This Video of Bullets Hitting 'Unbreakable' Prince Rupert's Drops Will Blow Your Mind

Science alert ^ | 22 April 2020 | FIONA MACDONALD

[DUMBGRUNT]

"Goggle up, science is about to happen!

Physicists have been obsessed with these 'unbreakable' glass drops since the 1600s. But what happens if you shoot one with a bullet?

Spoiler: Prince Rupert's drops are so strong, they actually cause the bullet to shatter.

In glorious slow motion, you can watch as the bullet crumbles against the wide end of the drop, sending out shock waves that then rattle the rest of the structure and cause the thin end to break, resulting in the entire thing exploding.

[DUMBGRUNT]

And you thought it was just a 'vast wasteland' out there!

[SkyDancer]

What caliber?

[Retrofitted]

Thanks for this! My friend and I put those things to a test one day. We put one on a hammer head, then hit another one with it so it was “pearl-to-pearl”; the hammer just slid off, no matter how hard we smacked the thing, almost like they were covered in oil. Really weird feeling with what is still one of my favorite science toys.

[DUMBGRUNT]

.22

Long or short not stated??

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

What the frak is a Prince Rupert Drop?

[DUMBGRUNT]

“one of my favorite science toys.”

It sounds like fun!

I’ve never played with molten glass, but I have an ox-act torch and a nice anvil...

[NativeSon]

Close enough, let’s get to work!

[DUMBGRUNT]

When the Prince Rupert's drop is made, molten glass is poured into extremely cold water, causing the outside of the drop to cool and solidify almost instantly, while the inside remains molten and cools more slowly.

More at link

[SkyDancer]

Hit it with a .357mag and see what happens. Or maybe a little .22WRM.

[zeugma]

Always nice to learn a new thing. Thanks!

Anything non-covid is appreciated

[VeniVidiVici]

What the frak is a Prince Rupert Drop?

Oh, c'mon. You never played the game, "Do you have Prince Rupert in a can"?

[TexasGator]

https://www.sciencealert.com/this-high-speed-footage-of-bullets-hitting-unbreakable-prince-ruperts-drops-will-blow-your-mind

[TexasGator]

“What the frak is a Prince Rupert Drop?”

https://www.sciencealert.com/this-high-speed-footage-of-bullets-hitting-unbreakable-prince-ruperts-drops-will-blow-your-mind

[Savage Beast]

Consider my mind blown.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

If they would have let that video go just an instant longer you would have seen the prince rupert drop explode too. When that white from the tail reached the head it explodes.

[mylife]

Lets try some depleted uranium .50 BMG

[rfp1234]

Is Prince Rupert in a can like Albert, or did he come out?

[Pilgrim's Progress]

Kewl. When this gets big I'm going to start wearing a big old S on my chest.

[ShadowAce]

If you watch the actual video below in the article, they show that.

It's pretty cool.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

I’ve seen them before. Incredibly tough but if you break just a small piece of the tail it explodes.