Super ice, Pykrete

This stuff is hard as concrete,kind of.

Step 1 What to do

You can make this by freezing water and wood dust by weight 14% wood dust the rest water, but i didn't have any.
I used tissues, and toilet paper.

Comments

[trebuchet03]

http://www.simegen.com/writers/lois/pykrete.htm

Here's a comparison when shooting pykrete v ice ;)

Amazing stuff - there was actually plans to make a floating ice aircraft carrier in WW2. Using onboard refrigeration to keep the hull cold (but the wood slury acted as an insulation in itself). Would have been great -- fire at it as much as you want -- rebuild (with water) overnight :P

[kill1234]

Geoffrey Pyke made the plans- he was a mad scientist...

[blksheep]

I saw a show about the "weird weapons" of WWII. They actually made a prototype pykrete boat in a Canadian lake. If I recall correctly it took a year to melt, even with a warm summer.

[Kiteman]

The prototype wasn't pykrete, just ordinary ice, and it did take a year to melt. Imagine how long a pykrete vessel would last!

[bf5man]

Here's an article about it:
Damn interesting pykrete link

[Weissensteinburg]

How would they mold such a huge boat?

[MisterHankie]

They didn't mold the whole boat at once. They actually made a bunch of bricks out of pykrete and put it together to make the aircraft carrier. They didn't make it completly out pykrete either, they only used it make the armor and hold the basic structure together.

[trebuchet03]

To be honest... not sure. But it seems plausible that they could make a tank and freeze it (perhaps in similar style to Hoover Dam?) Or in large chunks and then fuse the blocks together (similar to how warships are mfr'd)?

[Weissensteinburg]

I made some the way you did, it was stronger than usual, but i broke it with a hammer easily enough.

[Magnelectrostatic]

when you broke yours, did it shatter? mine just smushes but i think it's because i squeeze out some of the water before freezing.

[Weissensteinburg]

I don't really remember, it was so long ago. Sorry.

[TechNerd1012]

i saw pykrete on Mythbusters last week! It was awesome!

[Magnelectrostatic]

That was a pretty good episode, I never thought of using newspaper.

[TechNerd1012]

yeah, me neither

[NC92]

Crack it open and read your fortune cookie slip =D

[glycerinate]

i made this before, its awesome and i wacked with a sledgehammer alot too, after about 30 minutes of continuous whacking was it smashed... me and my friends have wars with them, we throw them at each other and, we have forts with extension cords to the house and refrigerators, and hoses to the water outlet. and continously make them! i got hit in the eye once it hurt like CRAZY

[MisterHankie]

I don't get it. Why couldn't you just throw rocks instead of going through the trouble of making pykrete just to throw it away?

[yungyungwa]

dude dats tight but wer u get wood dust?

[MisterHankie]

Did you actually read the instructable before asking that question? No? I didn't think so. READ THE F***ING INSTRUCTABLE!!!!

[Magnelectrostatic]

If you're wondering why this isn't that long lasting, its because real pykrete is made instantly with supercooled water.

[Tobita]

imagine building a fortress out of this crap off the coast of Labrador:D

[The Lightning Stalker]

ECT!!! TEH OH NOES!!!

[Punkguyta]

Ha ha, at first look when I was browsing around, I thought it was some sort of perogie recipe lol

[karen608]

I didn't mean pity you. I meant pity there are no recipes for this on instructables as they are really tasty. And my spelling is the polish spelling for a food item, a dumpling made with flour, egg, salt and water, shaped and filled with any of a number of various delicious fillings. Clarified now? I really like this food item. Store bought ones not as tasty, hence my comment.

[Punkguyta]

The ones I buy up in my area aren't that shabby.

[karen608]

The best ones i found online, but expensive, are from the east coast and from Millie's Pierogi.com Sigh! They are soooo good.

[Punkguyta]

Do you have giant tiger in your area? That's where I get em, cheap and satisfying.

[karen608]

ha! you know i searched instructables and no recipe for pierogi. Pity.

[Punkguyta]

Perogy* And btw, you typed my typo wrong, you said "pierogi", I said "perogie", and you pity me?

[shinyglass]

this would be a perfect method to keep refrigerated medication (like insulin) cool on camping trips, etc, and you can make it form-fitting so the glass vials ride more securely. Hmmm...great idea, thanks!

[pinski1]

Another method of strengthening ice is to simply add cotton wool. The fibers help keep it together, and you get something similar to carbon fiber, or fiber glass.

[xboxteen01]

cool but any clear uses should the weather warm up?

[Ushanka]

Pykecrete lasts a remarkably long time in warm weather, compared to ice.

[Kiteman]

The plans included on-board refridgeration systems, plus sheer bulk would slow melting - ordinary icebergs can drift intact to tropical regions.

[Crash2108]

Magic bullet, anyone?

[asianwizard]

this reminds me of the boys room with the ceiling covered in toilet paper that harded