This last point is important because some engineers would like to create new substances with oobleck-like characteristics. The researchers still don’t know all the details, such as whether or not the cornstarch particles actually touch one another, what causes them to move apart after the pressure is taken off, and how different grain sizes would affect what the oobleck does. But many mysteries actually remain with oobleck. But if you stop moving, you stop applying force and the oobleck returns to a liquid state. This creates a quasi-solid column just below your foot, which can support your weight. If you hit oobleck hard and fast, the cornstarch particles get shoved together, bunching up like snow in front of a snowplow. I don't know about you, but I can't watch that video without some internal WTF alarms going off.Īfter measuring all the forces and deformations involved inside of oobleck, the researchers think they know how it is able to generate the support for messiah-like party tricks. Speed up the vibrations and the hole will turn into a writhing mass that slowly takes over the entire surface of the oobleck. A puff of air introduced into this system creates a hole in the oobleck that just hangs out, not disappearing like you would expect. The vibrating dish creates bumpy Faraday waves in the liquid. That particular experiment really highlights oobleck's strangeness. This force can be anything, including the sound vibrations from music speakers or a rapidly shaking container, as in the video at the top of this post. At the places you apply force, the cornstarch particles get mashed together, trapping water molecules between them, and oobleck temporarily turns into a semi-solid material. When you apply pressure to oobleck, it works the opposite of the previous examples: The liquid becomes more viscous, not less. When you mix cornstarch into water, the starchy grains become suspended in the liquid, creating a substance with weird non-Newtonian abilities.
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