Prince Rupert's Drops: 400 Year Old Mystery Revealed

Prince Rupert's Drops are small glass structures resembling tadpoles that can withstand the blows of a hammer and yet burst into powdery dust if their threadlike tails break. They have been a source of fascination and mystery since they were discovered in the 17th century.

Now an international research team has pinpointed the source of the bizarre shatter-resistant behavior behind Prince Rupert’s drops. The work was a collaboration of researchers from Purdue University, the University of Cambridge in the UK and Tallinn University of Technology in Estonia.

Full Story: http://bit.ly/prince-ruperts-drops

Featured Purdue Engineer:
Srinivasan Chandrasekar, Professor of Industrial Engineering & Materials Engineering

Special Thanks to Sharon Owens at Inspired Fire http://inspiredfire.com/ for making the Prince Rupert's drops used in this video.

Photo credits:
The Art of Glass, Christopher Merrett, 1662
Micrographia, Robert Hooke, 1664
Philosophical Magazine, 1994
Applied Physics Letters, 109, 231903 (2016)
Trevor Malhmann

Music: "Vibe Drive" by Podington Bear via freemusicarchive.org