Cornstarch & Water - Explained by Physicists - Heinrich Jaeger and Scott Waitukaitis 

Based on the title, I was expecting to learn about the physics behind it, instead of hear a physicist say, "it's a liquid, but when you hit it really hard it turns into a sold". Cool footage none the less.

Love this video but I would like to know how the molecules work, how do they react to each other to create a temporary solid?

This makes me wonder if something like it can be adapted into bullet-proof armor in the future.

It would be nice to show / discuss what potential applications this fascinating research may have. Could you please publish a video on that also? Many thanks.

What happens if you hit it while someone finger is in it?

I have a question. I have found that Swedish Fish (the gummy candy) can shatter when thrown or, in some cases, even just dropped on the ground. When it shatters or chips, it will break with a clean edge as if it was made of glass (or a hard candy, I guess). The candy doesn't need to be frozen or hard (from being stale), it can be soft and bendy but will still shatter when it hits a hard surface like concrete. There is a video on RU-vid called "Shattering Swedish Fish" which shows this but besides this video and my experience of it (probably 8 or more years ago) I have not been able to find anything else on the subject. It seems like it may not work with every Swedish Fish, I've only ever see it happen to non-original flavor ones but I have no idea. Years ago when I first experienced it I was just eating some red and green Christmas edition Swedish fish which were left over from a holiday party and I dropped one. Its tail broke off cleanly with a sharp edge as if it had been a hard candy yet it was just a regular, gummy Swedish Fish. I was fascinated and experimented with all the rest I had and got similar results. I have to wonder if it this is acting on a similar principle as cornstarch and water but have been disappointed in the utter lack of information on it. Interestingly, corn starch is listed as an ingredient in Swedish Fish but I'm aware this may just be a coincidence. I was wondering if anyone knows anything about this or has experienced this before. Anything would be very much appreciated.

It depends on the speed! We're currently working on experiments to try to figure out how this speed/pressure dependence works!

I'm gonna buy cornstarch on the way home tonight!

If scientists can replicate this principle for other surfaces (like clothes or plastic) and it is strong enough to stop bullets or projectiles......warfare will change (back to melee).... Or if they can give a liquid the properties to stop bullets or even rockets, we could maybe construct 'force shields' out of it.... Like creating a stable bubble of the liquid and surrounding a large object with it, could work even easier in outer space without the gravity (yes, surrounding spaceships with corn starch bubbles to have epic space battles)

Love this video

What other materials can be used aside from corn starch? Corn starch will break down over time. Are there any minerals which, when put in suspension, also do this. This would make a terrific damper for seismic constrain. Free moving at low speed, and locked under impact.

I'm not a physicist but I can explain that I didn't expect that they explain what so obvious.

could you run on a pool filled with water and cornstarch?

How could this be put in car suspensions?

Hi from Reddit, very cool

How effective would this be on space "ships and/or rockets" to protect from impact from micro debris and for that matter larger debris ? Shields up!

does it have to be at a stable /non-moving status? what if you put it in kelvar, can it stop a bullet?

The grains of cornstarch grouping together to form a "temporary column solid" seems fairly commonsense. Although I wonder, if pressure is continuously applied at the same speed, does the solution still remain solid?

It's the worst thing to drown into, besides lava, cement, sewer

Interesting. So there may be a way to change between solid/liquid states by changing the pressure of the solution? I guess what I'm asking is would it be possible to create "structures" that can also be turned into a liquid or solid at will?

OMG...This is either Disney's "Flubber"(Give it some Green) or that indestructible Scifi Monster "The Blob"!😱 Still Impressive 😁👍

I went to search if cornstarch reduces the surface tension in water for my bath making and came across this coolness,

Hello, I'm making a school project about this topic. Can I make you a few questions about the experiment?

Does it work with baking soda?

Start at 2:18 and listen to that sound that has to hurt!

Can it stop bullets?

Hi Imgur!

Does the entire container harden with impact or just say the top layers?

Check out the article at Nature.com for the full physics details :)

That's the stuff!

What happens if you shoot a bullet at it?

Could bags of oobleck be used to address the problems of potholes? The main problem I have thought of, is would a bag of oobleck stay solid if a car would be parked over it. Could you guys help me out with that?

How can I reproduce this experiment on a small scale? I'd like to see what happens when I hit the slurry.

We like the goop

Huh. So simple and yet so strange.

Science!!

and gives me an awesome idea am going to perfect in my theory

imgur anyone?

i came from a cooking video to a physics one

INERTIA!!

Where do you buy 50 pounds of cornstarch for 20 Dollars?!

this video doesn't explain the physics behind the phenomenon, the title is essentially Clickbait

10000 fps? PC Master be trippin to get that ;)

RU-vid Recommendations??

fun

لو عند المسلمين كان قالوا حرام تغيير خلق الله وانه غش

i dont know how i got here....but damn, cornstarch is cool.

My dad sent me this video i have no idea why

This explains very little

exactly like humans

9gag brought me here

CORONAVIRUS

H2O has surface tension. It is literally a hard phase of H2O. As its name suggests, surface tension occurs on the surface of liquid water. So, think about that, a solid exists on the surface of water. Now consider this: if you can maximize the surface of liquid water in 3 dimensions you can create a 3 dimensional form of H2O surface tension. When force is applied to the mixture the grains of corn starch are forced between water molecules creating an internal, 3 dimensional surface. This is the correct explanation of this phenomena. Corn starch is not providing the structural strength at all. With pressure applied, corn starch is providing the surface. The tensional forces that make the substance hard are provided by the water molecules. And it is based on the same (unknown) principle that causes surface tension of water. BTW, this understanding provides us an alternative hypothesis for ice which is currently thought to be a result of a lattice. This new understanding suggests that the lattice hypothesis is mistaken and the reason ice is hard has nothing to do with it turning into a lattice but, instead, has to do with factors that create an internal surface in the body of water. I am a scientist who will soon be revealing my solution to the anomalies of H2O. Here is a link to a meetup in the SF bay area that will begin to resolve all of the long standing mysteries of H2O's anomalies: Resolving the Anomalies of H2O / James McGinn www.meetup.com/Resolving-the-Anomalies-of-H2O/events/246928935/

I came from imgur

Is this a joke? That is a shear thickening fluid and the term "jamming" is nonsense.

Now figure out a way to protect our soldiers with it.