This video shows how so called "Prince Rupert's Drops" are created by dripping a small amount of molten glass into water and then shattering them after they have formed. When a small bit of molten glass is dropped into water it often shatters instantly due to the obvious thermal stress and brittleness of the glass but sometimes the glass cools just evenly enough such that it does not shatter and remains vitreous. In this case the outer layer of the drop cools much more quickly than the inside and this sets up tremendously high tensile and compressive stresses in the drop. This gives the drop of glass very weird properties such as the ability to withstand a blow from a hammer on the bulbed end without so much as a nick. However, if even so much as a scratch is made on the tail end, the internal stress will be released all at once blowing the drop apart, shattering it utterly into a fine glass powder. The effect has been known for about 350 years and is the first ever example of tempered glass, though that certainly wasn't recognized until hundreds of years later and it was only used as a party trick to impress kings and such way back then.

Excellent sifts and post Gluonium. Top15!

Nice find, this is a much better version of one I tried posting a while ago.

When it hits the water it sounds like the lightsaber sound effect. Weird!

awesome find (:

*science

Adding video to channels (Science) - requested by EndAll.