The Chemistry of Paintballs

Introduction

Paintballs are the bullets that are used to paintballing. When a player get hit by a paintball it will make a brightly colored splat on the clothing. The majority of the components are naturally occurring like the water, gelatin. Others are combinations of the other components like PEG, and the starches.

Composition of ...

The materials that make up the paint are Poly-Ethel Glycol (PEG), Glycerin, Sorbitol, water, free fatty acids, titanium dioxide, starches, surfactants, emulsifiers and FD+C colorants. And the paint is encapsulated in a bubble made from gelatin.

Main Chemicals, Compounds, Components

  • Poly-Ethel Glycol (PEG)- It is made up of ethylene glycol, the main component of antifreeze , that polymerizes in water. Its chemical formula is C2nH4+nOn+1
  • Gelatin- is made of connective tissues in the bone of animals and there is no chemical formula that i could find.

Chemistry's Role

The chemistry role is the mixture of the paint that makes up the splatter when you hit a person or object... it is also biodegradable

Background Research

The process of making the form paintballs is a rather simple one. Liquid Gelatin is pushed into wide strips to make into the outer layer to hold in the paint of the paintballs. The paint is then squeezed into the die with a little hole left by the liquid gelatin and the die is always moving so the paint has to pump into the tiny hole and then it is closed then check by the inspectors.

Resources

http://empirepaintball.com/how-paintballs-are-made

it explains on how a paintball is made in mass production

About the Author

Tyller Cortez is a Junior at Senior High and loves chemistry. He is a 3-year varsity starter in wrestling and a 3-year letter in wrestling also. He is also a varsity starter in Football. And a Ultimate Bronc winner for Football too.