In this instuctable I will tell you how to catch a snowflake and keep it forever.
This instructable is for the Snow challenge.
Please vote.
This instructable is for the Snow challenge.
Please vote.
Step 1: Gather Items
Items needed:
Snowfall.
A Glass slide.
A Cover slip.
A Piece of cardboard.
Glue.
Tweezers.
Snowfall.
A Glass slide.
A Cover slip.
A Piece of cardboard.
Glue.
Tweezers.
Step 2: Put items in freezer
Place the glass slide, clover slip, cardboard and tweezers in a freezer and wait for approx 1 hour.
Step 3: Put glue in freezer
Put glue in freezer 10mins before taking out the slide, slip, cardboard and tweezers.
Step 4: Catch snowflakes on cardboard
Once it starts to snow, take the glass slide, slip, cardboard, tweezers and glue from the freezer and head outside.
Stand in your doorway to protect everything from falling snow.
Head out with the cardboard and catch a few snowflakes. Get more than 5 so that you have room for error.
Stand in your doorway to protect everything from falling snow.
Head out with the cardboard and catch a few snowflakes. Get more than 5 so that you have room for error.
Step 5: Put snowflake on slide
With the tweezers gently try to transfer a snowflake to the glass slide.
Put a small drop of glue into the middle of the snowflake.
Immediately place the cover slip on top of the snowflake pushing down very gently.
There should be a little gap between the slide and cover slip so as to not squash the snowflake.
Put a small drop of glue into the middle of the snowflake.
Immediately place the cover slip on top of the snowflake pushing down very gently.
There should be a little gap between the slide and cover slip so as to not squash the snowflake.
Step 6: Put slide in the freezer
Place the slide in the freezer for a minimum of 2 days.
The glue should dry around the snowflakes while they are still frozen.
The glue should dry around the snowflakes while they are still frozen.
Step 7: Take out
When 2 days have passed, it is safe to hold the snowflakes without having them melt.
The slide looks like this under a microsocpe.
This is my first ible any comments are welcome.
The slide looks like this under a microsocpe.
This is my first ible any comments are welcome.
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Chill everything overnight instead of just 10 minutes. Try to remember to tap the slide while it has the glue on it because it looks like you have some air bubbles in the glue and it kind of ruins the effect. And use superglue. You need to experiment to find the best one but superglue will work as long as you chill it enough.
I've seen this method described elsewhere a few years ago, the author used superglue (cyanoacrylate) that they kept in the freezer permanently for this purpose.
When I tried using superglue it was too runny and flowed off the slide. It's left me wondering if the Gel-Superglue might be a better option if it's more like the glue you are using.
I'm keen to get Superglue working for this because its reaction with water triggers the rapid setting, so contact with a snowflake will be the perfect way to preserve the structure and details.
Would be interested to know what results other people have with different glues
called Dust Off at office supply stores that's used to blow dust out of office equipment. If you use Dust Off you will have to invert the can to get it to work.
Just spray the side opposite the one you will catch your snowflake on. In
either case don't spray it on your bare skin. It can freeze of your skin.
Be careful with dry ice in an a closed enviroment. As it evaporates it releases
carbon dioxide.
Best regards,
André Serrano from Brazil
if you don't have clear elmers glue you can also use any Cyanoacrylate type of glue (super glue, crazy glue, etc)
Apparently you can also do it like Leonard and preserve it in a 1% solution of polyvinyl acetal resin by dissolving one gram of polyvinyl acetal resin in 100 milliliters of ethylene dichloride
One question though -- at what point did you use the clothes pins?