Just what on earth is foam? It is a question that has plagued mankind for centuries. Well, alright, maybe not. Nevertheless, foam has long been a mysterious material, yet useful in many ways, not least for insulation and packaging.
Put simply, foam is plastic that has been melted, had bubbles of gas forced into it, and then been left to re-form. This produces a cheap, soft, spongy material, which can then be sliced into specific shapes or simply minced up into pellets.
The kind of foam youre probably familiar with is packing foam. Anytime you order something (or sometimes when you just buy it in a shop), it will come wrapped in a box surrounded by foam to protect it. This works because even relatively small amounts of foam are capable of taking the force of a large impact, preventing the object that is being protected from ever hitting a hard surface and being damaged.
Packing foam comes in many forms: sheets, pellets (packing peanuts), blocks, and more. If you want some, the best thing to do is probably buy it from an office supplies store or, in larger quantities, direct from a supplier. If you have things delivered in packing foam often, then you might...