How to make a bouncy ball using just glue and salt

A simple bouncy ball recipe to make at home

Want to make your own boun­cy ball? Check out this cheap and easy recipe!

Safe­ty pre­cau­tions

Con­duct this ex­per­i­ment only un­der adult su­per­vi­sion.

Reagents and equip­ment

  • 20 mL sil­i­cate glue;
  • sodi­um chlo­ride so­lu­tion (1 tbsp salt in 70 mL of warm wa­ter);
  • bowl;
  • stir­ring rod.

Step-by-step in­struc­tions

Pour 20 mL sil­i­cate glue into a bowl and add 70 mL sodi­um chlo­ride so­lu­tion. Stir slow­ly and wait 2 min­utes. Take the re­sult­ing white pre­cip­i­tate and shape it into a ball. Your boun­cy ball is ready to jump!

Process de­scrip­tion

Sil­i­cate glue is an al­ka­line so­lu­tion of sili­cic acid salts, the mol­e­cules of which form long poly­mer chains. With the ad­di­tion of the salt so­lu­tion, the poly­mer pre­cip­i­tates via a process known as salt­ing out.

Try it