He is The Backyard Scientist. What he does is exactly what his pseudonym implies. He does crazy stuff in his backyard. Mostly science-type stuff but he likes to play with fire, including all the ka-booms that go with it.
The guy has 4.59 million subscribers and this video alone has garnered over 35.9 million views. TBS does the wild stuff your parents wouldn’t allow you to do out back.
His experiment might not be normal, but it is brilliant.
So what happens when you play with molten aluminum and water beads? The results are surprising. TBS starts off with a huge fish tank that he has filled with little water polymer beads. Those beads are super absorbent, able to hold 200 times their weight in water.
Well being who he is, Kevin thought of pouring molten aluminum in the tank with all those beads.
Not your typical school’s science lab.
The beads are from vat19.com and they look like any ordinary beads. Until you let them sit in water for about 4 hours. What comes out are see through, bouncy looking beads that resemble ice. Or something like that.
TBS needed around 3 pounds of the stuff for his experiment. He measured them out and put them in a storage container with water so as to avoid kicking up sand in the fish tank. Look at them swirl!
Hydrate those beads!
After they’ve absorbed all the water they could hold, Kevin transfers the lot in a fish tank. He inserts acrylic sheets on all sides to protect the glass from the molten aluminum.
Playing with fire.
It takes about 15 minutes to melt a couple of pounds in a forge. But do be careful when you’re at this part of the process. Once it’s glowing red hot, TBS pours it into the fish tank. Oh, and remember to wear protective gear.
Check out the shapes in that tank as the melted aluminum makes its way down the enclosure. Kevin’s got a camera at the bottom and it was so close to getting hit. That’s only a few millimetres!
That stuff is cool!
He pulls the aluminum out and just look at that! Like something out of a science fiction movie only it won’t kill you or harm the planet. TBS gets up to make some more of the aluminum and water beads combo. He goes at it seven more times mixing up the sizes and shapes as he went along.
Unpredictaballs!
Kevin shows off his new babies like a proud father. Or maybe a mad scientist showing his monstrosities. Well anyway, use your imagination and see what they look like to your eyes. Corals? Trees? DNA strands?
TBS says you can use them as a sculpture, as coral in an aquarium, an accessory to dress up the garden, and so on. Where would you put yours? Put them in a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings display, that’s an idea!
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TBS is pretty active on Facebook. He’s also got other videos depending on what you want to see. Kevin is pretty nifty, using science to create all sorts of art and educational content for his viewers. Go play with fire!
Watch his fascinating experiment below.
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