This Is What Happens When You Hit A Prince Rupert’s Drop With A Bullet

Prince Rupert’s Drops are fascinating because while these tadpole-shaped objects are made from glass, parts of them can withstand hits with a hammer without shattering. But what happens when you hit them with bullets at close range?

While the narrow tip of the Prince Rupert’s Drop is extremely fragile, the bulbous end of the glass is very tough.

Destin Sandlin from Smarter Every Day has been interested in Prince Rupert’s Drops for some time and decided to run some experiments to see just how tough they really are. He used a high-speed camera to recorded himself shooting the head of Prince Rupert Drops from different angles with a rifle.

Some of the Drops shattered but not from the head. The vibrations of the impact caused the tip to fracture, causing the whole drop to shatter. Some of them didn’t break at all. Check out Sandlin’s results in the video.

[Smarter Every Day – YouTube.]


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