The Slime Page
At long last, the highly anticipated Slime Day!!!
Slimes are grandly know as Non-Newtonian Fluids. This means that they dont act like normal liquids do. If they are subjected to a force (e.g. a push or a pull), they will act as if they were solids. The bigger the force the more solid-like they become.
Dr H demonstrated the amazing properties of cornflour in water, before failing entirely to show how electrostatic cornflour worked. The Science Club was then let loose to make slime using PVA Glue and sodium tetraborate
Ingredients
- 300ml of water
- 100ml of PVA glue
- Two spatulas of sodium tetraborate (borax)
- Two 250ml beakers
- One 600ml beaker
- One stirring rod
- Food colouring
Method
Pour 100ml of water and 100ml of PVA glue into a 250 ml beaker. Mix well. Add food colouring if desired.
Pour the remaining water into the second 250ml beaker and dissolve the sodium tetraborate into it.
Pour your glue solution into the large beaker. Slowly add the sodium tetraborate to the glue-stirring continuously. Click here to see Simon demonstrating mixing.
The mixture will begin to separate out into a liquid part and a gooey part.
Scoop out the gooey part and start to knead it, this is your slime. You can throw the watery part down the sink.
Click here to see slime misbehaving! And here to see it misbehaving some more!
Strong Advice!!!!!!Dont eat this stuff!
Wash your hands after playing with it.
It will keep in the fridge for several weeks, but make sure it is labelled!
If you get it on your clothes wash it off with warm soapy water!
Background Info
PVA molecules are normally long and can slide over each other very easily. This is why PVA is so viscous, but not slimey! Adding sodium tetraborate joins up the PVA molecules making a huge network of molecules. When molecules are joined like this we call them a polymer. The polymer network stops water molecules flowing away so easily, so the liquid behaves more like a solid!