you`re quite Welcome!

 

have a look for Hydrogel.

there`s also something called watersorb, but I`m not sure if it`s the same thing?

 

eitherway, just tell them it`s the crystals that hold water for hanging baskets, they`ll know what you`re on about

hey

 

I have taken a look around and have found this

 

http://www.goodfellow.com/scripts/web.wl?MGWLPN=MNT&PROG=SEARTOW&LAN=A&HEAD=AC33&SPAGE=AC33&FORM=63

 

Or from a gardening place i have found

 

http://www.watersorb.com/prices.htm

 

The second one look a lot cheaper ! But maybe the goodfellow one is a lot better.

 

So 2.5 Grams mixed with water would make 1ltr of gel ?

 

Thanks

if it`s polyacrylamide based then yes, 2.5g and 1 litre of water

 

of course you may use Any level in between, 1l is the max, it all depends on how firm you wish the gel granules to be.

im still not 100% sure of what this stuff comes out like. When you mix the crystals with the water does it turn into like a consistant gel ? And the more crystals you add the thicker the gel goes ?

 

Thanks

each crystal turns into a solid gel mass, lots of them will simply do the same each, but also allow them to move along each other to some extent.

the density of each you can control quite easily.

also don`t worry if you add too much water, allow them to dry and they reform back to original crystals, they can do this forever

why don`t you just buy a small pack and experiment first, that`s the best way to understand them.

good idea . Ill give it a go . I have a back up plan anyways. Blick Gray Clay i think it is called. Heres a link

 

http://www.dickblick.com/zz332/32/

 

I suppose this stuff would be ok aswell. Ill have to do some experiments.

 

Thanks

is silica a hydrogel ?

another backup backup would be to try very fine silver sand and high viscosity motor oil.

grab it slowly and gently it will form to your hand, shock it, and it will be as rigid as cement and then relax again.

also if the gel crystals are too large each, no problem, grind them to smaller sizes.

 

Good Luck, and let us know how you get on

yeh im going to give all these ideas a go . I just thought of a possible problem with the hydrogel crystals. They slowly release water don't they ? This means eventually its going to turn just into water. I like the idea of the silver sand and motor oil. That would be a bit like corn flour and water wouldnt it ? Appart from wouldnt corn flour go off.

 

Thanks a lot i got some testing to do

Nooooooo it slowly releases water in an OPEN air system, when closed (airtight) they stay like that forever, there`s nowhere to leak the water out To

ahhh good point. I can see wot u mean . im gonna give the silver sand idea and go aswell .

jsut one last thing that i want to get clear. Does Corn flour when mixed with water ever go off ? Becuase that is the perfect thing and probably the cheapest and easiest thing to use ?

 

Thanks last question honest

Of course it does. Just leave your custard out of the fridge and see.

even when its air tight ?

If cooked in a properly sealed bag and not opened at all, it will keep a long time. Dont forget, it is a foodstuff, and will have foodstuff type shelf life

and I strongly doubt you have Cobalt 60 radiation facilities to extend this shelf life

and I strongly doubt you have Cobalt 60 radiation facilities to extend this shelf life

Long ago, as a teenager, a friend had a test-tube of strontium 90 in his bedroom. Great glow in the dark fun at parties. That might zap the cornflour!

lol ok . Anyone ever had a sress ball before ? I always thought they put corn flour in them ? Well they probably dont but what do they use in them :S ?

I have no idea what that is made of ! Its some sort of doughy thing inside thick rubber

you can make your own stress ball with a balloon and corn starch (or flour or sand).

 

It's probably the lowest cost solution. Another one could be silly putty placed in a condom lmao.

 

And (I hope) the condom will be alot more durable then a balloon. haha

My own experiments with cornflour gel show that is basically weak. Wheat flour is stronger, because of the gluten. Both would break up with continuous manipulation as in a stress ball They both need to slowly dried to achieve mechanical strength. Sugar helps, but the right proportion of humectant such as glycerine works best for me. To make firm gels from cornflour, one might investigate the recipes for fruit pastilles.

 

Is not the gel used for electrophoresis based on corn starch? (I stand to be corrected).

naah, polyacrylamide is use in the elecrophoresis, sometimer agar based gels too.

I can`t see any real reason of the top of my head that you shouldn`t be able to use it though.

well i have made a order for some water retaining gel crystals. Im going to see what they are like when they are full size crystals , otherwise like you said i can grind them down to try and get a consistant gel which i can make thicker or thinner.

naah' date=' polyacrylamide is use in the elecrophoresis, sometimer agar based gels too.

I can`t see any real reason of the top of my head that you shouldn`t be able to use it though.[/quote']

 

Apparently it was used in the early days, but your polywhatsit has superceded it. Glad I was not wrong, just out of date!

nothing wrong with "out of date" I still use and enjoy Thermionic valves in my own circuits

it`s good to know the older ways as well as Some (yes Some) of the newer ones

I`de hazard to say I`m probably the biggest advocate of Retro-tech on this forum too, think Wombles, think YT )