Research solves 400-yr-old mystery of Prince Rupert's drops
Scientists have solved the 400-year-old mystery behind Prince Rupert's drops, tadpole-like glass structures that withstand hammering on heads but explode into dust when their thread-like tails are snipped. Scientists revealed that "compressive" stresses acted on hitting the heads, which got distributed, while "tensile" stresses acted on pressing the tails, shattering the drop due to elongation.