Cornstarch, water and bass video proves conclusive awesomeness of physics

If you ever doubted, even for a second, that non-Newtonian goo (e.g., cornstarch and water) is from a totally different (and infinitely preferable) universe, behold! Cornstarch paste + subwoofer == proof positive. Link (via Neatorama)

[#1 posted by BadKittyM , July 11, 2008 11:11 AM]

Too cool! I remember discovering the strange properties of cornstarch and water by accident as a kid, and being absolutely fascinated by it. I probably wasted a good 3 boxes of the stuff playing with it.

[#2 posted by IWood , July 11, 2008 11:13 AM]

I want a shirt that does that.

[#3 posted by nehpetsE , July 11, 2008 11:15 AM]

I've had all too intimate relations with cornstarch+water for many years now.
I have always held the conviction that Andrei Tarkovsky should have used this effect for the surface of Solaris.

[#4 posted by agraham999 , July 11, 2008 11:17 AM]

Well I'm now off gravy!

[#5 posted by obeyken , July 11, 2008 11:23 AM]

Far out! It would be cooler yet to figure out how to make the cornstarch glow in the dark... mix it w/ glowstick juice rather than water?

[#6 posted by Karen M , July 11, 2008 11:36 AM]

@5: Maybe use florescent dye instead of food coloring? Like the kind you'd use for dyeing silk or wool - you can get it in a well-stocked art supply shop.

I might give that a try next week - my kiddo's best friend will be away, and I'm scrambling for distractions beyond the TV.

[#7 posted by the_boy , July 11, 2008 11:39 AM]

*quickly plans activity for kids at summer camp*

[#8 posted by Lord Humongous , July 11, 2008 11:40 AM]

Better be careful. The last time I did this I summoned a shuggoth.

[#9 posted by thomasexciting , July 11, 2008 11:46 AM]

I did this experiment a lot as a kid, and I flipped on the TV a couple days ago and on Ellen there was a man who made a whole vat of cornstarch and water and let an audience member run across it. It's an intriguing video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTKbVR32M04

[#10 posted by mappo , July 11, 2008 11:47 AM]

I may never eat battered shrimp again...

[#11 posted by ripley , July 11, 2008 11:52 AM]

People, this stuff is called oobleck. proper terminology is important

[#12 posted by Angstrom , July 11, 2008 12:04 PM]

this one is like a cornstarch porno.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw4qklgNIxI

OK, perhaps that's just me.

[#13 posted by nanoquimico , July 11, 2008 12:07 PM]

I'm always happy when non newtonian fluids make it into the news. Rheology is a underrated area of physics.

Can be this turned into a lava-lamp -esque product?
If it's noisy it could be a problem.

[#14 posted by ivan256 , July 11, 2008 12:14 PM]

The actual term (other than the incorrect "non-newtonian") for this type of mixture is dilatant. It's viscosity is variable based on pressure.

Another fun material that falls into this category is Silly Putty.

[#15 posted by geo the moose , July 11, 2008 12:19 PM]

I had never been exposed to this before, it is quite creepy actually... I LOVE IT!!!

[#16 posted by Anonymous , July 11, 2008 12:31 PM]

Since blood is another non-newtonian fluid. I wonder what that would look like in this experiment

[#17 posted by nanoquimico , July 11, 2008 12:34 PM]

#14 non-newtonian is correct. For these fluids the shear stress is not linearly dependent on the shear rate. In a newtonian fluid the shear stress is proportional to the shear rate and this constant of proportionality is the viscosity.

We rheologists call these fluids shear thickening. I'm not sure what communities use the term dilatant, but it's in some books for sure.

Calling a non newtonian fluid shear thickening or shear thinning is clearer because it tells you if the "viscosity" increases or decreases as you increase the shear rate.

Of course talking about "viscosity" is not the most complete way to describe how something flows, since the stresses and flow fields are better described by tensors.

[#18 posted by brucegulick , July 11, 2008 12:45 PM]

In the Book of the Subgenius, this experiment is used to demonstrate a principle of Slack.

The Luck Plane is similar to a non-Newtonian fluid, in that the harder you push or use your "will", the more it will harden against you, blocking you at every step.

But ease into it, and you slip right through.

[#19 posted by Cunning , July 11, 2008 12:48 PM]

mind

...and what was that awesome riff?

[#20 posted by Anonymous , July 11, 2008 12:51 PM]

I bet a few random drops of food coloring dripped onto the oobleck after it's poured onto the cookie sheet could really make for a neat effect.

[#21 posted by pogorator , July 11, 2008 12:58 PM]

Now I'm gonna need an oobleck visualization plugin for Rythmbox.

Anyone have a good computational model for non-newtonian fluids? I just googled a few up -- yikes, when did science start hiding behind pay-per-pdf walls? Guess I was napping.

[#22 posted by romulusnr , July 11, 2008 1:01 PM]

I disagree with the videographer's decision to replace the actual sound being emitted by the subwoofer with some sort of South Beach CC-BY generic loop.

[#23 posted by Cpt. Tim , July 11, 2008 1:12 PM]

oh man. i'm definitely gonna try to score some mushrooms tonight and try this.

[#24 posted by Daemon , July 11, 2008 1:14 PM]

ia! ia! cthulhu fhtagn!

also: #17 - hmm. i had no idea the church of the subgenius was ripped off of taoism. cool.

[#25 posted by iamcantaloupe , July 11, 2008 1:41 PM]

No fucking way! This is way too cool.

Now let's see this done on a much larger scale... and with some dubstep >:D

[#26 posted by jsauter , July 11, 2008 2:02 PM]

@ #12

I had to close the window on that one when the creepy wet hand appeared because I thought it woudl be awkward if someone walked up behind me at work and saw it.

:-)

[#27 posted by Wirelizard , July 11, 2008 2:17 PM]

Lovecraft must have know about cornstarch+water+subwoofer, it would explain some things...

[#28 posted by Anonymous , July 11, 2008 2:20 PM]

Very cool, but would have been cooler if we could have heard the actuals woofer sounds used.

[#29 posted by midknyte , July 11, 2008 2:24 PM]

> I want a shirt that does that.

I want pants that do that.

[#30 posted by Dean , July 11, 2008 2:25 PM]

but..... that's a boolean...

Are you asking us if it is proof positive?

[#31 posted by Anonymous , July 11, 2008 2:34 PM]

[H]e described a sort of pool with a margin of mud that was marled with obscene offal; and in the pool a grayish, horrid mass that nearly choked it from rim to rim... Here, it seemed, was the ultimate source of all miscreation and abomination. For the gray mass quobbed and quivered, and swelled perpetually; and from it, in manifold fission, were spawned the anatomies that crept away on every side through the grotto. There were things like bodiless legs or arms that flailed in the slime, or heads that rolled, or floundering bellies with fishes' fins; and all manner of things malformed and monstrous, that grew in size as they departed from the neighborhood of Abhoth. And those that swam not swiftly ashore when they fell into the pool from Abhoth, were devoured by mouths that gaped in the parent bulk.

—Clark Ashton Smith, "The Seven Geases"

[#32 posted by spazzm , July 11, 2008 2:38 PM]

#19, have you tried the arXiv? If you're looking for computational physics you might also find something on CiteSeer.

If that doesn't work, I suggest befriending the librarian at your local university - they can provide access to the large databases, like ScienceDirect or IEEEExplore.

[#33 posted by Rob, Denmark , July 11, 2008 3:06 PM]

From Wikipedia:

This oobleck is created from cornstarch or potato flour and water in a ratio between 2:1 and 3:2

Anyone know if this is ratio is measured in weight or volume?

[#34 posted by Anonymous , July 11, 2008 3:47 PM]

Oobleck is cool stuff.

Similar (and more interesting) videos here:
http://arstechnica.com/journals/science.ars/2005/11/09/1771

[#35 posted by chopp3r , July 11, 2008 4:11 PM]

That video was clearly faked.

[#36 posted by chicagojohn , July 11, 2008 4:35 PM]

apparently you can walk across a cornstarch pool:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=amfjWWMg9c0

[#37 posted by Anonymous , July 11, 2008 5:16 PM]

Hans Jenny - Cymatics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY6z2hLgYuY

[#38 posted by jonesey , July 11, 2008 5:53 PM]

Hey, no fair. I saw this headline in my RSS feed, and I was sure that I was going to see Dan Aykroyd and a blender. For those of you with the same thought:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/19046/saturday-night-live-bassomatic

Delicious!

[#39 posted by jsauter , July 11, 2008 7:55 PM]

My wife and I tried this when we got home. We used a china plate, the cornstarch slurry and a Hitachi Magic Wand for the vibrations.

What will the Hitachi Magic Wand not do?!?!

Ehem...

[#40 posted by GregLondon , July 11, 2008 8:43 PM]

OK, about 40 seconds in, it looks like an orgy or something. that is mind bogglingly weird stuff.

[#41 posted by kirakira , July 11, 2008 10:34 PM]

Moat. I don't think that someone in heavy body armor could run very fast, right?

Could you pogo-stick across such a moat? Maybe with a boot-wearing pogo stick?

[#42 posted by bex , July 12, 2008 4:15 AM]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygtX2miwU5I

its custard powder which is corn starch (we call it corn flour in the UK) colour and flavourings but its the same thing

[#43 posted by Xopher , July 12, 2008 8:18 AM]

OK, Bex, let's make sure we're clear here. When we say "corn starch" in the US, we mean the starch component of maize, without any of the other stuff. Coarse ground whole maize is called "cornmeal." Finely ground whole maize is called "corn flour."

Are we on the same page here? If so, what do you call what we call "corn flour"?

[#44 posted by Xopher , July 12, 2008 9:24 AM]

And btw do people really make custard with that stuff? Flour or starch, that sounds truly vile.

[#45 posted by WeightedCompanionCube , July 12, 2008 9:57 AM]

standing wave goodness!

[#46 posted by Takuan , July 12, 2008 10:33 AM]

for the Evil Ezy-Bake Oven and the Dark Spawnlings in your life

[#47 posted by bex , July 12, 2008 2:22 PM]

I don't know why we call it corn flour in the UK but it is definitely the same as what you call corn starch in the US.

Custard Powder is added to milk with sugar and if done properly and the decent stuff (birds) kinda nice

[#48 posted by bex , July 12, 2008 2:26 PM]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygtX2miwU5I

its custard powder which is corn starch (we call it corn flour in the UK) colour and flavourings but its the same thing

[#49 posted by Hanglyman , July 12, 2008 3:28 PM]

The Stuff!

[#50 posted by spaceling , July 12, 2008 4:57 PM]

Oobleck is colored green according to the inventor of Oobleck, Theodor Geisel. See Dr. Seuss' Bartholomew and the Oobleck (1949).

[#51 posted by Xopher , July 12, 2008 5:31 PM]

And oobleck is also sticky to a deadly degree, and falls from the sky. Cornstarch does not share these properties, in general.

[#52 posted by dbsboy , July 12, 2008 6:54 PM]

this thing comes from hell

[#53 posted by dainel , July 13, 2008 6:00 AM]

#13 posted by nanoquimico , July 11, 2008 12:07 PM

Can be this turned into a lava-lamp -esque product? If it's noisy it could be a problem.

If it's infra-sonic, noise wouldn't be a problem.

[#54 posted by Allegra , July 13, 2008 8:07 AM]

JSauter. I virtually fling myself on the ground and worship you. I'm unlimbering that Magic Wand RIGHT NOW and going for the major science win. My 22 year old son will be over today and I think it will be a perfect mother-son bonding experience, don't you?

I just love all the Cthulhu references. Green food coloring, here I come!

[#55 posted by Allegra , July 13, 2008 10:06 PM]

Hey, it worked! I posted a video to Youtube showing that a Magic Wand, oobleck and a Corelle plate make for all kinds o' tentacley fun. Best part was finding the bowchickawow soundtrack, because frankly it's pretty disgusting when the tentacles start throwing themselves off the edge of the plate.