5 Strangest Materials 196
MattSparkes writes to tell us that NewScientist recently posted a quick look at five interesting materials with some very strange properties. There are liquids you can walk on, liquids that will escape containers by creeping up the sides, and magnetic liquids that can easily show you the shape of magnetic fields. The story also offers video links to display some of more amazing properties described.
Magnetic Fluid (Score:5, Informative)
When I read about the fluid that can flow up the sides of a container, all I could think about was THE BLOB!
Slashdotted (Score:5, Informative)
Coral cache link [nyud.net]
Re:What? no mention of silly putty!? (Score:3, Informative)
1. Dilatants - fluids that get more solid when stressed.
That pretty much covers silly putty, doesn't it?
They forgot Aerogel (Score:5, Informative)
Re:I have one for you (Score:3, Informative)
I would like to nominate whatever the hell Wonder Bread is made from.
I believe that would be high fructose corn syrup. Yes. Mostly high fructose corn syrup.
Re:What? no mention of silly putty!? (Score:5, Informative)
I've always known dilatants as Newtonian Solids (for instance, cornstarch mixed with water, which you can sink your hand into, but which can also withstand the force of a sledgehammer [as can your hand if it's submersed at the time]).
Re:Hammer, Feather, Freefall on the Moon: Revisite (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a15/a15.clsout3.html [nasa.gov]
So what you're saying is while there's a theoretical difference between the impact timings, the practical effect likely couldn't be measured. Makes sense.
Re:One More I would inlcude: Plutonium (Score:5, Informative)
Re:I have one for you (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Superfluid temperatures (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Superfluid temperatures (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Superfluid temperatures (Score:3, Informative)
New Scientist's response [newscientist.com] is just embarrasing. From editor Jeremy Webb (emphasis added):
New Scientist is fun to read, but it's definitely not a good idea to mistake it as a source of solid science reporting.Re:What? no mention of silly putty!? (Score:2, Informative)
Oh, and "Slow down, cowboy!"
Re:Superfluid temperatures (Score:2, Informative)
Re:why are the only interesting materials only flu (Score:2, Informative)
Bob Lazar used to work at Area 51. I'm sure he has contacts who can make practically anything. It's a safe bet that only the "tame" stuff shows up in the United Nuclear catalog...
Re:Water comes to mind (Score:3, Informative)
Yeah, and it self-dissociates in its liquid state - hence pH, easy ionization required for cell behavior, etc. As I stated in an earlier post, it's weird stuff, common and "familiar" or not.
Re:Hey retard (Score:1, Informative)
According to TFA, "To make a superfluid you must cool helium down to a couple of a degrees below zero - not one to try at home."
It doesn't state anything about using helium to cool anything. It does mention cooling helium until it becomes a superfluid, which occurs just above absolute zero. The scale is implied, unless you know of a scale that has 0 just above the temperature in which helium becomes a superfluid.