@smartereveryday

If you're an academic who would like to collaborate on a paper on this topic please reach out. I have lots of data that I didn't share in this video and I think we've made some significant contributions to the body of knowledge in this area. The main reason I wanted to perform this experiment was to better understand the radial fragmentation distribution of the Prince Rupert's Drop. After this experiment, I'm not so sure it works like I originally thought.
Also, I really wanted a Prince Rupert's Drop shirt. If you'd like one, as well here's the link! https://www.smartereveryday.com/store

Thanks again to everyone who supports Smarter Every Day on Patreon. I'm sincerely grateful! https://www.patreon.com/smartereveryday

@theslowmoguys

“Close your mouth” could also apply to me while I’m watching this footage.

@RustyHero

You should try deep-pour slowcure epoxy resin next time. It's less exothermic and allows more time to get the right viscocity.

@rickw9799

Three recommendations here:
- Try letting the resin fully harden, I'm curious if the shockwave is powerful enough to shatter the hardened resin.
- Try ballistics gel instead of resin. This should more fully capture the 3d visualization of the drop shattering.
- Try clear gelatin, as the ballistics gel may be slightly too hard to allow the glass shards to travel through it.

I loved this video and am fascinated by just how FAST these things shatter!

@Jacob-ly8vs

The way you can see the epoxy move is FASCINATING. Fluid dynamics are amazing.

@vidwannabe

If you want to try this again, try doing it in water and use Laponite RD (rheology modifier). 2% of laponite in water will gel the water enough to suspend a marble. When you add shear (the drop exploding) it will thin to water consistency and then rethicken immediately. Might make for better photography.

@EvanAndKatelyn

Love the video! Homogeneous viscosity and hardness is definitely possible. Seems like your resin was struggling with thermal runaway but reducing the volume was a smart move! If you're doing resin experiments in the future and would like any tips just let us know :)

@cardinalhamneggs5253

I was expecting you to let the epoxy solidify completely before popping the drops but this is cool too.

@andrewlazier5132

If the internet was made of more of videos like this the world would be a better place. Thank you.

@calowaykagan

US and International HS physics teacher for 24 years now. Your enthusiasm and honesty about your process is inspiring for myself and my students. Your passion for PRDs is terrific stuff. Keep up the good work. You are making a difference.

@devjock

Clear ballistic gel could help you with the perfect amount of goopyness. It's real easy to cast, and you can set the "springback" very accurately.

@crystalking2468

Whoever took the time to make the captions, I commend you for your work disclosing every single sound effect

@bbrockert

If you do this again you might try resin meant for casting. This kind of epoxy is formulated for making strong thin surfaces, and as you found can kick unevenly from self-generated heat.

@MagicRobotsCli

"I guess it exploded, like everything else..." genuine joyful laughter. You, and this channel are a gift. Thank you.

@AndresMilioto

I love that you showed the entire first day of things going wrong. This is science, and if youtube videos don't show that part, children get really discouraged when things don't go their way with experiments. As educators (both formally and just as parents), we need to normalize failure of first N attempts, and the strive to keep trying. This is the way

@mimamo

I think an issue was the too small container. As you pointed out yourself, a shock wave hit the outer walls of the container and was then reflected back to the explosion stopping the explosion from expanding.

@ElizabethSwims

I'm curious if a two headed drop can be made and will it work the same

@robertlenders8755

I think to best capture separate fragments of the PRD you'll want to use a "Bingham Plastic" fluid. These types of fluids are solid at low shear stresses but liquid at high shear stress. If you can find the right fluid it should hopefully be thin enough to shear during the explosion and then become solid immediately as the explosion slows.

@mauthful

What a calm and measured, "I guess it exploded, like everything else."
Glad you stayed safe, shared a bit of the danger, and brought us along to learn things.

@beastinthesky6774

This is some top shelf slow-mo content. Whoever thought of this Rupert's drop / epoxy thing struck gold. Cheers and thanks for sharing your fun and experimentation with the world.