Posted by Ian E-N on February 01, 2004 at 10:09:59 from 213.122.67.150 user IanEN.
In Reply to: Re: Marmite abuse (1) posted by Robert Dilley on January 31, 2004 at 17:15:54:
What puzzles me about the topic of this thread is: How did anyone find out?
Idle curiosity / spirit of deep scientific inquiry
its some form of dilatant effect
cf custard powder - first noticed this as a child whilst making custard - as one adds the milk in very small quantities and stirs the mixture solidifies under pressure.
featured recently on Brainiac - television program, where they filled a swimming pool with custard.
Is it possible for Jon to walk across custard?
"Custard is what known as a non-Newtonian liquid, which means sometimes
it acts like a liquid and sometimes it acts like a solid. The theory
was that if Jon were to attempt to walk across a pool of custard it
would impact thereby causing it to act as a solid and support him. If Jon stops walking he will start to sink very slowly. The custard needed
to be cornflour or starchy based in order for the experiment to work properly.
So is it true? Did the experiment work? Well the answer to both those questions is yes! Jon successfully walked across the custard pool and when he stopped he did indeed sink.
There was a small problem getting Jon out of the pool afterwards. As custard is a non-Newtonian liquid its properties are such that the harder you pull the tighter it grips.
However in the end Jon was successfully liberated from custard pool - much to his relief !"