Prompt Cast
The History and Science of Silly Putty
TLDR Silly Putty, a viscoelastic polymer, became a mass-produced product after being featured in the New Yorker and gaining popularity with kids. Its unique properties, including the ability to act as both a solid and a liquid, are due to its main ingredient, polydimethylsiloxane.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Charles Goodyear discovered vulcanization, a process that made natural rubber tougher and more flexible, which led to the mass production of rubber products during the industrial revolution.
04:32
During World War II, the US commissioned labs and academic institutions to develop synthetic rubber, resulting in the creation of GR-S, which became the standard for synthetic rubber and allowed the US to produce twice the amount of rubber compared to the rest of the world combined.
09:02
Silly Putty was initially sold as an adult novelty toy in the 1940s, but became a big seller after being featured in a toy store's catalog and gaining attention from writers at the New Yorker.
13:14
Silly Putty became an overnight success after being featured in the New Yorker and receiving a quarter of a million orders in three days.
17:58
Silly Putty has a variety of uses, including stress relief, hand therapy, blocking out low frequency noises, and cleaning typewriter or computer keys, but it became popular with kids because of its ability to create mirror images of comics by stretching it out on newsprint.
22:01
Silly Putty is a viscoelastic polymer that is subject to the science of fluid chemistry, specifically viscosity, which measures the resistance to flow of a fluid at a certain temperature.
26:45
Non-Newtonian fluids, like Silly Putty, behave differently based on the amount of stress applied to them, acting as both a solid and a liquid simultaneously.
30:39
Silly Putty's viscoelastic properties are due to its main ingredient, polydimethylsiloxane, which causes it to behave as a highly viscous fluid at high temperatures and long flow times, but break when pressure is applied quickly or at lower temperatures.
34:50
Silly Putty is made up of linked polymer chains that give it its elastic properties, and it can be stored in a resealable bag or container to keep it soft.
38:43
The hosts wrap up the episode by thanking a listener for their email and discussing corrections, while also inviting listeners to send in corrections or silly putty stories.
Categories:
Society & Culture
