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Experiment Guide

Milk Magic

You Will Need:
  • One pint of heavy cream
  • Vinegar
  • Small pot
  • Teaspoon
What To Do:
  1. Pour the heavy cream into the pot. Heat the heavy cream until it simmers (do not boil).

  2. Once it begins to simmer, slowly stir in a few teaspoons of vinegar.

  3. Continue to stir until it becomes rubbery.

  4. After the heavy cream turns rubbery, turn off the heat and let it cool.

  5. Once cool, run the rubberized heavy cream under cool water. Now you have your own plastic.

What This Means:
Many plastics are made from petroleum oil or crude oil, which contain organic (carbon-containing) substances. In this project, the vinegar (an acid) reacts with the casein in milk (an organic substance), creating the plastic. In practice, this type of "milk" plastic is much too expensive for household use.
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