ATM - Orthodontic plaster stength

[Adam Perkins <scopeguru@yahoo.com>]

Hi,

I just came across a photo showing a use for dental
plaster even weirder than what we use it for.  

I'm mentioning it because it seems like such a
demonstration of the strength of this stuff (I've
never personally used it).

The pic shows a positive casting of the inside of an
ant-colony.  An entomologist found an abandoned
network of tunnels and poured "orthodontic plaster"
into the top.  The result was a perfect replica of the
tunnel network, wiggly tunnels 1/4-3/8" wide running
all over the place within a space maybe 3x3x6'.  He
dug this thing up apparently without breakage!!!  I
thought plaster of any sort would have lousy tensile
strength.

Is this stuff really as strong as that?  It must also
be incredibly runny to penetrate so deep into those
narrow tunnels.

Can dental plaster be drilled and tapped? It seems
like interesting stuff for ATM's to fool with in some
applications other than mirror grinding tools.

Just thought y'all might be interested.  I think it
was in this month's "Natural History" Magazine, drop
me a line if anyone wants me to verify this, it was a
short, but very cool article.

Adam Perkins
Covington, Louisiana

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