Oil Spill Clean Up Simulation

"Nano sand" is a product that was originally invented to help clean up oil spills in water. Since the "nano sand" is hydrophobic, it does not let water molecules pass through. It does, however, let oil molecules pass through. When oil-contaminated water is exposed to "magic sand", the oil passes through and leaves clean water behind. And when "magic sand" is sprinkled on top of oil spills, the sand binds with the oil and creates oil- filled sand clumps that fall to the bottom of an ocean or lake. If you use a small amount of oil so that it does not make a full layer and instead forms bubbles and then sprinkle the "magic sand", you can actually see the "magic sand" move from the water into the oil. The silicon-coated sand, also called "nano sand" and "magic sand," is a specially treated product that has hydrophobic or "water-fearing" properties. In order to make the "nano sand" hydrophobic, each grain of sand is completely coated with silicon. The thickness of the silicon coating is extremely small- in fact, it’s only one nanometer thick! And because of this microscopic thickness, it feels just like regular sand. However, if you compare what happens in Cup 1 (regular sand) to what happens in Cup 2 ("nano sand"), you can see that the ways they react are completely different.