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DiscoverySummer DiversionsMix about half a cup of cornflour with a small amount of water. The resulting "ooblek" exhibits a rather bizarre phenomenon, behaving sometimes like a liquid and sometimes like a solid. Stir it slowly and it behaves like a thick liquid, running past either side of the stirring implement. Try and stir it fast or hit it, and it suddenly becomes hard and will appear to break before flowing together once more. Pump it up and down and the material locks hard in place. It's an interesting example of a viscoelastic material. When the ooblek encounters fast motion or an impact, the molecules can no longer move fast enough past each other to produce the liquid effect, and they effectively "lock" to form an apparent solid. Longevity StakesFor each pair, which lasts longer?
Increase Your Word PowerTest your vocabulary with the following words. You're doing very well if you are familiar with more than two.Albedo Bdellism Eyot Furcula Light-foot Momilogy Ololygmancy Phaneromania Ratite Suint Point to PonderDrop a piece of buttered toast and it will always land face down on the carpet for maximum messiness. When a cat falls, it always lands on its feet. If you tie a piece of buttered toast face up to the back of a cat and then drop the animal, which way up would the cat land? (Please note, this is a thought experiment only!) AnswersTiddles could live to the ripe old age of 30, but Rover and Rex are likely to have headed for the Kennel in the Sky by the time they are 20. |
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