A quick video about prince Rupert's drops, a fascinating phenomenon of stress in glass!
The thick part of a Prince Rupert's Drop is almost indestructible- you can smash the glass with a hammer and it won't break. But if you snap the tail, it explodes into a million pieces!
That is because the outside of the glass is under high compressive stress, and the inside is under high tensile stress.
I made some of these in the hot shop with my students on the last day of class.
246 Comments