Re: Question: water-soluble thickeners

Mark Thorson wrote:
>
> Uncle Al wrote:
>
> > Years past somebody wanted to assemble a clear glass crystal ball
> > a couple of meters in diameter. Poured was insane because it would
> > never cool - and thermal contraction would shatter the inside.
> > Assembling the thing by fusing slabs of clear glass was much more
> > reasonable, but there was still no way to cool it.
>
> How about a sol-gel process?

How do you get the water out of a six-foot diameter sphere (more than
that!)? How do you consolidate the gel without bubbles? How do you
keep it intact given its weight vs. compressive strength?

--
Uncle Al
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/
(Toxic URL! Unsafe for children and most mammals)
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/qz.pdf
.