What would happen if:

[Sorcerer]

I added a luke-warm supersaturated solution of gelatine to our slightly under inflated water bed mattress? If we then cranked the heat up on the water bed and made waves to mix the bladder, would we get a slightly viscous water bed??

 

Say the bladder is 2.7m long and 2.2 m wide and 40 cm deep, how much gelatine would I need to make the bladder a nice comfy jelly? Thats 2.376 m^3, which is 2376 litres of water.

 

Would anyone recommend I try it?

[YT2095]

you`de have to make absolutely sure there were no air pockets as it`ll go mouldy and re-liquify!

 

I`ve actualy done this in plastic bags before (ballistics testing) and that`s exactly what happened, we thought we could store them, WRONG!

[ed84c]

hmmm, storing a growth medium, not easy.

 

Why not dissolve some disinfectant in the mix, to rpevent this sorcera?

 

Also where u gonna get all that gelatine from?

[blike]

Maybe you should try making a scale model to test things. You don't want to ruin your waterbed with a mistake.

[YT2095]

Also where u gonna get all that gelatine from?

 

easy, goto any large food catering warehouse, they don`t sell less than a few Kilo at a time

[Skye]

I think gelatine is just going to mush as you crawl into bed.

[calbiterol]

Ummm... Ballistics testing, YT? That's a new one. Never heard of jello being used in ballistics testing. Was it the projectile or the target or neither? I have to admit, I'm awfully curious.

[YT2095]

the target. it was for a Video special effect.

[calbiterol]

Ah hah. Enlightenment.

[Sorcerer]

Ok, our water bed has sprung a small leak, so we are going to get a mattress anyway. I might try it, but I was wondering, if I made the solution up as normal jelly, would the temperature of the water bed effect it, I'd have to make it more concentrated right. Also I was thinking of using hypochlorite bleach as a disinfectant, would this have any effects on the structure of the jelly.... ie will it react?

[Guest kemp]

I've tried using citric and tartaric acids as preservatives to slow the moulding of household gelatine. Both acids eat at the protein in the gelatine causing the setting of the jelly to be not as firm. The tartaric acid might be okay for you as you are not wanting a hard set, but I'm not sure how long it will last.

I have been attempting to create solid blocks of gelatine that do not go mouldy in a few days. have not tried dis-infectants, wondering how they would affect the protein. I have increased the rcommended ratio of gelatine to water by 200%, but with the action of the tartaric acid it still will not set firm. I was going to see if I could get a hold of ballistics gelatine, like the stuff the guys on mythbusters use.