Water Beads

These tiny beads are made of a super absorbent polymer that can soak up a surprising amount of water. Plus, since they are almost entirely water when fully absorbed, they have the same refraction index as water and become invisible.  

Put in your potted plant’s soil to avoid over-watering. Create your own diapers. Fill a vase and put something in the middle to create interesting illusions. Or just enjoy the squishiness.

This 25mL tube goes a long way. And they can be dried out and reused. These beads are clear so you can use food coloring to create any color you want. 

These 3mm dry beads expand to about 40mm (1.5") in diameter.

For scientific demonstration. Do not eat. Keep out of reach of small children or pets.

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Super Absorbent Polymer: poly-acrylamide polymer crystals are able to absorb up to 200 times their volume of water. Here seven small spheres, approximately 4mm in diameter, were immersed in water for three hours, after which they were slightly more than 23mm across. The final gel sphere is more than 99.5% water! ➡️ Follow the link in my profile for info on where to get these and other amazing items featured here on @physicsfun #physics #physicsfun #physicstoy #polyacrylamide #absorbent #hydrophilic #watergel #watergelcrystals #chemistry #physicstoy #density #science #scienceisawesome

A post shared by physicsfun (@physicsfun) on Jun 21, 2019 at 10:00am PDT