you know what we haven't talked about in
a while things that matter like mass and
materials and particles i guess what i
mean is things that have to do with
matter we've already talked a lot about
the different states of matter you know
some matter comes in the form of a solid
others in a liquid and still others in a
gas but are you ready for a question
that will bend your brain a little what
if there's matter that fits into more
than one of these categories is there
such a thing if there is what's it like
and can i make some
maybe in my kitchen
before i answer any of these questions
let's take a closer look at different
states of matter you remember what a
solid is it's matter that has a definite
size and shape like this desk that i'm
sitting at or the clothes that i'm
wearing and well all of me i'm a person
with a definite size and shape liquid is
matter that has a definite size but no
definite shape the water in this glass
is a liquid it has a definite size but
no definite shape like you could say
that my desk is desk shaped but there's
no such thing as water shaped and a gas
is matter that has no definite size or
shape the air around me and you is a gas
it's not shaped like anything and its
size changes depending on how big the
container is that it's in now all solids
liquids and gases are materials or
objects made of matter and all materials
have properties or traits that help
identify them like their color or shape
or size or temperature or weight and now
that you're properly refreshed on the
states of matter i'm going to cheat and
answer our big question a little early
or at least part of it yes some
materials aren't so easily lumped into
just one state of matter these unusual
materials can actually act like multiple
states of matter neat right wanna meet
just such a material then let me
introduce you to non-newtonian fluids
then on what now non-newtonian fluids
are substances that don't behave like we
expect them to these fluids might look
like one thing but they behave like
another so what makes a substance
non-newtonian let's find out by making a
non-newtonian mixture of our own say
hello to oobleck
believe it or not i didn't make this
word up it comes from a book written by
dr seuss you know the guy who wrote the
cat in the hat in another book he wrote
called bartholomew and the oobleck
there's a king who gets bored with
normal everyday weather so instead he
makes sticky stuff fall from the sky
that's where oobleck the stuff that
we're going to play with today gets its
name but the stuff we're talking about
is real our oobleck is a non-newtonian
substance with a pretty simple recipe no
magical kings required all you need is
about one and a half cups of cornstarch
about one cup of water a big bowl and a
spoon pour the corn starch into your
bowl and slowly add some water keep
stirring until the mixture feels kind of
like honey in the end it should look
like this now grab some of this goo in
your hand when you squeeze it it'll form
a solid ball in your palm but when you
unclench your fist and release the
pressure it'll slide between your
fingers like a liquid all fluids have a
property known as viscosity which is
basically the rate at which a fluid
flows and newtonian fluids or normal
fluids flow at a consistent rate but
non-newtonian fluids or non-normal
fluids flow at a different rate
depending on how much force or pressure
is applied to them so your oobleck flows
at a much slower rate when pressure is
applied to it acting like a solid but
when the pressure is removed it flows
faster and behaves like a liquid good
for you oobleck being normal is
overrated right
so if an object's viscosity or flow rate
is not constant or changes depending on
the pressure applied to it it's a
non-newtonian fluid which means yes some
materials can fit into more than just
one state of matter these materials are
called non-newtonian fluids and they
don't play by your regular rules of
matter they'll be a solid sometimes and
then a liquid at others you do you
non-newtonian fluids i like your style
you