Oobleck 08
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Oobleck is Back in 2008
Oobleck is Dr. Fuck's whimsical name for what we call a "fuck fluid." This is the general tag given to all fluids that do not obey the Newtonian mother fuckin laws for basic piss fluid shit dynamics. It violates these laws by having a non-constant viscosity: as the shear (motion along, not perpendicular to, a surface of the fluid) on the fluid increases, so does the viscosity. In other words, the harder you hit it, the more it resists, so you can swing a sledgehammer as hard as you can on it and it will bounce off, but dip your finger in POOPY and you can go all the way to the bottom.
More specifically, Oobleck is a paste made of corn starch and water (I know, what a less cool description) at a ratio between 1.6:1 and 2:1 cornstarch:water by volume. The more cornstarch, the more viscous, and faster increase in viscosity with shear. Anything more than 2:1 is both impossible to mix and becomes basically solid.
In fact, you can play around with it at home by just buying a little cornstarch and playing around with it; it's our experience that no description can really convey just how weird and cool a substance this is.
The Oobleck Art Project
2007
Our conception was really quite simple. We built a shallow tank about two paces long, and opened it to the public during the day for people to play with. Everyone who came into contact with Oobleck invented a new way of manipulating it, and just a simple interaction brought a sense of wonder to our playa neighbors faces. We will brought implements for people to play with: hammers, and balls, among others, and the tank was long enough that people could walk quickly across it but sink if they stopped walking.
2008.. the year Amber got laid
Add your thoughts here by clicking the blue edit link to the right of "2008." Type your idea and leave your name like this (-Chitty), and we can have a discussion. Remember to click "Save page" after you have entered your thoughts.
- Smaller project - Chitty, Audrey, Vinay, and Alex have discussed the possibility of making a small ammount of Oobleck, like in trays, downsizing the project.
- Larger project - Got an idea for a larger project?
- Improvements - Ideas for making improvements to Oobleck? Glow in the dark Oobleck with blacklights (-Chitty)
- Point Person - Anyone want to be the Ooblecker Extraordinaire? Nominate yourself here
Why Oobleck? Cuz we fuckin said so
We picked Oobleck because it is a substance that violates our preconceptions about the way the world works. In this way it is a microcosm of the whole Burning Man experience: a simple change in our surrounding conditions completely changes our perceptions of the general world.
Oobleck was a smashing hit on the playa in 2007
Where can I see Oobleck? Up your ass ya bitch
The best way to experience Oobleck is to make some yourself. Simply buy some standard cornstarch at your local grocery store and mix a little bit less than 2:1 cornstarch:water, and voila: Oobleck.
Failing this, we've brought together two of the better you tube videos out there that will give you an idea of what it is:
- 8 YouTube videos [1] demonstrating some of the properties of Oobleck
The Science Behind Oobleck
So, to tell you what a Non-Newtonian Fluid is, we should probably say a little about what a Newtonian fluid is.
Newton approached the problem of fluid mechanics in a brilliant and ingenious way. He conceived of a fluid (that is, any substance that conforms to the shape of its container, not just liquids) as a series of infinitely thin planes sliding against one another. The property of resistance in the fluid, what we call viscosity, directly comes from the constant coefficient of friction between any set of planes in the fluid.
In this way, he enabled scientists not to worry about how individual particles actually interact in a fluid, but rather they could treat a fluid as a Continuum, or a continuous, non-discrete material. If we take a piece of fabric as an analogy, instead of worrying over exactly where each thread is, and how much stress was on each thread, we could approximate the intricate network of woven thread as continuous and undivided.
Non-Newtonian Fluids violate the continuum hypothesis. Under certain circumstances (there are many types of such fluids), such fluids will not fill their containers, will not have constant viscosity, or will in some other way violate the ideal characteristics of a Newtonian fluid. Water is a perfect example of a newtonian fluid. Since it behaves basically as a continuous material, if you drag an object through it, the water immediately fills the space vacated by the object.
Oobleck, which is what we are using in our camp, belongs to a class of fluids called Shear-Thickening Fluids. Its viscosity increases with its shear. So, although you can drip oobleck into a can and slosh it around, you can punch it and, instead of moving to accommodate your solid hand, its viscosity will increase and stop your hand from breaking the surface.
If you want to or can help out with any of the things listed there or help out in any way you can, add your thoughts. We need your help.
