5 Strangest Materials

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.

Comments

Magnetic Fluid

[sporkme]

4. Ferrofluids - magnetic fluids that can look spectacular. They're made from nanoscale magnetic particles suspended in a liquid. The spectacular sculpture in the video below is made using a ferrofluid and electromagnets.

You can get this stuff from United Nuclear (about 2/3 of the way down the page, sorry no anchors), as well as some fun looking "super magnets" and some radioactive ores.

When I read about the fluid that can flow up the sides of a container, all I could think about was THE BLOB!

They forgot Aerogel

[Anonymous Coward]

Aerogel is a low-density solid-state material derived from gel in which the liquid component of the gel has been replaced with gas. The result is an extremely low density solid with several remarkable properties, most notably its effectiveness as an insulator. It is nicknamed frozen smoke, solid smoke or blue smoke due to its semi-transparent nature and the way light scatters in the material; however, it feels like extruded polystyrene to the touch.

Re:I have one for you

[CosmeticLobotamy]

I have a feeling I'm missing a reference to something, but in case I'm not, Wonder Bread isn't that bad. It's 60 calories a slice. 70 is about average for white bread. Most whole wheat breads are around 90. The best you can buy around here is 35, and it tastes like recycled toilet paper that came out too moist and delicious so they ran a hairdryer over it for a week. If you're trying to be less of one of those bloated lazy crap sacks, switching to Wonder Bread isn't a bad place to start.