Slice a bottle in half ... with string
Written By
bird crick
wonderhowto.com
Views 358
Last edited last month
Subscribe to the Wonderment RSS Feed or get Email Updates

Really? A string? In half?

Yes. This is not a hoax. Just old fashioned science.

The ingredients necessary are simple: string, acetone and a match.

We initially assumed this was a result of the acetone, the magical ingredient in many other fringe hacks of this nature. But the acetone here is simply an agent for flame. (Hint: look to the Related Videos on the right to see the other applications.)

The clean break in the glass occurs when the exact ring of heated glass comes in contact with the cold water. Thermal shock slices the bottle in half.

If the act isn't magic enough, practice this on several bottles to craft yourself a set of mod glasses.

Cut a beer bottle in half without a knife

Comments

+1
stubbs 1 year ago
OMG
Czech Beer
good stuff....
+1
ryan 4 months ago
cool video
+1
colin 1 year ago
had to check the science on this many times
so unbelievable
+1
Bobinski 1 year ago
WHAT did the science tell you?
+1
sanlife 1 year ago
super cool...
+2
yadda 1 year ago
This really does work. I tried it so that I can cut all my bottles in half to start an indoor garden. The trick is in the thickness and how much the string can absorb. BTW acetone is also known as finger nail polish remover. I havent tried this with rubbing alcohol yet. The thicker the glass, the more wraps around the bottle you need. I tried it with regular yarn and it worked fine. I tried it with construction string (yellow) and it didnt seem to absorb enough acetone to even light.

A few words of wisdom: wear gloves, make sure the water is cold, wipe excess acetone off of the bottle. I first wrapped some string around the bottle, tied off a knot, then soaked it in acetone. The put it back on the bottle and wipe the glass off so the flames dont go crazy. Rotate the bottle constantly while the string is on fire, then dunk it in cold water. You do not need to apply very much pressure. One thing im not sure about is if you rotate the bottle until the acetone burns out, will the surrounding parts of the bottle near the string be just as hot, thus producing an unclean cut? or does a clean cut depend on a cold bottle with a small amount of heat in a confined area? (the string) i have a lot of bottles to practice with because I actually have a use for this, and I will post results on instructables.com soon. Thanks for posting this. Cheers!
-5
stewartspicer 5 months ago
no one read the long comments like this ur wasting ur on time -.- zzzzzzzz
+1
Senri 4 months ago
i read it, well the first bit anyways
+1
8Limes 2 months ago
might be the reason that you can't read proper and therefore takes you forever. This was the most informative comment of all, you claim of being too long. Get a life. You wasted yout time commenting nonsense as did I telling you that you are a moron.
+1
CainiteCaitiff 11 months ago
I wonder if you can do this from top to bottom to cut the bottle down the middle....
+1
luvashy03 10 months ago
This works! I used regular old yarn and it the top just cracked off.
+1
henry_nguyen 8 months ago
oah!
+1
runintoflowers 8 months ago
i tried this three times and not even a crack! when is the glass too thick for this to work? maybe that's the problem.
+1
hardbassbv 5 months ago
cool
+2
hardbassbv 5 months ago
i have a new exuse to drink another beer :P
+1
jimbob89 5 months ago
sweet trick man. think iv got an idea for an ashtray
+1
Stug IV 4 months ago
I have no words. Pretty amazing.
+1
ruek69 3 months ago
yo.
+1
MastaBass 2 months ago
Cool Stuff. Although I haven't tested it, the video is Scientifically factual.
Add your comment:
Follow Us On Twitter

Sculpt Melted Cassette Tape Puddles Into Skulls

Cool cassette tape art by Atlanta based artist Brian Dettmer. From Design Boom: "...Dettmer was walking down the street he spotted a dead bird and an idea hit him. ‘here was this thing that used ...

This Dude Builds Glaciers. Here's How.

Most DIY freaks do-it-themselves because they love it. Because they're curious, creative, and like to take the long road (or figure out an ingenious short cut). In the case of Chewang Norphel (aka the ...

DIY Contortionist-Cycle

Finally, a well designed solution to studio-style living. The Contortionist bicycle. London-native Dominic Hargreaves, unhappy with the available options, designed this folding bike himself (true DIY ...

Flickr Photos Reveal Harvard's True Colors

Cartograms are usually pretty mundane, but throw in Flickr, Photoshop, and a well-known public place and you have an artistic representation of popular colors. Much more eye-grabbing than your common ...

Gyroscope Steadies Super Duper 3-Vertical-Camera-Rig for Nat Geo

California Redwoods are some of the oldest and tallest trees on Earth, so snapping a single photograph couldn't possibly capture their majestic entirety. Nick Nichols built a custom camera rig for the ...

loading...