Homemade Silly Putty 225
kinema writes "Have you ever wanted a ball of Silly Putty as big as your head? Now you can make it at home. The University of Minnesota's Chemistry Department has instructions on how to make it on their website." Isn't silly putty a copyright circumvention tool? This should be regulated before it gets out of hand.
Dont Joke (Score:3, Interesting)
Gotta love the society we live in now..
Re:Dont Joke (Score:3, Funny)
Try using Silly Putty some time, and press it ontop of a newspaper.
In any case (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Dont Joke (Score:5, Insightful)
It is probably a trademark, which could be enough to stop them using the words "silly putty", but not to stop them posting the instructions. To do that, they would need to have patented the technique of making it. Either way, copyright doesn't come into it.
Re:Dont Joke (Score:2)
The only action that could be taken (outside of the name thing) would be if the recipie for silly putty was a trade secret. But as a trade secret, if some one discovers what the recipie is you can share it. You have to have a patent to get protection.
The recipe (Score:4, Informative)
Re:The recipe (Score:2)
Oh yeah! quite bouncy!
That's part of what made it silly. It was bouncier than most balls, but since it didn't hold shape very well, it would bounce off in a random direction when it hit the floor, the wall, the table the cat and/or the window (not necessarily in that order).
Re:Dont Joke (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Dont Joke (Score:5, Informative)
The original poster was not saying that making Silly Putty might be a copyright violation. He was saying that the use of Silly Putty -- to wit, to copy (say) your Sunday comics and then stretch them -- was employing a "circumvention device".
Its too early in the morning.. (Score:2)
Re:Dont Joke (Score:3, Funny)
Elmer's Glue and Borax.
Slow news day, huh?
This is NOT Silly Putty (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Dont Joke (Score:2)
The process to make silly putty itself would be patented, but i'm assuming that since silly putty has been around a long, long time, and since these instructions on the web have not been taken down yet, that the patent has expired. So the silly putty recipe is public domain.
As for the name "silly putty" that
Re:Dont Joke (Score:5, Insightful)
Here's what I find interesting: Slashdot links to a neat-o geek recipe for a toy, and the first thing many Slashdotters think about is the Intellectual Property status of the recipe.
I suspect that all these posters aren't lawyers; they're probably some form of "geek": engineers, programmers, mathematicians, chemists, what have you.
I also suspect that in the great years of Amerfican innovation in the 20th century -- even up to the last 10 years --, geeks would think of geek things: "wow, what could I do with a gallon of Silly Putty", "wonder if I could make it glow in the dark", etc.
Instead the geek's first reaction is more appropriate to the lawyer or law student. We've gotten so used to frivolous "business process" patents, blant SCO-like attempts to steal other people's ideas, and innovation stifling laws like the DMCA, that geeks have forgotten the instinct to innovate. Now, every geek puts on the lawyer hat, and considers, not "what could we do with that" but instead, "how could I get screwed over if I tried to innovate".
And if geeks aren't innovating, America's future has just gotten a lot more bleak.
I hope the plutocrats will remember that most of their riches (and comforts and health) grew out of geeks' playful desires to innovate, and realize that stifling innovation with Intellectual Property laws just means much less pie to go around, for plutocrat and peon alike.
Re:Dont Joke (Score:2)
Re:Dont Joke (Score:3, Insightful)
Damn right!! This is what happens when we're inundated with stories about business controlling and dictating technology. You've hit the nail on the head, this is the ultimate reason geeks get pissed off at the DMCA, RIAA, SCO, Microsoft -- they know that all these legal issues are hurting their freedom to experiment and inno
Well, no.. (Score:2)
However, it's not particularily representative. Within most science/engineering fields, IP is not considered the enemy, and for fields like math and foundation research it's a nonissue.
Remember, in most areas, patents work
Re:Well, no.. (Score:2)
The missing bit (Score:5, Informative)
Another slime recipe can be found here [caldera.com] as well.
Re:The missing bit (Score:2)
Re:The missing bit (Score:2)
I noticed that too. It's rather appropriate, though, that the Nazi symbol is central to slime, given that you can't very well be a Nazi without being slime.
Re:The missing bit (Score:2)
Re:The missing bit (Score:2)
Does a borate ion normally take the shape of a swastika???
Yes. [csustan.edu]
Re:The missing bit (Score:2)
Actual method (Score:5, Informative)
This is mentioned here [umn.edu]. There's a bunch of other cool stuff [umn.edu] in the same section, too.
Should we be calling it "Silly Putty"? (Score:5, Funny)
And they say America spends too much on military research.
The history behind it. (Score:4, Informative)
I was a bit dubious to your military claims since the linked article only makes reference to an attempt to make a synthetic rubber. However, a bit of research on sillyputty.com [sillyputty.com] shows not only that you are correct, but also lists the ingredients (boric acid and silicone oil) required to manufacture it. Read on for an excerpt:
1940 In the midst of World War II, the Japanese contine to invade rubber producing countries in the Far East, cutting off supply to the United States. This begins to hamper war production efforts, especially for truck tires and boots. As a result, the government's War Production Board asks American industry to attempt to develop a synthetic rubber compound.
1943 James Wright, a Scottish engineer working for General Electric's New Haven, Conn., laboratory, combines boric acid and silicone oil in a test tube. The compound becomes "polymerized." Wright removes the goeey substance from the test tube and in his exuberance tosses some on the floor. Bouncing putty is born.
Re:Should we be calling it "Silly Putty"? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Should we be calling it "Silly Putty"? (Score:2)
They've had this for years on the inter-web (Score:3, Funny)
Gak? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Gak? (Score:3, Informative)
yes (Score:4, Informative)
Re:yes (Score:3, Informative)
This according to this site [about.com].
Of course, IANAC.
I hope this is a bulk recipe (Score:5, Funny)
I'm hydrocephalic, you insensitive clod! I'd prefer a smaller head, thank you.
Microsoft know alot about putty (Score:1, Funny)
--
Re:Microsoft know alot about putty (Score:2)
2 weeks later... still holdin
Now you can... (Score:4, Funny)
Okay, sure, I'll just pull the sodium borate out of my cabinet under the sink.
Re:Now you can... (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Now you can... (Score:1)
Re:Now you can... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Now you can... (Score:4, Funny)
What, you're saying you don't have any in stock? What kind of geek are you?
Silly Putty is easy to make (Score:5, Insightful)
From domestic materials? (Score:5, Funny)
Ob. DMCA joke (Score:2, Funny)
Buy in Bulk (Score:5, Informative)
From Crayola [crayola.com]
Or if you would like to buy 100 pounds of the stuff you can apparently order it directly from Dow Corning. Here's a page with step by step instructions on what to ask for and who to call.
100 Pounds or More [vern.com]
Re:Buy in Bulk (Score:2)
Silly Putty Hulk [crayola.com] no care - want Silly Putty Wonder Woman [crayola.com].
Better place for bulk & all things putty (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Buy in Bulk (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Buy in Bulk (Score:2)
Re:Buy in Bulk (Score:2)
People who wish to give the best birthday present ever?
Ive known about this for several years (Score:3, Informative)
Its not really the same consistancy of silly putty from the times Ive made it.
Goop, Glop, Gak, Flubber, and Oobleck too (Score:5, Informative)
Slimey sticky toys? (Score:2)
eg: This [candyattractions.com] or these [rebeccas.com]
sodium borate (Score:2, Funny)
where would one go to buy this stuff anyways?
You could try your local grocery store (Score:2)
Sodium Borate == Borax (Score:1)
recipie is wrong (Score:5, Informative)
"Silly Putty is a dilatant compound, a silicone based polymer..." This statement makes sense also because the inventor was (is) a Dow chemist/engineer. Dow has always been a leader in silicone chemistry.
The recipie from U of M is a borate cross-linked PVA (from the Elmer's), better known as slime. This is NOT a silicone polymer.
Before I flame UofM Chemistry dept., I will give them a change to correct this gaff.
Re:recipie is wrong (Score:1)
Yep, it was indeed an early attempt to produce a practical silicone rubber (obviously, Dow Corning learned a few things since).
There are instructions for ordering DC 3179 dilatant compound in large amounts (100 lbs or more) on these pages [vern.com].
Re:recipie is wrong (Score:2)
My dreams realized (Score:3, Funny)
Why, yes! Yes I have!
Now you can make it at home.
"We went to the bars and then a house party last night. What'd you do?"
"I stayed at home and made Silly Putty! I'm going to kill myself!"
this is Gak, not Silly Putty (Score:1)
Explanation please? (Score:2)
Could someone please for all of us silly slashdotters who do not know what Silly Putty is (or maybe know it under another name) give some explanation? From what I found on google it seems to be some sort of flubber" [imdb.com], but then, sort of, ... different.
This being slashdot, could anyone also put up some links about all models of starwars ships that have been created with this stuff?
That's NOT Silly Putty (Score:4, Informative)
You can order 50lb blocks from Crayola or 100lbs from Dow. See http://vern.com/putty/ for more info.
Slashdot editors can't even check facts on Silly Putty stories. Sad.
Re:That's NOT Silly Putty (Score:2)
Taking Silly Putty on Airplanes (Score:2)
A few years ago, some of my friends got together an order for a batch of Dow 3179 Dilatent Compound in its original pinkish color, and I got a kilo or so as a present for my sister's kids back east, whom we were about to go visit. In the shuttle on the way to the airport, my wife and I realized that our carryon luggage had two half-kilo baggies of plasticy clay and a digit
WRONG!!! Its missing Silicon! is fake recipe! (Score:5, Informative)
Real silly putty does not dry out or leave much of a residue and is of course feshy-colorred.
Real silly putty has alwasy been
65% dimethyl siloxane, hydroxy-terminated polymers with boric acid
-- 17% silica, quartz crystalline
-- 9% thixotrol ST
-- 4% polydimethylsiloxane
-- 1% decamethyl cyclopentasiloxane
-- ~1% glycerine
-- ~1% titanium dioxide
and of course you can manufacture it now, out of patent, but you have to be careful how you market it.
Or you can buy it from DOW in bulk for under 10 dollars per pound.
I am the first post that mentioned this and its 12:18 PM E.S.T. , so I can't imagine how something that I knew most of my adult life was not mentioned or corrected by ANYONE else. More amusing is that no one moderates on slashdot anymore even though technically all email accounts are mostly anonymous.
But for those that care. There is the CORRECT resipe , and its totally different than the poisonous one for mere slime the article mentioned.
Re:WRONG!!! Here is correct Silicon full recipe (Score:5, Informative)
Preparing "Silly Putty", a silicone polymer (a methyl silicone, polydimethylsiloxane), via the hydrolysis of dichlorodimethylsilane with simple lab tools.
This silicone, which contains residual hydroxyl groups, will be cross-linked using boric acid (B(OH)3). This trifunctional acid forms -Si-O-Blinkages resulting in a peculiar type of gum. The commercial "bouncing putty" found in novelty stores is a silicon polymer with softening agents, fillers and coloring agents added. The actual full list of Silly Putty ingredients with colorants and softening agents is
-- 65% dimethyl siloxane, hydroxy-terminated polymers with boric acid
-- 17% silica, quartz crystalline
-- 9% thixotrol ST
-- 4% polydimethylsiloxane
-- 1% decamethyl cyclopentasiloxane
-- ~1% glycerine
-- ~1% titanium dioxide
This putty recipe is similar and equally pleasing:
Day 1: This reaction must be carried out in a fume hood.
Wear gloves to measure 20 mL of Si(CH3)2Cl (MW = 129.06, density = 1.064 g/mL) in a dry graduated cylinder. Rapidly transfer to a dry 250 mL Erlenmeyer flask equipped with a rubber stopper. Si(CH3)2Cl2 reacts rapidly with moisture to produce HCl gas so make the transfer swiftly. To this add 40 mL of diethylether and hydrolyze by adding 40 mL of H2O dropwise. HCl gas is evolved in this hydrolysis step.
The addition must be made slowly at the beginning of the reaction or too vigorous an evolution of the HCl will occur. The ether component will be warmed up to its boiling temperature if H2O is added too quickly. It is a good idea to have an ice-bath ready to cool down the reaction flask if the hydrolysis becomes too exothermic. The first 10 mL addition of water is very vigorous but less so afterwards. After this initial quantity, you may increase the rate of addition. The product has a very strong odor; be sure to do this in a fumehood!
Separate the ether layer at the completion of the hydrolysis step by pouring the mixture into your 250 mL separatory funnel. Wash the ether layer 3 times with 100 mL (for each wash) of 1 M Na2CO3.
This step is done to neutralize any residual acid remaining in the wet ether solution. Vigorous evolution of CO2 gas is observed at this stage as the neutralization proceeds. Add 10 mL more of diethylether to the flask after the first wash. Finally, perform on additional wash with 100 mL of water. Dry the ether solution over anhydrous magnesium sulfate in a stoppered Erlenmeyer flask, which you let rest for step two.
Day 2:
Decant the ether solution, filtering off any magnesium sulfate, into a pre-weighed 50 mL Erlenmeyer flask and evaporate off the ether using a water bath - not a hot plate. Note the yield of the dimethylsilicone oil (you should have approximately 9.5 g of material).
Add about 5% (by weight) boric acid (about 0.48 g for a yield of 9.5 g of oil), stirring continuously during the addition and for a few minutes after. This will cause the oil to become very viscous.
Heat the mixture to about 170-180 C in an oil bath and leave at this temperature for 2-3 hours. Allow to cool and remove the product from the flask by scraping it out with a spatula. If the gum is somewhat brittle, continued kneading will produce the desired gum-like characteristic. Once the gum has been removed, clean your Erlenmeyer flask with methanol.
Perform and report on the following tests:
(1) When rolled into a ball, does your product give a lively bounce on a hard surface?
(2) Does pulling sharply cause the gum to cleave?
(3) Does pulling slowly result in a stretching reminiscent of chewing gum?
(4) Does your product flow into a flat plate when placed on a flat surface?
(5) Is print transferred to the gum when test (4) is conducted on a flat newspaper?
General References
1. J. E. Mark, H. R. Allcock, R. West, Inorganic Polymers, Prenti
Re:WRONG!!! Its missing Silicon! is fake recipe! (Score:5, Interesting)
We made actual silly putty in high school about 20 years ago. The main chemical was highly reactive to water, including the moisture in the air. A small bottle of the stuff (Dimethyldichlorosilane IIRC) came packed in 5 layers of protection, including a small wood box, and could only be ordered with the aid of a helpful adult with access to dangerous chemicals.
When we withdrew the liquid from the bottle using a syringe in our lab's hood, a wet rag 4 feet away starting smoking.
The putty we created wasn't very good. It did bounce, but didn't have all of the properties of the real stuff. Once we realized that we had no good way of disposing of the chemical, we had to keep making putty until it was all gone!
Today, we'd probably all be arrested for doing this in a public high school, but it was a great learning experience.
Jeebus, isn't that schitt messy enough? (Score:1)
No, I do NOT want a wad of silly putty that big. No. Damn. Way.
Just Buy in Bulk (Score:5, Interesting)
Its fun to do other experiments like bake it, freeze it, etc...
Silly Putty, a movie (Score:4, Informative)
I think this was on /. before, but couldn't find the past story.
Not Silly Putty (Score:5, Interesting)
There is a recipe for making the real silly putty compound, but it is far more difficult and requires ingrediants and tools not found in a grocery store.
Something I'd like to know (Score:3, Interesting)
Not silly putty (Score:2)
Re:Not silly putty (Score:3, Funny)
Gosh, me too. Here's what you do.
Take a breather, then you and your Super Friends can meet at the Halls of Justice and concoct some plan to bring truth and balance back into this wacky world where evildoers peddle glue and borax and call it "Silly Putty".
This isn't *really* silly putty (Score:5, Informative)
Anyway... while fun, the stuff isn't really Silly Putty (R). That's a silicone polymer. The poly(vinyl alcohol) that's in glues these days does a pretty decent impersonation, though. You'll notice that it does feel and act differently, and it tends to dry out much quicker than the real stuff.
Just in case anyone cared on this obviously slow news day.
Re: Suprised (Score:4, Informative)
my 2 cents
Re: Suprised (Score:2)
Oobleck is much more interesting and a hell of a lot cheaper.
Quite amusing (Score:2, Funny)
Yeah, hahahah, heh, heheh, wooo.
Thank god for that. I've finally stopped laughing. Took me 30 minutes though - take care clicking on that link if you've got to do something soon.
Great-Silly Putty Roof-Drop Video (Score:3, Informative)
This isn't new or news.. (Score:2)
Another recipe (Score:2)
One part liquid laundry starch
One part corn starch
mix well
And with 50 lbs of Silly Putty, you can do this! (Score:2)
Make sure to read the MSDS (Score:2)
(note: as previously observed, 3179 DILATANT COMPOUND is indeed the stuff)
Silly putty as DMCA circumvention tool (Score:2)
"News for Nerds, Stuff That Matters" (Score:2)
And then it turns into a IP debate.
heh (Score:2)
Play-D'oh! (Score:2)
35 years ago, my mom had the recipe for a home-grown recipe for Play-Dough gleaned from some womens' magazine.
We had tons of fun making and playing with it and i don't think that the ingredienghds did anyt long-terrm damaggee
conduct electricity? (Score:2)
I tried to make some kind of silly putty when I had a pretty good chemistry set for a kid, like 25 years ago. (a store-bought totally un-understandable chemistry kit and a ton of antique chemistry glassware my parents found in shops!).
Alas the putty (which was probably more the borax type I guess) was extremely hard to make and it seemed very sensitive to the ratio
Recipe archived (Score:2)
A bit more specific (Score:2)
> Large flask of 16% sodium borate
So, of course, 55% glue in water would mean 45% water, but when it says 16% sodium borate, does that mean the other 84% is water? They didn't really say that, but is it assumed it's in water? Otherwise, 16% of what?
Re:Hmmm sodium borate (Score:1)
as long as its got the right proportions it doesnt matter what a Large Flask is.
btw, you can buy Sodium borate at your local grocery store.
Borax: A hydrated sodium borate, Na2B4O710H2O, an ore of boron, that is used as a cleaning compound
Re:Hmmm sodium borate (Score:2)
Re:OMG... (Score:2)
slashdot (Score:2)
Re:This is very dangerous. (Score:2)
Re:copyrights (Score:2)
Re:copyrights (Score:2)
True. Especially because the end result of that "expiriment" isn't very close, chemically, to the real Silly Putty.
Re:Refine your own oil (Score:2)
Finally! Now I have a use for that old distillation column that's been sitting in my back yard all these years.
WTF???