I'm building a bridge for Physics I out of #8 spaghetti and Elmer's glue (the only allowed materials). Why was it suggested to me that I dry glued spaghetti with a hairdryer before it dries? What does that do as opposed to just glueing and letting it dry naturally?
2006-12-30 07:23:42 · 4 answers · asked by c90 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
It will make it dry faster. If you can cut 50% off the drying time and you have 100 pieces...
2006-12-30 07:27:17 · answer #1 · answered by JimGeek 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The suggestion to dry the spaghetti with a hair dryer is probably a good one. It will fix the glue in place, and adhere to the parts you are joining , before the glue has a chance to be absorbed by the pasta and soften it. But don't overheat it.
Most simple glue, like Elmer's, which is a polymer based product, which is a liquid, might actually soften the pasta before it hardens, leaving you with......stringy spaghetti, or cracks in the non-hardened spaghetti, which may break later. Not exactly what you are seeking if you want to make a bridge model with it !
Good luck,
John B.
2006-12-30 15:38:02 · answer #2 · answered by JOHN B 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Get fancy. Cook four strands of spaghetti and suspend them by the ends and let them dry in an arc. Then you can make a suspension bridge. (break two of them in half for the four end pieces of the main cable)
2006-12-30 17:56:21 · answer #3 · answered by Nomadd 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Jim is correct, but don't forget you can also cook the spaghetti and re-dry it if you need to get creative and make free-form shapes for support too! d;)
2006-12-30 15:33:20 · answer #4 · answered by Gary D 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋