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Analysis of Silly Putty Swallowing a Magnet 23 Aug 2013 | 05:54 pm
Somehow I managed to miss this video when it first posted back in March [1] of a neodymium iron boride magnet being surrounded by Silly Putty filled with iron oxide particles. I see a couple of items...
Defects in Crystalline Polymers - Part 2 22 Aug 2013 | 08:43 pm
After Monday's discussion of a perfect polymer crystal of polypropylene, it's time to move on to the real world where defects are not only present, but I would argue in some cases desired. I had thes...
Defects in Crystalline Polymers - Part 1 19 Aug 2013 | 07:49 pm
Start by imaging a "perfect" crystal of polypropylene, say a fiber that is several centimeters long. Perfection in this case, is clearly unattainable. Perfection would require that the fiber be made u...
If the Ocean Could Hire an Ad Agency... 16 Aug 2013 | 06:31 pm
A short video (50 seconds)about ocean plastic that is more than just a little over the top: As I've said many times before, plastic waste has no business being in the ocean, so dispose of it properly...
Another Monomer I Won't Work With 15 Aug 2013 | 07:49 pm
I've written in the past of not wanting to work with urushiol as a monomer, despite it be biobased and producing some incredibly beautiful lacquers. It's just that the whole idea of working with the a...
The Pitch Drop Experiment for the Impatient 14 Aug 2013 | 05:59 pm
Inspired by the infamous Queensland Pitch Drop Experiment and the Johnny-come-lately Pitch Drop experiment at Trinity University, Andy Gibson (@Lopek) created his own version of the experiments using ...
Limits to Innovation in F1 Racing 14 Aug 2013 | 12:26 am
A few weeks back, I wrote about how the rules for the construction of the America's Cup yachts stifled innovation and worse yet, were often unenforceable. I decided to see if F1 race cars suffer the s...
Combating Molecular Weight Reduction from Shear Forces 12 Aug 2013 | 07:18 pm
The dirty little secret of polymer processing - one that everyone in industry knows but is seldom mentioned in any textbook - is that pumping a polymer causes the molecular weight to breakdown. Since ...
Oh, We Tried That and It Didn't Work 8 Aug 2013 | 05:46 pm
Just last week I was beating up some overhyped claims about how polyurethanes are the most versatile polymer, and now today I will be praising them. Time to eat crow. [*] At my previous position at a...
More on Using Plastics for Shielding from Cosmic Radiation, Part II 7 Aug 2013 | 07:35 pm
Back in June, I wrote about using plastics as radiation shielding on spacecraft, and even had a followup on correspondence with the author regarding the degradation of the polymer over time. I promise...
