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I'm doing a science session with my daughter's Beaver colony in a few weeks and planned to do non newtonian fluid slime! I'd been on the Web to order the ingredients this week and found it hard to find good old fashioned borax. Borax substitute easy, but Google tells me that doesn't make pva cross link and form slime. Then i found 'slime activator ' on amazon so bought that. Useless. Just had a couple of trial runs with my kids, used 200ml of ever build pva each time, food colouring and glitter and the activator did nothing. seconds time a tripled the amount of activator... nothing. Just glittery watery coloured pva.
Besos, I want a refund.
I need help. Where can I get borax or something that does actually turn pva glue into slime?
Thanks
Why not go with corn flour if your doing non Newtonian fluids?
You can not buy the original Borax, only Borax substitute. What about bicarb?
Or citric acid?
Didn't want to do oobleck but it's an option.... just of the view it's trickier/ more sensitive to quantities and needs a lot of stirring, whereas slime is instant. Beaver leader has asked me to do 3 experiments in the hour so....
Ah ha! Bicarb and saline seems to be an option.. . I've just added boiling water to 4 teaspoons of salt, and amazon just delivered 2.5kg of bicarbonate....experiment #2 is bath bombs
I'll have anther trial shortly.
Citic acid? Handily amazon just delivered a kg of that too. How do i use that to activate slime?
You can't buy borax because it's a potential reproductive / fertility hazard.
When my kids were smaller we managed to get it to work with contact lens solution, but if you're looking for non-newtonian fluid fun cornstarch and water, trying to stir it or slap a hand onto it or even jump on it.
You can get borax on eBay - at least that's where I got it last. You can also get contact lens cleaner that will also set slime from memory
If you can it'll be from a dodgy seller - it's illegal without appropriate use declarations in the EU (and out chemical regs are the EU ones)
https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/GB/en/sds/sial/b3545?userType=undefined
but if you can, do a proper risk assessment and make the kids wear gloves and goggles. Or more likely do a risk assessment and then scrap the idea.
Signed, A Chemist
Do you mean shear thickening, rather than non-Newtonian? Doesn't non-Newtonian also cover shear thinning?
You might be able to buy borax solution. The article below gives some of the chemistry. Looks like it needs to be equal percentages - did your slime activator have a percentage?
https://edu.rsc.org/experiments/pva-polymer-slime/756.article
I don't know if these are of interest
https://edu.rsc.org/outreach/snap-crackle-and-snot/293.article
https://edu.rsc.org/outreach/year-9-chemistry-day/288.article
the internet's a great thing but that recipe from the RSC is miles out of date, refers to borax (even as solution) hazard as toxic and indicates R&S phrases which were superseded in 2015.
Don't use borax even if you can get it from somewhere.
Do you mean shear thickening, rather than non-Newtonian? Doesn’t non-Newtonian also cover shear thinning?
Technically non-newtonian is just a way of describing behaviour that doesn't match the simple models of fluid dynamics. Which is basically everything.
If you warm something up in a pipe so it's viscosity decreases, that's non-newtonian.
Polymerize, non-newtonian (time thickening), ditto cement (shear thinning IIRC but also time thickening).
Ferromagnetic solution in a magnetic field, non-newtonian.
It's just that shear thickening and shear thinning are the two people remember.
In fact any gas is inherently non-newtonian because to move it you have to have one region at high pressure and one at low pressure, so it's behaviour between the two isn't consistent with how it behaves at the start and end points.
Pic of Borax substitute, to reassure theotherjonv
https://www.dri-pak.co.uk/cleaning-products/borax-substitute-500g/
I knew borax was mildly toxic so i was after something else really, the amazon activator, i was guessing would be a weak solution but the bottle has no info on it.... doesn't work anyway.
Ok, after tea I'll be trying bicarb and saline.... this time in a small amount of pva and no glitter
I don't need reassuring that borax substitute isn't borax - it's a carbonate IIRC
It'll still work for laundry purposes but lacks the crosslinking capability that makes it works in slime, as per the OP.
I know borax is mildly toxic
Your definition of mild jars with mine....
I'm labouring the point I know, but all the while there are folks 'potentially able to get it from ebay', or that 'you might be able to get solution' - it's clear people are not reading prior posts and so maybe they'll read responses.
I'll stop now, make your own choices, and I hope you enjoy your three-headed grandchildren 😉
And yes, i think non newtonian is the catch all term. Thixatropic is the term for stuff that thins when shaken, then gels again? Eg ketchup, and is non newtonian. Slime/ silly putty and oobleck (oobleck being cornflour and water) are the other way around, flow slowly but go 'solid' if you attempt to shear them fast.
Ok... .experiment 2, bath bombs, has passed its trial. So that's a relief!
Theorgerjonv, i believe you. I'm happy to find another activator.
No borax substitute doesn’t work.
Yes i could do oobleck, i just want slime as it's quicker.... with the right activator!
Fingers crossed on the bicarbonate and saline.
Btw, does anyone know if 'contact saline' is anything more than a salt soliton? Not having any to hand I've just dissolved some table salt in boiling water
I guess I'll find out soon.
Depends - contact saline isn't exactly the same as contact lens solution. CL solutions include small amounts of other ingredients including some with sodium borate/boric acid which is what makes it work.
https://www.thebestideasforkids.com/how-to-make-slime-with-contact-solution/
(noting, that controlling access to pure chemicals and hazards thereof doesn't mean it can't be an ingredient, at controlled levels, in other regular household items. So you can't generically buy borax but it can be used in other things)
https://www.thebestideasforkids.com/how-to-make-slime-with-contact-solution/
Ahh, so the contact saline could be a source of borax and hence its use, in which case table salt may well do nothing, ok. Ta.
Okay I've ordered contact lens solution. At least the return for a refund of the activator with amazon is simple.... don't even need to box the item, it's all done for you at the post office apparently.
You say you need three experiments? How about the one with the vinegar and baking soda one where you collect the CO2 to inflate a balloon, then empty the balloon into a beaker and pour the CO2 onto a candle to put out the flame? That’s 2 experiments in one!
it's a fine experiment. I may use that at some time... its very demo though, beavers need hands on.
My planned three for this time are slime (polymer chemistry and physical chemistry, hands on and they get a ball of slime to take home), bath bombs (acid base chemistry hands on and they go home with a rose petalled, lavender scented luxury bath bomb.....2 weeks too late for mothers day), and number 3 is rubber band race cars (physics, engineering, hands on, they go home with a car). I'd probably prefer to do just one of the first, and the cars, then ensure there's time to race the cars. However i know (and have seen why myself) the leader prefers both keeping them very busy and in smallish groups (Lodge sized works well).... the colony tends to get a bit carried away otherwise! So I'm happy to do three, the separate, hands on... which means practice and ensuring my pva, and my activator work and work quickly.
Future plans do involve oobleck.... I'm going to cost 2 paddling pools and enough cornflour to oobleck fill them, then hold a dance comp on them. Dance fast enough the beavers stay on top, tire and slow.... sink and lose.
Idea stolen from netflix, Emily's wonder lab, ep 1.
Ah ha! I'm now slime King! Gooey slime or hard silly putty made to order! Value contact lens solution from amazon which contains boric acid and then add in the baking powder last. It'll fizz and froth a bit so add washing up liquid if you want flubber. I assume the bicarbonate is turning the boric acid into borax as nothing happens until the bicarbonate goes in. 5ml and 1 tea spoon of bicarbonate for 50g of contractors pva makes slime, 15ml and 3 teaspoons makes a hard putty.