Quantitative study of formation and dynamics of precipitate structures in chemical Gardens

When metal salt is introduced in to a sodium silicate solution it precipitates in the form of semipermeable elastic membrane. Membrane precipitate will surround metallic salt and separate it from the silicate environment. In time precipitate will form tubular structures that will channel the flow of fluid from inside of the structure in to the surroundings. These tubular structures will then “grow” out of the structure. This experiment is commonly known as chemical gardens. In this series of experiments we report physical measurements of the radius, rate of “growth” of tubes and pressure inside the membrane structure. Using these measurements we develop a model of how these tubes “grow” and interact with each other. In addition to study of the precipitate structures we use elastic properties of the membrane as a new and interesting method to observe impact of the falling droplet in to the deep pool.