Magnetic clay

The cheapening of modern technologies more and more often leads to the fact that even familiar to us in our childhood toys quite unexpectedly acquire a new, atypical appearance and stunning imagination of the older generation of properties. Take at least the same clay - ordinary, too, is still used, but has long been no squeak, because the developers have already invented such varieties that have practically nothing in common with the original material.

Today we will talk about magnetic clay - a special toy that can serve as a terrific material for creativity, and it will also become much more interesting and exciting activity than fun with modern spinners.

Magnetic clay - is "smart" clay, additionally endowed with magnetic properties. Since a huge number of people still have no idea even about smart clay, it should, to begin with, dwell on what it is.

In fact, the chemical composition of conventional and smart clay differs very much. Smart clay, like the overwhelming majority of the ingenious inventions of mankind, was born by chance - as a by-product of chemical experiments aimed at creating new materials with improved properties.

Much later, someone had the bright idea that someone could not use the plastic mass instead of the classic clay, which it outperforms in a number of useful parameters. Now this substance, rapidly seizing the shelves of children's stores, has finally become widely known, and in English has been called hendgam (handgum - literally "elastic for hands").

Here are some facts you didn’t know about handgam:

• Today it is a very popular children's toy, which can be found in the toy stores of any big city in the world.

• Since the product itself is very funny, and it even allows for numerous interesting experiments with it, it is openly recommended by psychologists not only to children, but also to adults.
• For greater commercial attractiveness, manufacturers try to impart a bright color and some “tasty” smell to the initially colorless and not smelling mass.
• It is difficult to list the specific properties of smart plasticine, since it is available in many varieties; the same applies to the magnetic subspecies, but at least it is united by a common feature - a characteristic reaction to a magnet.
• Although it is undesirable to take magnetic clay in your mouth and in no case be eaten, when applied externally, it is completely harmless to humans, except in cases of an allergic reaction to a dye or flavoring.

The special beauty of smart plasticine is that it does not have a specific recipe and strict proportions. Rather, there is a certain range of essential ingredients, to which you can add additional, providing exactly the properties that the buyer wants.

In particular, magnetic clay is ordinary smart clay, but with the addition of the smallest metal crumb, which is not visually noticeable, however, it is presented in sufficient quantity to cause the material to fancifully bend in the direction of any magnet located close enough. Such a variability of the composition allows you to create a huge number of types of magnetic clay.

First of all, it differs in its color and smell. These criteria have little relevance to the actual use of the product, but are often the main reason for choosing this particular product, and not any other.

Modern food colors and flavors can give the mass any color and flavor, but usually it comes in bright colors and with a strong sweet smell - fruit or chocolate.

It should be noted that in terms of colors, there are completely non-standard options - for example, transparent clay, or the mass of any color that can glow in the dark. Luminous plasticine looks very impressive, especially - if you have already invented it, how can you put this into practice in a fantastic way.

Depending on the specific needs, magnetic clay can be of a completely different consistency - from completely liquid to almost solid. Liquid and soft options are often purchased for children who use them primarily for creativity, but more elastic types are used by adults as anti-stress, a kind of “chewing gum” for hands.

So, magnetic smart clay - is a soft or liquid substance, which is easy to attempt to change its shape. The product is initially produced of different density and elasticity, however, it is possible to affect its properties at home - for this mass is mixed with a small amount of water, hand cream, or other substances, but you have to be careful, if you don’t know exactly, what your copy is made of. Regardless of the density, magnetic hendgam must magnet.

A separate moment is the interaction of magnetic clay with a magnet. If ordinary metal objects are attracted, literally taking off, then the handgam, being a rather large and heavy clot with elastic properties, generally remains in place, but is pulled out towards the magnet.

With close contact with a piece of magnet, hendgam completely envelops him, bending on all sides; if the magnet lies on the bottom, and a large enough piece of such clay is put on top, it will even lift the magnet to envelop it from all sides! At the same time, it is not difficult to get a magnet from “captivity”, and no traces will remain on it.

By the way, about the tracks. Magnetic clay, in contrast to the classical, does not stick to anything except a similar substance. This is very convenient, because you can not be afraid of stains on clothes, furniture, desk or other interior items. A good sample does not stick to the hands either, that is, we are dealing with a completely neutral substance.

The remaining characteristics may differ from recipe to recipe, but select at least some points. For example, upon impact, some types of solid hendgam are broken into pieces, others are deformed according to the principle of ordinary clay, while others are resistant to such an impact and only spring up in response, like a ball.However, some solid species, being attached to a vertical surface, after a few minutes without any additional impact, begin to flow and drip down.

The reaction of the material differs in the attempt to stretch - some kind of clay stretches perfectly, the other easily breaks into pieces. Some types of magnetic clay under the influence of heat can even change its color.

Some inexpensive varieties of toys dry quickly enough, which affects their elasticity. On the Internet you can find various recommendations on how to make a toy softer, but again, it is important to know the exact chemical composition of a particular instance. In addition, the material can only be softened until it has completely hardened, otherwise it is impossible to restore its original flexibility.

Modern experts point out the unique properties of magnetic clay, which allows it to be not just a toy for the banal killing of time, but a valuable asset that can help its owner and bring him real benefits. Here are some useful results noted above all:

• Since even an innocent game with smart clay requires certain destructive efforts, such a mass is excellent helps to reduce the level of aggression like a child and an adult. Everyone is familiar with the situation when in a fit of rage or extreme grief a person wants to break or break something. At such a moment, valuable things often come to hand, but aggression is better off on a toy, which already does not have any particular form, so it will not suffer from too violent emotions.

• For children, magnetic clay is also a great way. develop fine motor skills of hands. Kids of preschool age don't know their fingers too well, but they just have to learn - it will be useful in life. Instead of doing it through some boring, uninteresting exercises, they can practice by playing, even if they don’t make any meaningful figures out of the masses.

• A bright, pleasantly smelling, beautiful toy does not imply at all that a child or an adult will be bored with it. Psychologists say that it helps to occupy free time well and distracts from any negative thoughts. In other words, It is an excellent and completely harmless antidepressant.
• In addition to the development of motor skills, hendgam contributes more strengthen arm muscles. In a sense, this is a kind of expander, but if a child is unlikely to be interested in repeated compression of an ordinary spring, then he will play with a beautiful plastic mass even without mentioning the possible benefits of such an activity. Daily "training" for at least half an hour will allow you to quickly make the hands of a child beyond the years strong.

• With the help of the selected color of the toy, you can try to make certain adjustments in particular the behavior of the baby. It is no secret that bright, inducing tones provoke activity in children, while calm, pastel ones, on the contrary, calm them down. It is very likely that magnetic plasticine will be the child's favorite toywith which he will spend a lot of time, and then the psychological effect of her color will be very noticeable.

As with any other product, the quality of the handgam can vary greatly, depending on the integrity of the manufacturer and the ingredients used by them in the production process. On the one hand, low prices usually indicate not the highest quality, on the other - sometimes it makes no sense to overpay for qualities that are simply not needed. Here are some helpful recommendations on how to choose the best magnetic clay:

• If you buy a lot in the store, be sure take the baby with you too - In the end, it is purchased for this product. It would be nice if the sellers would allow him to try the toy in action - so he can assess in advance whether he likes this model or not, as well as compare it with other items of the range.

• The degree of magnetization of each individual magnetic clay varies; In addition, it can magnetically different to different magnets. Because of this, experts advise to give preference to those sets where the manufacturer initially put both clay and a magnet - when buying via the Internet, this will be the only relative guarantee that the product fully meets expectations.

• Transparent variety of magnetic clay seems less attractive., but she has her own, very practical advantage. The fact is that many young children are very sensitive to any dyes that cause them allergies. Since you probably cannot say for sure in advance whether the dye used in this model will provoke allergy in your child, it is better to give preference to those models in which there are no dyes at all. The remaining ingredients, as a rule, are not allergens, so this precaution should work.

• Monitoring comments on various sites, involved in the supply and sale of magnetic clay, shows that a huge number of consumers have become disillusioned with Chinese products. The varieties produced in the Middle Kingdom really have very low prices, which, even taking into account the cost of delivery, make it possible to save money. Nevertheless, most Chinese handgams are extremely short-lived - they harden, and it is impossible to correct the situation.

A brief video review of magnetic clay is waiting for you in the next video.