SportsXScience on Instagram: "​🧪 The Science: How it Works ​The "Desert Oil" shown in the video isn't actually crude oil found in the sand. It is a carefully prepared chemical solution, likely part of a nylon synthesis or a similar interfacial polymerization. ​1. Interfacial Polymerization ​The liquid in the hole contains two different reactive chemicals that don't mix (like oil and water). When they touch, they react only at the interface (where the two liquids meet) to form a thin solid film.