I have no idea what they are actually called, but I have one of them with two penguins on it, and I wonder how they stand on the blue liquid?
In: 5
They use two liquids that are specifically chosen for two properties.
One is that they do not mix together – so even when shaken up they still stay separate like oil and vinegar.
Alongside this, one is always slightly more dense than the other, so when they separate they will float one on top of the other.
Have you ever noticed how if you pour an oil into a pan of water, the oil will form bubbles on the surface rather than mixing together? These toys use exactly the same effect.
The second part is they need to be very specific in the design of the small toy inside – specifically it’s boyancy. There more dense a liquid is, the easier it is to float on it – this is why it is easier to float on seawater than it is in a pool. This means that because the two liquids are of different densities, by controlling the boyancy of the toy, you can set where it will float – too heavy and it will sink to the very bottom, too light and it will float at the very top, but just right and it will sink in the upper fluid, but float on the bottom one.
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