Science Sunday #5 - Elephant's Toothpaste and Smoothing

Fun Activity: “Elephant’s Toothpaste”

The decomposition of a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and dish soap was catalyzed by either the peroxidase of yeast (table safe version) or potassium iodide (fume hood version).

Figure 1. Elephant’s Toothpaste demonstration using 3% peroxide and yeast (left). Demonstration using 30% peroxide and KI (right).

Group Research Activity: Vapor Smoothing Chamber

Worked on preparing samples and methods for determining effectiveness of acetone smoothing.

Figure 2. Cross section of an ABS 3D print showing the layer lines.

Figure 3. Cell phone image on the layer lines on un unsmoothed piece of ABS