Hydrophobic sand facts for kids
Hydrophobic sand is a special kind of sand that doesn't get wet. It's also called magic sand. This sand is covered with a special chemical that makes it "hate" water.
When hydrophobic sand touches water, the grains stick together. They form shapes like cylinders to keep as little surface as possible touching the water. This also creates tiny air pockets around the sand, which is why it stays dry.
A similar type of sand is called kinetic sand. It feels like wet sand but never dries out. Both hydrophobic sand and kinetic sand will not mix with water.
Contents
How This Special Sand Started
The idea of waterproof sand goes way back! One of the first mentions was in a 1915 book called The Boy Mechanic Book 2. This book said that magicians in East India invented waterproof sand. They made it by mixing hot sand with melted wax. The wax would then stop the sand from getting wet.
Magic sand was first developed for a serious purpose: to help clean up oil spills in the ocean. The idea was to sprinkle the sand on floating oil. The sand would mix with the oil, making it heavy enough to sink. However, this method was too expensive to use often.
Hydrophobic sand has also been tested for other uses. In very cold places, utility companies have used it as a base for junction boxes because it never freezes. It's also used to help aerate (add air to) the soil for potted plants.
What Makes It Special
Magic Sand Properties
Magic sand gets its amazing properties from regular beach sand, which has tiny bits of pure silica. This sand is then exposed to the vapor of a chemical called trimethylsilanol. When the trimethylsilanol touches the silica particles, they bond together and create water. This process coats the outside of the sand grains with special groups that are hydrophobic, meaning they repel water. When you take magic sand out of water, it's completely dry and flows freely.
Popular Brands
- Kinetic Sand
- This is a popular toy made by Spin Master Ltd. Kinetic Sand looks and feels like wet sand, but it comes in many different colors. You can mold it into almost any shape you want. It's made of 98% super-fine sand mixed with 2% dimethicone (a type of silicone) and coated with olive oil. Because of this oil coating, the sand never dries out. It acts just like wet sand, but without the mess!
- Aqua Sand
- This brand has properties very similar to Kinetic Sand.
See also
In Spanish: Arena hidrofóbica para niños
- List of toys
