Silly Putty
"Stretch it, pull it, Bounce it" (Ball of fun)

Introduction:
Silly putty is a toy that kid totally enjoy or chemical compound made of silicone and boric acid. It is composed of flexible molecules that give the material flow. Silly putty is a viscoelastic liquid and is a mixture of water, glue, and boron [1]. The word, viscoelastic is a compound word, visco means "resistant to flow" [Dictionary] and elastic describes a material that when stretched returns to its original form. In silly putty, each molecule is made of long chain of identical smaller molecules. When boric acid is applied to these long chains, boron cross-links begin to form [1]. Because of the constant motion of the molecules in solids and liquids, the boron cross-links are not very strong and break very easily. Silly putty react different to quick and slow forces [1]. When one quickly stretches it, it breaks instantly, and if one stretches it slowly it will stretches to greater distance and then breaks at some point. One can bounce it, throw it, decorate with it, stretch it, or make imprints with it.
Uses:
1. Pen Grip – The hard surfaces of pens and pencils can cause calluses, especially if we write for long periods. we can cover the pen’s gripping point with a layer of silly putty. It will cushion fingers [2].

2. Contact Lens Finder – Finding transparent contact lenses on the floor is challenging. They naturally blend with their surroundings. One can roll a ball made of silly putty on the floor [2]. Its sticky surface will certainly pickup the lenses when they happen to be in the ball’s path.
3. Substitute Dice – Since dice are often thrown around, the chances of them getting lost are quite high. One can mold silly putty to create substitutes for your dice [2].

4. As bouncing ball for kids
5. One can press it to the pictures and it transfers the picture to the putty (Copying).
6. Cleaning the house.

Background:
The War Department of United status was the one who initially invented this wacky substance. During World War II, access to many of the rubber-producing countries in the Far East was cut off. Desperate for rubber to make boots and tires, the War Department sought help from domestic companies to create a cheap synthetic substitute. Silly Putty was an accidental outcome of this experimentation [3]. Created by James Wright, an engineer at General Electric, the substance seemed to have no practical use. Wright conducted a multitude of tests on the substance and discovered it could bounce when dropped, stretch farther than regular rubber, didn't collect mold, and had a very high melting temperature [3]. Unfortunately, though it was a fascinating substance, it didn't contain the properties needed to replace rubber. Still, Wright assumed there had to be some practical use for the interesting putty. Unable to come up with an idea himself, Wright sent samples of the putty to scientists around the world. However, none of them found a use for the substance either [3].

References:
[1] A. Marie, "Silly Putty Chemistry" , Chemistry, Accessed November 27, 2012
< http://chemistry.about.com/od/everydaychemistry/a/sillyputty.htm>

[2] [Online] "18 Silly Uses for Silly Putty" , Accessed November 27, 2012
< http://lifehackery.com/2008/11/17/art-design-10/>
[3] J. Rosenberg "The History of Silly Putty", 20th Centaury History,
Accesses November 27, 2012

< http://history1900s.about.com/od/1950s/a/sillyputty.htm >