Silly Putty Sensitive Enough to Sense a Spider Walking Across it

A New Pulse Monitor?

Can Silly Putty go from being a child’s toy to being used to monitor a person’s pulse? Apparently so but it isn’t just plain Silly Putty. A substance called Graphene is infused into it and the combination is what makes it possible to be used to monitor a person’s pulse, blood pressure, breathing and the motion of the fingers.

Graphene is an sheet of carbon only an atom thick. When it is mixed with polysilicone, the stuff used to make Silly Putty, it can conduct electricity. It is very sensitive to pressure because of its electrical resistance. Changes in the resistance is how it works. It was tested by getting a small spider to walk across the putty. It was able to detect each step the spider took.