To address whether powdered graphite can be used to create dry water (powdered water) and how it differs from silica-based dry water, we analyze the properties of graphite and silica in the context of stabilizing water droplets:

Feasibility of Graphite as a Coating Material

Graphite powder can potentially coat water droplets to form a temporary "dry water" effect, though its utility is ...

Short answer

• Yes, hydrophobic carbon powders (including graphite-like carbons) can stabilize water droplets in air, forming what are called liquid marbles and, if made on a sufficiently fine scale, a “dry water”–type powder.
• What you made with pencil “graphite” and hand mixing was most likely a single or a few liquid marbles, not true dry water. True dry water requires much finer, highly hydro...

Short answer
Yes – hydrophobic carbon powders (graphite, carbon black, graphene platelets, soot, etc.) can be used instead of hydrophobic silica to surround and isolate tiny droplets of water. The objects you obtain are, however, better described as “liquid marbles” than as the commercial product called “dry-water”, and several of their properties differ from the silica material.

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First, I ...

You’ve effectively rediscovered a class of materials chemists call “liquid marbles” – i.e. water droplets cloaked in a shell of hydrophobic powder – only most people use fumed (silanized) silica to get really robust, super-hydrophobic shells. In principle any hydrophobic fine powder will do, graphite included, but you will get quite different behaviour. Here’s a breakdown:

1. Why “dry water” u...

Based on your observations, it appears you've created something similar to dry water using graphite powder instead of silica. This is indeed possible, and there's a scientific explanation for why it works.

Why Graphite Can Create "Dry Water"

Graphite can form a dry water-like substance because it shares a key property with hydrophobic silica: it can be made hydrophobic (water-repelling). The ...

Excellent observation! You have stumbled upon a classic phenomenon in colloid science. The short answer to your question is yes, it is absolutely possible to use powdered graphite to create a similar "dry water" effect.

Let's break down the science behind what you saw and compare it to traditional silica-based dry water.

The Science: Pickering Emulsions

What you created is a type of emu...

Can Graphite Be Used to Make Dry Water?

Based on the description in your question, it seems you inadvertently created what scientists call "liquid marbles" - water droplets coated with hydrophobic particles that prevent coalescence. This is indeed related to dry water, though typically on a larger scale.

Is it possible to use graphite instead of silica?

Yes, graphite could theoretically be...

What you saw is a well-known phenomenon, but it is not really “dry water” yet.
A millimetre-sized drop that can be rolled about because it is covered with a layer of solid powder is called a liquid marble.¹ Dry water, on the other hand, is an air–in-water Pickering dispersion that contains billions of much smaller (10–100 µm) liquid marbles; macroscopically it flows like a free, dry powder that...