a desk ornament.
23. The coated Prince Rupert's Drop was expected to shatter and stretch when dropped.