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Thin Water Acts Like a Solid

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the mash-downs dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "What happens when you compress water in a nano-sized space? According to Georgia Tech physicists, water starts to behave like a solid. "The confined water film behaves like a solid in the vertical direction by forming layers parallel to the confining surface, while maintaining it's liquidity in the horizontal direction where it can flow out," said one of the researchers. "Water is a wonderful lubricant, but it flows too easily for many applications. At the one nanometer scale, water is a viscous fluid and could be a much better lubricant," added another one."

18 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Nanoscale lubricant? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well, based on poor results getting it on in a swimmin pool, I can verify that water is a lousy lubricant at normal scale!

    1. Re:Nanoscale lubricant? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      So, what you're saying is, your equipment isn't quite small enough to qualify as nanoscale?

      I keed, I keed...

    2. Re:Nanoscale lubricant? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      It was the shrinkage factor?

    3. Re:Nanoscale lubricant? by Pesh+Hawksfire · · Score: 5, Funny

      Rule 24 of the internet: Pics or it didn't happen.

  2. Bend over, Roland by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Here's an microscope http://www.dbi.udel.edu/bioimaging/afm.html. On behalf of everybody on slashdot, we're going to use atomic force. In deference to your occasional useful post, we're going to allow you a thin layer of water as a lubricant.

  3. Not only thin... by gillbates · · Score: 5, Funny

    But cold water also acts like a solid at times.

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    1. Re:Not only thin... by wsherman · · Score: 5, Funny

      But cold water also acts like a solid at times.
      Unless you're trying to walk on it - then it acts like a banana.
    2. Re:Not only thin... by Some_Llama · · Score: 5, Funny

      But cold water also acts like a solid at times.

      Unless you're trying to walk on it - then it acts like a banana.
      And when you're trying to stick your tongue to it, then it acts like an adhesive.
  4. in other news by butterflysrage · · Score: 2, Funny

    Canadians and those from other northen countries let out an audible "DUH!" when reading a Slashdot article that stated that solid water is slippery. Speed skaters everywhere found rolling on the floor in hystarics.

    more at 6:00

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  5. We already know this... by kansei · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...it's called prison lube.

    1. Re:We already know this... by jcgf · · Score: 4, Funny

      uh, how did you know that?

    2. Re:We already know this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      shut up, skittlebitch

  6. Well... by Seoulstriker · · Score: 1, Funny

    Is your "girlfriend" a water-bottle?

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  7. Contrary to Popular Belief by IceCreamGuy · · Score: 4, Funny

    Contrary to popular belief, water organizes into layers when compressed into a nano-sized channel.


    I can't believe the popular notions of water in a nano-sized channel are false! Soon they'll be saying that the attorney general acts like a solid under pressure in a nano-sized tube. If we can't believe the popular notions of nano-tube water behavior, what can we believe? My life is a lie!
  8. Re:IANASBIPOOTV But, DUH! by mstahl · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oh my god I can't believe I actually read that as "I Am Not A Scientist But I Play One On TV". . . .

    Be back soon guys . . . I'm gonna go outside for a while.

  9. Re:What happens when you learn by Deadstick · · Score: 5, Funny
    Why is its the only non apostrophized possessive?

    I think he has hi's possessives right.

    rj

  10. more prior research by commodoresloat · · Score: 4, Funny

    Turns out some guy in the middle east figured this out a couple of millennia ago. They called him the Nazarene or something; apparently even did some tricks where he walked on the stuff. Once again, slashdot is just recycling old news.

  11. Good to know by timias1 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Otherwise I might try high diving into a glass of water only a few nanometers deep