Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Sending a snowflake to girlfriend in Singapore

Perhaps the heat has totally gotten to me, but I was impressed by this how-to display of geek love, from a forum I read.

Stuff you need:
Microscope slides (slide backing and top sheet)
Liquid Super Glue

Steps:
1. Levave all the above mentioned materials in the freezer for a few days. Everything has to be freezing cold so that the snowflake will not melt on contact.

2. Catch required snowflakes on the glass slide (works best with fat fluffy snow flakes as they have the largest crystals) .

3. Immediately dab a blob of superglue onto the snowflake. Cover with the slide top sheet. The superglue will be pressed flat. At this point, the snowflake should still be intact and encased within the wet superglue.

4. Leave slide in freezer for about 2 weeks till the superglue is fully dried.

It works because superglue hardens on contact with moisture. The cold superglue traps the snowflake without melting it (same idea as prehistoric mosquitoes trapped in amber ala Jurassic Park). The moisture of the snowflake will cause the superglue to slowly harden around it, capturing every last intricate detail of the snowflake. Once completely hardened, the snowflake is effectively captured for eternity, refrigeration not required.

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