Slashdot Mirror
The Secret of Cornstarch Physics
sciencehabit writes "Filling a small swimming pool with cornstarch and water has long been a physicist's party trick. Step onto it slowly and you'll sink, but run across quickly and the oozy mixture will support your weight — almost as though it has turned from liquid to solid. Several reasons have been offered for the phenomenon, but now researchers believe they have the real answer. The key to figuring things out: plunging a 370-gram aluminum rod from a slingshot at around 1 meter per second into a cornstarch suspension." One meter per second doesn't seem very fast for anything launched by a slingshot, but any speed is good as long as it advances important knowledge like this.
Penn Jillette once almost drowned a midget while wrestling nude in a swimming pool filled with cornstarch. Oh and non-newtonien liquid bla, bla, etc.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
...is using a slingshot to shot Natalie Portman at 1 m/s into a vat of HOT GRITS!
Tubal-Cain smokes the white owl.
... the inanimate aluminum rod.
This or it's a non-newtonian server and I clicked so fast I couldn't enter.
Traditional Story
In the Old Testament, Moses told the Israelites not to leaven their bread, and subsequently led them safely across the Red Sea. When the Egyptians pursued them, they drowned.
What Really Happened
Obviously, Moses had someone go around and collect all the baking powder (which these days is made from sodium bicarbonate, tartaric acid and cornstarch). Some kid started asking a bunch of questions that irritated Moses, such as, "Why is this night different from all other nights?" He explained that they were leaving Egypt. When the child asked, "Why are we eating unleavened bread?" Moses replied, "uh, because we're in a hurry, kid. Stop asking questions!" He then had the Israelites' baking powder dumped into the sea so his people could run across it. However, since it wasn't pure cornstarch, it was unstable and collapsed by the time the Egyptians tried to cross.
It all makes sense now. God I love mixing science and religion. It's a lot like mixing water and cornstarch. Anything holds up surprisingly well if you run through it fast enough.