...material that has amazing
properties: under light loads it is soft
and elastic, and when large, it becomes
hard and very elastic.
Not a single person can escape the real material world that surrounds him and in which he himself lives. Nature, everyday life, technology and everything that surrounds us and happens within us is subject to the uniform laws of origin and development - the laws of PHYSICS.
Nature is a real physical laboratory in which a person must be an active observer, a creator, but not a slave of nature, unable to at least approximately explain the natural phenomena he observes. From birth, every person becomes familiar with the substances that surround him; as he grows up, a person begins to distinguish different types of liquids from gases or solids, understanding what distinctive properties are inherent in substances. At a young age, a child does not think much about these interesting signs, does not understand why water is a liquid and snow is a solid... The older a person gets, the wider his area of knowledge becomes, the deeper he understands the essence of things. So, for every person there comes a moment when by the concept of liquid he will understand not just milk or water, he will understand that liquid, like any other type of matter, has its own classification and basic properties. The main property of a liquid, which distinguishes it from other states of aggregation, is the ability to unlimitedly change its shape under the influence of tangential mechanical stresses, even arbitrarily small, while practically maintaining its volume. The liquid state is usually considered intermediate between a solid and a gas: a gas retains neither volume nor shape, but a solid retains both. Liquids are divided into ideal and real. Ideal - non-viscous liquids with absolute mobility, i.e. absence of frictional forces and tangential stresses and absolute immutability. Real - viscous liquids that have compressibility, resistance, tensile and shear forces and sufficient mobility, i.e. the presence of frictional forces and tangential stresses.
Relevance of the project:
We are surrounded by a huge amount of liquids. Liquid surrounds us everywhere and always. People themselves are made of liquid, water gives us life, we came from water and always return to water. We come across the use of liquids all the time: we drink tea, wash our hands, pour gasoline into a car, pour oil into a frying pan. The main property of a liquid is that it is able to change its shape under mechanical stress.
But it turned out that not all liquids behave in the usual way. These are so-called non-Newtonian fluids. We became interested in the unusual properties of such liquids and conducted several experiments.
Hypothesis:
Conduct experiments in which you can clearly see some of the physical properties of non-Newtonian liquids.
Project goals:
Get a non-Newtonian fluid
Study some physical properties of non-Newtonian fluid
Project objectives:
Collect theoretical material about non-Newtonian fluid
Experimentally study some physical properties of non-Newtonian liquids (density, boiling point, crystallization temperature)
Find out the scope of application of non-Newtonian fluids
Research methods:
Observation
Study of theoretical materials
Conducting experiments
Analysis
Theoretical part
Liquid is one of the states of matter. There are three such states, they are also called aggregate states: gas, liquid and solid. A substance is called liquid if it has the property of unlimitedly changing its shape under external influence, while maintaining its volume.
The liquid state is usually considered intermediate between a solid and a gas: a gas retains neither volume nor shape, but a solid retains both. Liquids can be ideal or real. Ideal - non-viscous liquids with absolute mobility, i.e. the absence of frictional forces and tangential stresses and the absolute immutability of volume under the influence of external forces. Real - viscous liquids that have compressibility, resistance, tensile and shear forces and sufficient mobility, i.e. the presence of frictional forces and tangential stresses. Real fluids can be Newtonian or non-Newtonian.
Newtonian fluids are homogeneous fluids. Newtonian fluid is water, oil and most of the fluid substances we are used to in daily use, that is, those that retain their state of aggregation no matter what you do with them (unless we are talking about evaporation or freezing, of course).
Another thing is non-Newtonian fluids. Their peculiarity lies in the fact that their fluid properties fluctuate depending on the speed of its current.
At the end of the 17th century, the great physicist Newton noticed that rowing oars quickly is much harder than if you do it slowly. And then he formulated a law according to which the viscosity of a liquid increases in proportion to the force exerted on it. Newton came to the study of the flow of liquids when he tried to simulate the movement of the planets of the solar system by rotating a cylinder representing the Sun in water. In his observations, he established that if the rotation of the cylinder is maintained, it is gradually transmitted to the entire mass of the liquid. Subsequently, to describe such properties of liquids, the terms “internal friction” and “viscosity” began to be used, which became equally widespread. Historically, these works of Newton laid the foundation for the study of viscosity and rheology.
When the liquid is heterogeneous, for example, it consists of large molecules forming complex spatial structures, then during its flow the viscosity depends on the velocity gradient. Such fluids are called non-Newtonian. Non-Newtonian, or anomalous, are fluids whose flow does not obey Newton’s law. There are many such fluids that are anomalous from a hydraulic point of view. They are widely used in oil, chemical, processing and other industries.
Non-Newtonian fluids do not obey the laws of ordinary fluids; these fluids change their density and viscosity when exposed to physical force, not only mechanical force, but even sound waves and electromagnetic fields. If you act mechanically on an ordinary liquid, then the greater the impact on it, the greater the shift between the planes of the liquid, in other words, the stronger the impact on the liquid, the faster it will flow and change its shape. If we act on a non-Newtonian liquid with mechanical forces, we will get a completely different effect, the liquid will begin to take on the properties of solids and behave like a solid, the connection between the molecules of the liquid will increase with increasing force on it, as a result we will be faced with the physical difficulty of moving the layers of such liquids . The viscosity of non-Newtonian liquids increases as the speed of the liquid flow decreases.
experimental part
In the practical part, we conducted several experiments.
Experiment No. 1 “Obtaining a non-Newtonian liquid”
Goal: to obtain a non-Newtonian fluid and check how it behaves under normal conditions.
Equipment: water, starch, bowl.
Progress of the experiment:
1 Take a bowl of water and starch. Mixed equal parts of the substance.
2 The result is a white liquid.
We noticed that if you stir quickly, you feel resistance, but if you stir more slowly, you don’t. You can pour the resulting liquid into your hand and try to roll it into a ball. When we act on the liquid, while we roll the ball, there will be a solid ball of liquid in our hands, and the faster and stronger we act on it, the denser and harder our ball will be. As soon as we unclench our hands, the hitherto hard ball will immediately spread over our hand. This will be due to the fact that after the influence on it ceases, the liquid will again take on the properties of the liquid phase.
Experiment No. 2 “Study of some physical properties of non-Newtonian liquids”
To study the properties, we took a mixture of starch and water obtained in the previous experiment, shower gel and sunflower oil.
The purpose of this experiment: to experimentally determine the density, boiling point and crystallization temperature of these liquids.
As a result of the experiments, we obtained the following data:
Experiment No. 3 “Studying the influence of magnetic fields on a non-Newtonian fluid”
Experiments with ferrofluid are widely distributed in the form of videos on the Internet. The fact is that this type of liquid, under the influence of a magnet, makes certain movements, which makes the experiments very spectacular.
Ferromagnetic fluid can be made with your own hands at home. To do this, we’ll take oil (motor oil, sunflower oil, etc. are suitable), as well as toner for a laser printer (a substance in powder form). Now mix both ingredients to the consistency of sour cream.
In order for the effect to be maximum, heat the resulting mixture in a water bath for about half an hour, not forgetting to stir it.
Ferromagnetic liquid (ferrofluid) is a liquid that is highly polarized under the influence of a magnetic field. Simply put, if you bring an ordinary magnet closer to this liquid, it produces certain movements, for example, it becomes like a hedgehog, stands up with a hump, etc.
Making a toy - slime
The very first slime toy was made by Mattel in 1976. The Slime toy has earned popularity due to its amusing properties - both fluidity, elasticity and the ability to constantly transform. Possessing the properties of a non-Newtonian fluid, the slime toy quickly became incredibly popular with children and adults. Slime could not be bought everywhere, but they soon learned how to make a funny toy at home.
Making slime with your own hands and at home differs from the original recipe. Therefore, we will use more accessible substances:
1. PVA glue. White, preferably fresh, glue can be purchased at any office supply or hardware store. We will need about half a regular glass of glue for Lizun, about 100 grams.
2. Water – the most ordinary tap water. If desired, you can take boiled, at room temperature. You will need a little more glass.
3. Sodium tetraborate, borax or borax. Can be purchased at a pharmacy in the form of a 4% solution.
4. Food coloring or a few drops of brilliant green. The original slime is green, and brilliant green is perfect as a coloring agent.
5. Measuring cup, utensil and mixing stick. As a stick, you can take a pencil, spoon or any other suitable object.
Let's move on to the process of creating slime:
Dissolve a tablespoon of borax in a glass of water.
- Turn a quarter glass of water and a quarter glass of glue into a homogeneous mixture in another bowl. If desired, add dye there.
- While stirring the adhesive mixture, gradually add a borax solution, about half a glass. Stir until a jelly-like homogeneous mass is obtained.
- Let’s check the result: the thickened substance is, in fact, a slime toy. You can put it on the table, crush it and check all its original properties.
Applications of non-Newtonian fluids
Oddly enough, these liquids are very popular in the world. When studying non-Newtonian fluids, their viscosity is first studied. Knowledge about viscosity and how to measure and maintain it helps in medicine, technology, cooking, and cosmetics production.
Application in cosmetology
Cosmetic companies make huge profits by finding the perfect balance of viscosity that customers love.
To ensure that cosmetics stick to the skin, they are made viscous, whether it is liquid foundation, lip gloss, eyeliner, mascara, lotions, or nail polish. The viscosity for each product is selected individually, depending on the purpose for which it is intended. Lip gloss, for example, should be viscous enough to stay on the lips for a long time, but not too viscous, otherwise those who use it will feel unpleasantly sticky on the lips. In the mass production of cosmetics, special substances called viscosity modifiers are used. In home cosmetics, various oils and wax are used for the same purposes.
In shower gels, the viscosity is adjusted so that they remain on the body long enough to wash away dirt, but not longer than necessary, otherwise the person will feel dirty again. Typically, the viscosity of the finished cosmetic product is changed artificially by adding viscosity modifiers.
The highest viscosity is for ointments. The viscosity of creams is lower, and lotions are the least viscous. Thanks to this, lotions lie on the skin in a thinner layer than ointments and creams, and have a refreshing effect on the skin. Compared to more viscous cosmetics, they are pleasant to use even in summer, although they need to be rubbed in harder and have to be reapplied more often, as they do not stay on the skin for long. Creams and ointments stay on the skin longer than lotions and are more moisturizing. They are especially good to use in winter when there is less moisture in the air. In cold weather, when the skin dries and cracks, products such as body butter, for example, are a cross between an ointment and a cream. Ointments take much longer to absorb and leave the skin oily, but they remain on the body much longer. Therefore, they are often used in medicine.
Whether the buyer liked the viscosity of a cosmetic product often determines whether he will choose this product in the future. That is why cosmetics manufacturers spend a lot of effort to obtain the optimal viscosity, which should appeal to most buyers. The same manufacturer often produces a product for the same purpose, such as shower gel, in different versions and viscosities to give consumers choice. During production, the recipe is strictly followed to ensure that the viscosity meets the standards.
Use in cooking
To improve the presentation of dishes, to make food more appetizing and to make it easier to eat, viscous food products are used in cooking.
Products with a high viscosity, such as sauces, are very convenient to spread on other products, like bread. They are also used to hold layers of food in place. In a sandwich, butter, margarine, or mayonnaise is used for these purposes - then cheese, meat, fish or vegetables do not slide off the bread. In salads, especially multilayer ones, mayonnaise and other viscous sauces are also often used to help these salads keep their shape. The most famous examples of such salads are herring under a fur coat and Olivier salad. If you use olive oil instead of mayonnaise or other viscous sauce, then vegetables and other foods will not hold their shape.
Viscous products with their ability to hold their shape are also used to decorate dishes. For example, the yogurt or mayonnaise in the photo not only remains in the shape it was given, but also supports the decorations that were placed on it.
Application in medicine
In medicine, it is necessary to be able to determine and control blood viscosity, since high viscosity contributes to a number of health problems. Compared to blood of normal viscosity, thick and viscous blood does not move well through the blood vessels, which limits the flow of nutrients and oxygen to organs and tissues, and even to the brain. If tissues do not receive enough oxygen, they die, so high viscosity blood can damage both tissues and internal organs. Not only are the parts of the body that need the most oxygen damaged, but also those that take the longest for blood to reach, that is, the extremities, especially the fingers and toes. With frostbite, for example, the blood becomes more viscous, carries insufficient oxygen to the arms and legs, especially the tissue of the fingers, and in severe cases tissue death occurs. In such a situation, fingers and sometimes parts of limbs have to be amputated.
Application in technology
Non-Newtonian fluids are used in the automotive industry; synthetic motor oils based on non-Newtonian fluids reduce their viscosity by several tens of times as the engine speed increases, while reducing friction in engines.
Conclusion and conclusions
As a result of the work done, a review of theoretical sources of information was carried out. A series of experiments with non-Newtonian liquids was carried out, the density was calculated, and the boiling and crystallization temperatures of non-Newtonian liquids were determined.
Based on the results of the experiments, the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. If we stir a non-Newtonian fluid quickly, resistance is felt, but if we stir it more slowly, then no. When moving rapidly, such a liquid behaves like a solid.
2. When the temperature changes, the density of the liquid changes.
There are many amazing things around us, and non-Newtonian fluid is a prime example of this. We hope that we were able to clearly demonstrate its amazing properties.
Based on the results of the work, all assigned tasks were completed and all planned experiments were carried out. The experiments and presentation illustrated the purpose of the work we did.
Literature
Teaching materials:
1. A. V. Peryshkin. Physics 7th grade, Bustard, Moscow 2008
2. Zarembo L.K., Bolotovsky B.M., Stakhanov I.P. and others. Schoolchildren about modern physics. Enlightenment, 2006
3. Kabardin O.F., Physics, reference materials, Education, 1988
The work was completed:
Skibin Ilya, 9th grade student
Kharitonov Vadim, 9th grade student
Supervisor:
Gievskaya Lyudmila Ivanovna
Physics teacher
Municipal state educational institution
Novokalitvenskaya secondary school
Rossoshansky municipal district
Voronezh region
Even if you walk around or . No matter what force acts on water, oil or milk, they will still retain their liquid state, be it stirring, pouring or other physical influence.
Another thing is non-Newtonian. Their peculiarity lies in the fact that their fluid fluctuates depending on the speed of its current. Non-Newtonian liquid easily obtained by mixing water with edible potato/corn starch.
Sources:
- non-Newtonian fluid how to make
Ordinary liquids spread, shimmer, and are easily permeable. But there are substances that can take a vertical position and even withstand the weight of a person. They are called non-Newtonian fluids.
There are emulsions whose viscosity is variable and dependent on the rate of deformation. Many suspensions with properties that contradict the laws of hydraulics have been developed. Their use has become widespread in the chemical, processing, oil and other branches of modern industry.
These include sewage mud, toothpaste, liquid soap, drilling fluids, etc. Usually these mixtures are heterogeneous. They contain large molecules capable of forming complex spatial structures. Exceptions are those prepared with potato or corn starch.
Preparation of non-Newtonian fluid at home
To create an emulsion you will need water. Usually the ingredients are used in equal parts, but sometimes the ratio is 1:3 in favor of water. After mixing, the resulting liquid is similar in consistency to jelly and has interesting characteristics.If you slowly put an object into a container with emulsion, the result will be similar to immersing the thing in paint. By swinging well and hitting the mixture with your fist, you can notice changes in its properties. The hand will recoil as if from a collision with a solid substance.
The emulsion poured from a great height, in contact with the surface, accumulates in lumps. At the beginning of the stream, it will flow like an ordinary liquid. Another experiment is to slowly insert your hand into the composition and squeeze your fingers sharply. A hard layer forms between them.
You can place your hand up to the wrist in the suspension and try to pull it out sharply. There is a huge chance that the container with the emulsion will rise with your hand.
Using the characteristics of a non-Newtonian fluid to create a slime
The first one was created in 1976. It gained immense popularity due to its unusual properties. The slime was at the same time elastic, fluid and had the ability to constantly transform. Such qualities have made the demand for the toy enormous among adults.Quicksand - a non-Newtonian fluid of the desert
They have the properties of solids and liquids overnight due to the unusual configuration of sand grains. The flow of water located under the quicksand whips up a loose layer of sand grains until the mass of a traveler who has wandered to the bottom collapses the structure.The sand is redistributed and begins to suck in the person. Attempts to get out on your own lead to thin air, pulling your legs back with titanic force. The force required to release the limbs in this case is comparable to the weight of the machine.
The density of quicksand is greater than that of groundwater. But you can't swim in them. Due to increased humidity, sand grains form a viscous substance.
Any attempt to move causes powerful opposition. The sand mass, moving at low speed, does not have time to fill the cavity that forms behind the displaced object. A vacuum is formed in it. It hardens in response to sudden movements. Movement in quicksand is only possible if it is done very smoothly and slowly.
A Newtonian fluid is any fluid substance that has a constant viscosity, independent of the external stress that acts on it. One example is water. For non-Newtonian liquids, the viscosity will change and directly depends on the speed of movement.
What are Newtonian fluids?
Examples of Newtonian fluids are slurries, suspensions, gels and colloids. The main feature of such substances is that the viscosity for them is constant and does not change relative to the rate of deformation.
Strain rate is the relative stress that a fluid experiences as it moves. Most fluids are Newtonian and Bernoulli's equations for laminar and turbulent flows are applicable to them.
Strain rate
Shear-sensitive fluids are more fluid. The shear rate or the gap between the substance and the walls of the vessel, as a rule, do not greatly affect this parameter and can be neglected. The strain rate value is known for all materials and is a tabulated value.
In some cases, however, it may change. For example, if the liquid is an emulsion that is applied to photographic film, even minor imperfections can cause blemishes and the final product will not be as good as it should be.
Various liquids and their viscosities
In Newtonian fluids, viscosity is independent of shear rate. However, for some of them, the viscosity varies with time. This is manifested by changes in pressure in the tank or pipe. Such liquids are called dilatant or thixotropic.
For latent liquids, shear stress always increases, since their viscosity and the increase in shear rate are interrelated. For thixotropic liquids, these parameters can change chaotically. The strain rate cannot increase rapidly as viscosity decreases. Therefore, the speed of movement of particles of matter can increase, decrease, or remain the same. It all depends on the type of liquid. However, the strain rate tends to decrease. This means that it will also decrease with the speed of movement of the substance. In other words, the fluid starts out viscous, but once it begins to move, it becomes less viscous. This means less energy is required to pump it.
Neglecting pump motor power is a phenomenon. This value is usually calculated for in motion. In practice, a much more powerful motor is needed to make the substance move. Ketchup is one example of this phenomenon. That's why we have to shake the bottle to make it start flowing. Once the process has begun, it proceeds faster.
Hello, friends! Welcome to our home laboratory!
And what the young experimenters Artyom and Alexandra have not done. And they cooked, and painted, and invented. But it’s not enough for them! And today the guys decided to figure out how to make a non-Newtonian fluid at home. Is it possible?
As it turned out, it is quite possible. Proof in the video below.
Progress of the experiment
Explanation
What is a non-Newtonian fluid? And why is it called that?
A little history. At the end of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth century, there lived the famous physicist Isaac Newton in England. It was he who discovered the law of universal gravitation. But that’s not about that now.
One day Newton was floating on his boat, sitting on the oars. And, since Newton was a very attentive person, he noticed that if you row the oars slowly and deliberately, the oars will pass through the water easily. But if you apply more force and start rowing much faster, then the oars pass through the water much more difficult.
“How can this be?” thought the physicist. He thought for a long time, carried out various experiments and calculations, and as a result discovered another law, which in its simplest form sounds like this:
The viscosity of a liquid increases in proportion to the force exerted on it.
Viscosity, to put it simply, is the ability to resist. You can feel this property of water while bathing in the bathtub. Try to immerse your hand in the water slowly, the water will not offer you any resistance.
And if you slap the surface of the water hard, you will feel its resistance, and it may even hurt a little, so be careful.
Is it possible to influence water with such force that it becomes almost solid? And maybe even withstand a person? Like in this video, for example.
What do we see here? A man runs on water. Unimaginable! Great! Apparently it runs so fast and has such a strong impact on the surface of the reservoir that the liquid becomes so viscous that it allows itself to be repelled.
As it turns out, this is just a joke. The people in the video were not running on water, but on walkways that they hid under water.
And to really run on water, a person weighing 74 kg and foot size 42 needs to run at a speed of 150 km/h!
For reference. The fastest man on the planet is Usain Bolt. Jamaican athlete. Its maximum speed is 37.578 km/h.
So running on water is something out of science fiction. And this applies not only to water, but also to milk or butter. Yes to all liquids that obey Newton's law.
However, not everyone obeys this law. And such “unruly” fluids are called non-Newtonian. And the guys made just such a liquid, very similar to mucus.
It does not require enormous force to make the resulting substance very hard. Just a little effort is enough, and she already resists with all her might. It is for this reason that you can run through a non-Newtonian fluid. Don't believe me? Watch the video)
Interesting, isn't it?
The recipe is simple. You will need starch and water, but not hot, but cold. We found out experimentally that you need to put in twice as much starch as water. You can add dye to the water, and then your mucus will also be colored.
Is it possible to do without starch? They say it's possible, but we haven't tried it. But the recipe will be like this:
In one bowl you need to mix ¾ cup of water with 1 cup of PVA glue.
In another bowl, mix ½ cup water and 2 tbsp. spoons of borax.
Then combine these two solutions and mix.
Agree that the option with starch and water is much simpler. And all the ingredients are at home, on hand, or at the nearest grocery store.
Where are non-Newtonian fluids used? There are a lot of them, such anomalous ones, they are widely used in various industries. In the oil industry, for example, in the chemical or processing industry. All these liquids are artificially created.
But they also occur in nature. For example, a swamp swamp is also a non-Newtonian fluid. Quicksand in deserts behaves similar to such liquids; they “suck” into themselves everything that falls on them.
Well, after completing the experiment and turning off the video camera, we found out that with such an anomalous liquid you can also perform in the circus. Watch the video)
That's all for today, friends. Try this experiment yourself, it’s very interesting)
You will find even more experiments with water. Next Saturday, our home laboratory will delight you with a new experiment. Perhaps we will make artificial snow. Do not miss)
Yours, Artyom, Alexandra and Evgenia Klimkovich.
Hello!
Let me introduce the young expert Stas. He loves to experiment and learn new things in his home laboratory.
Today, especially for readers of Entertaining Science, he will tell you about the properties of non-Newtonian liquids. Please love and respect. Word to Stas.
Liquid is found everywhere in the world around us. The properties of liquids are familiar to everyone, and any person interacting with them can, to one degree or another, predict how any liquid will behave in a particular situation.
Liquids, the properties of which we are accustomed to observing in daily use, obey Newton's law, are called Newtonian.
Newtonian fluid, viscous fluid, fluid that obeys Newton's law of viscous friction in its flow .
At the end of the 17th century, the great physicist Newton noticed that rowing oars quickly is much harder than if you do it slowly. And then he formulated a law according to which the viscosity of a liquid increases in proportion to the force exerted on it.
do not obey the laws of ordinary liquids, these liquids change their density and viscosity when exposed to physical force, not only by mechanical force, but even by sound waves. The stronger the impact on an ordinary liquid, the faster it will flow and change its shape. If we influence a Non-Newtonian liquid with mechanical forces, we will get a completely different effect, the liquid will begin to take on the properties of solids and behave like a solid, the connection between the molecules of the liquid will increase with increasing force of influence on it. The viscosity of non-Newtonian fluids increases as the fluid flow rate decreases. Typically, such liquids are highly heterogeneous and consist of large molecules that form complex spatial structures.
I was led to study this interesting topic by visiting the popular science exhibition “Touch the Science,” where one of the experiments was devoted to non-Newtonian liquids. The experiment made a great impression on me and I wanted to learn more about the amazing properties of liquids that contradict the laws of physics.
At home, I was able to not only repeat what I saw, but also study this phenomenon in more detail, conduct many additional experiments and come up with my own ways of using this liquid.
One of the experiments I conducted was an experiment with starch water.
Solid liquid.
I took equal parts of starch and water and mixed until smooth and viscous. After that I got a mixture similar to sour cream.
But the difference between this mixture and an ordinary liquid is that it can be both solid and liquid at the same time. When applied smoothly, the mixture is liquid, but if you take it in your hand and squeeze it forcefully, you can form a lump out of it, a “snowball,” which will immediately “melt.”
Conclusion: If this liquid is subjected to force, it acquires the properties of a solid.
You can even run on this liquid, but if you slow down the action, the person immediately plunges into the liquid. 
The properties of this liquid will soon be used for temporary repair of road potholes.
What happens to non-Newtonian fluids? 
Starch particles swell in water and form contacts in the form of chaotically intertwined molecules.
These strong connections are called links. Under a sharp impact, strong bonds do not allow the molecules to budge, and the system reacts to external influences like an elastic spring. With slow action, the hooks have time to stretch and unravel. The mesh breaks and the molecules disperse.
Young scientists, dear parents, respected grandparents. Today Stas showed and told you about an unusual liquid that has amazing properties and can be called a “solid liquid”. Did you like it? Then go to the “Experiments” section. There you will find experiments, tricks and experiments to your liking. Those that you can make at home and surprise everyone. And for you and your children, we have opened a new section “PocheMuk”. In it we answer the most interesting insidious and tricky scientific questions - write to us.
I'm really looking forward to your comments and photos of experiments!
Your Stas
Come to my Laboratory!
It seems that modern children can no longer be surprised by anything. Newfangled gadgets, toys with many functions differ from those that their parents had in childhood, like a modern boat from a wooden boat.
But lately, parents are paying more and more attention to what this or that game provides in terms of development. Some of them allow you to explore the world, developing children mentally and physically.
And if, in addition, such a game can be made independently with the participation of a child, then this is a huge plus. You can find many such toys on the Internet. One of the simplest and most interesting is the so-called non-Newtonian fluid. So how to do it at home and what is needed for this?
What is a non-Newtonian fluid
Before moving on to the answer to the question: “How to make a non-Newtonian fluid at home with your own hands?” - it wouldn’t hurt to understand what it is and how it works.
A non-Newtonian fluid is a kind of substance that behaves differently at different speeds of mechanical action on it. If the speed of external influence on it is small, then it shows signs of an ordinary liquid. And if it is acted upon at a higher speed, then it is similar in characteristics to a solid body.
The advantages of such an entertaining game include:
- Possibility and ease of self-production.
- Low cost and availability of ingredients.
- Cognitive opportunities for children.
- Environmentally friendly (unlike some plastic games, it does not contain harmful substances, and the composition is known to you in advance).
Fun and Education
What could be better than doing something interesting and unusual with your child? Moreover, this activity will be really useful not only for children, but also for adults. The simplicity of how to make a non-Newtonian fluid at home allows you to create interesting fun in just a couple of minutes. The result is a game that will captivate the whole family. In addition, it develops hand motor skills in children.
If you hit a non-Newtonian fluid quickly, it will behave like a solid body, and you will feel its elasticity. If you slowly lower your hand into it, it will not encounter any obstacle, and you will feel that it is water.
Another positive side is the development of imagination. When exposed to different types of liquid, it behaves very interestingly. If a container with it is placed on a vibrating surface or simply shaken quickly, it begins to take on very unusual shapes.
Don't forget about the educational benefits. Such a liquid allows one to study in practice the simplest fundamentals of physics - the properties of solid and liquid bodies.
How to make a non-Newtonian fluid at home: two ways
The composition of the mixture directly affects its properties. Thus, you should know how to make non-Newtonian fluid at home. The recipe is very simple. It has only two main ingredients - water and starch. The last ingredient can be either corn or potato. The water should be cold. Everything is mixed thoroughly. All is ready!
For a more liquid state of the mixture, take a 1:1 proportion of water and starch. For harder ones - 1:2. If desired, you can add food coloring to it, then the mixture will be bright.
How to make a non-Newtonian liquid at home without starch? This recipe is a little more complicated, but just as effective as the previous one. First, water and regular PVA glue are mixed in proportions of 0.75:1. Water is mixed separately with a small amount of borax. After this, both compositions are mixed and mixed thoroughly.
Both methods make it possible to obtain a non-Newtonian fluid, but the first is much simpler and is the most popular.
More water and starch...
Knowing how to make a non-Newtonian liquid at home, you can, by increasing the proportions, make a sufficient amount of such a mixture and fill it, for example, with a small children's pool. A depth of 15-25 centimeters will be enough. Then you can jump, run, dance on the surface of this liquid without falling through. But if you stop, you immediately plunge into it. This is great entertainment for adults and children.
In Malaysia, an entire swimming pool was filled with non-Newtonian fluid. This place immediately became very popular. People of all ages have fun there.