Science: Silicone Season

A curious new chemical last week achieved something of a vogue as a social toy in Manhattan. Gadget-loving hosts introduced it at family gatherings; the Manhattan press ran feature stories; the New Yorker took notice. This entertaining material is a kind of putty which can be pulled and kneaded like taffy but has a surprising, unputty-like property—when rolled into a ball and dropped on a hard surface, it bounces.

General Electric displayed it in little cans labeled "Bouncing Putty." What use, if any, this curiosity may have, chemists are not yet prepared to say. But bouncing putty is one of a new...

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