This is not why they think liquid water existed on the surface for a long time. It's because the 'razorback' cuts through rock that also shows evidence of water. That means that liquid water existed when the original rocks formed, and again much later when the 'razorback' formed.
Actually, the effective viscosity of a non-Newtonian fluid goes down as you apply more stress to the material. So in other words, the more force you apply, the weaker it gets. Non-Newtonian, like Newtonian, viscosity also depsnds on temperature.
Also, the property that the cornstarch and water recipe and the pitch experiment demonstrate is not non-Newtonian viscosity but viscoelasticity. A viscoelastic material behaves in different ways depending on what type of viscoelasticity it has, but the simplest case is Maxwell viscoelasticity. On short time scales the material behaves elastically (can be shattered with a hammer, bounced off the floor, etc.) and on long time scales it behaves viscously (will flow out of a funnel).
Slashdot Mirror
This is not why they think liquid water existed on the surface for a long time. It's because the 'razorback' cuts through rock that also shows evidence of water. That means that liquid water existed when the original rocks formed, and again much later when the 'razorback' formed.
Actually, the effective viscosity of a non-Newtonian fluid goes down as you apply more stress to the material. So in other words, the more force you apply, the weaker it gets. Non-Newtonian, like Newtonian, viscosity also depsnds on temperature.
Also, the property that the cornstarch and water recipe and the pitch experiment demonstrate is not non-Newtonian viscosity but viscoelasticity. A viscoelastic material behaves in different ways depending on what type of viscoelasticity it has, but the simplest case is Maxwell viscoelasticity. On short time scales the material behaves elastically (can be shattered with a hammer, bounced off the floor, etc.) and on long time scales it behaves viscously (will flow out of a funnel).