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The teardrop explodes!
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The teardrop explodes!
Tuesday, 13 October 2009 16:14
Back in the 17th Century, Charles I's nephew, thought it was a great practical joke to give his courtiers a glass drop only for them to shatter it when he broke the tail.
Prince Rupert's Drops, also named Dutch tears, are named after Prince Rupert of the Rhine, who supposedly discovered them in the 1640s. They are created by dripping molten glass into a bucket of cold water. Because the outer part of the glass cools and hardens first, it is put under incredible tension when the inner part cools and shrinks. The result is a kind of tempered glass, which is stronger than normal glass. If the glass is damaged in any way (usually by snapping the fragile tail end), the tremendous energy stored up is released almost instantly as cracks spread through the glass at over 4,000 miles per hour, and the teardrop explodes violently.
Because tempered glass shatters into many tiny pieces that are less dangerous than large shards of glass, it is useful for things like car windows and diving masks. However, Prince Rupert allegedly had a lot more fun using the drops in pranks on his courtiers!
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