So I see that higher posts give different title.

[Alorael at Large]

Glass does not flow at room temperature. The fact that there is no clear transition from solid to liquid does not mean that it is, in fact, a liquid. And as has already been said, old windows were first made lumpy.

 

—Alorael, who thinks that can be most easily seen by the fact that you never see windows that have sagged to the point of having holes. You also never see any that look anything like slow-motion collapse. Wavy, yes. Collapsing, no.

[Sudanna]

The example of flowing glass that I referenced earlier was hollow glass tubes that were stored on a rack that only supported the ends, leaving the middle to sag. Like

 

Code:

_________T       T

 

Is that not an example?

[Trenton.]

This all leads to the most important question. Is cornstarch mixed with water a solid, or a liquid?

[Karoka]

We can't pick gas?

[Dantius]

Originally Posted By: Trenton Uchiha, rebel servile.

This all leads to the most important question. Is cornstarch mixed with water a solid, or a liquid?

I believe that it's a non-Newtonian fluid, which means that it's a liquid that doesn't behave like one when you subject it to pressure, because it doesn't have a constant viscosity.

But fluid dynamics isn't exactly my field. You might be better off asking one of the physicists here instead.

[Trenton.]

Dude, gasses are invisible. You can clearly see it.

[Karoka]

Gases aren't invisible. You can easily see water vapor in a closed system (such as the bathroom[unless you are nasty and you leave the door open])Smoke is even easier to see.

[Alorael at Large]

Smoke is not a gas. You're mostly seeing suspended solid carbon particles.

 

—Alorael, who believes water vapor is also colorless. In clouds, you're seeing aerosols of suspended liquid and ice particles. In steam, you actually see the edge of the vapor as it condenses on contact with cooler substances.

[Student of Trinity]

Gases are not necessarily perfectly colorless, but most are close enough that you'd need to look through an awful lot of gas to be able to see any tint. Some exceptions are the excited sodium vapor that makes the yellow glow of some streetlights, and the excited mercury halide vapor that makes the bluish glow of BMW headlights.

 

Gases have to be composed of rather small and simple molecules, or they wouldn't be gaseous. Small molecules can normally absorb infrared light with molecular vibrations and rotations, or ultraviolet light with electronic transitions. In between happens to be a sort of dead space range of frequencies, that isn't usually covered by either kind of molecular excitation. So most gases are close to transparent in that particular range. It's not a coincidence that this range of light frequencies are visible to humans. It would not be worth evolving light-sensitive cells at frequencies for which even dry air was like thick fog.

 

Water vapor (steam) in particular is pretty transparent to visible light, though it absorbs both IR and UV quite well. In that sense it is probably the main reason why our eyes can't see in those ranges. What you see in a hot shower is not really steam, but a fine mist of liquid water droplets so tiny that even slight indoor air currents will keep them aloft. If you look really closely, you can see them individually.

[Callie]

Cornstarch in water and smoke are both examples of colloids. They're different kinds of colloids though: cornstarch in water is a sol and smoke is a solid aerosol.

 

Edit: partial redundancy

[Trenton.]

Cornstarch is sol? Solid?

[Dantius]

Originally Posted By: Trenton Uchiha, rebel servile.

Cornstarch is sol? Solid?

Originally Posted By: Dantius

t's a non-Newtonian fluid, which means that it's a liquid that doesn't behave like one when you subject it to pressure, because it doesn't have a constant viscosity.

Do you even read what other people post?

[Trenton.]

Well, most of the time, but I skip the stuff with long big words. Hurt brain do they.

[Karoka]

I just hope noone here is ornicopytheobiblopsychocrystarroscioaerogenethliometeoroaustrohieroanthropoicichthyopyrosiderochpnomyoalectryoophiobotanope-gohydrorhabdocrithoaleuroalphitohalomolybdoclerobeloaxinocoscinodactyliogeolithopessopscphocatoptrotephraoeirochiroomychodactyloarithstichooxogeloscog-astrogyrocerobletonooenoscapulinaniac.

[Trenton.]

Originally Posted By: Karoka

I just hope noone here is ornicopytheobiblopsychocrystarroscioaerogenethliometeoroaustrohieroanthropoicichthyopyrosiderochpnomyoalectryoophiobotanope-gohydrorhabdocrithoaleuroalphitohalomolybdoclerobeloaxinocoscinodactyliogeolithopessopscphocatoptrotephraoeirochiroomychodactyloarithstichooxogeloscog-astrogyrocerobletonooenoscapulinaniac.

GAHH! WHAT THE HELLS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!??

Isnt that considered spam? I susspect thats getting deleted.

[Karoka]

Originally Posted By: Trenton Uchiha, rebel servile

WHAT THE HELLS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!??

Many things!

+5 points for modesty

[Trenton.]

-100,005 points for spam.

[Karoka]

+250,000 points for point argument

 

Back on topic, if you mix cornstarch and water you get a liquid that acts like a solid, in layman's terms.

 

EDIT: +NaN points because I didn't make another post regarding a point system that doesn't exist.

[Trenton.]

-500,000 points because I said so and I prevent you from getting anymore points! XD

 

I experimented with it once it my earlier years, with a bunch of tooth picks, and my hands. It was very fun, Punching it and its solid, puting my finger on it and its liquid. I saw once on a show some one running across cornstarch+H2O

[Karoka]

Originally Posted By: Trenton Uchiha, rebel servile

I saw once on a show some one running across cornstarch+H2O

What show was that? I bet it wasn't as awesome as that Korean stunt show where people have to get past these crazy obstacles. I don't remember what that show was called, unfortunately.

[Trenton.]

It might have been dude what would happen...Or maybe...I dont remember, but it was where there was a lot of crazy stunts.

[Dikiyoba]

Originally Posted By: Trenton

Isnt that considered spam? I susspect thats getting deleted.

It's not spam. It's a joke that plays off the fact that sesquipedaliophobia, or the fear of long words, is a long word itself and scares anyone with the phobia.

Remember, Trenton, you're a lot younger than most other posters. There's going to be a lot of stuff that goes over your head. Read carefully and think before you post.

Dikiyoba.

[Trenton.]

Read carfully? how is anyone sussposed to read a word like that! I mean if supercalifragilisticexpialidocious wasnt enough! that, thats about 500 letters!

[Karoka]

Sound it out. It works pretty well, believe it or not. I remember the show now, it's MXC.

[Dikiyoba]

I meant it in the general sense, not just in this thread and the last few posts. You mostly do a good job, but you can be a bit spammy when you ask lots of questions or talk in all caps.

 

Also, Karoka, when it's just you and Trenton posting back and forth, that's a sign that you should take the discussion to PMs.

 

Dikiyoba.

[Trenton.]

What does MXC stand for?

 

I tried to sound it out. got lost within the first 35 letters.

[Tyranicus]

Originally Posted By: Karoka

Originally Posted By: Trenton Uchiha, rebel servile

I saw once on a show some one running across cornstarch+H2O

What show was that? I bet it wasn't as awesome as that Korean stunt show where people have to get past these crazy obstacles. I don't remember what that show was called, unfortunately.

Sasuke. (known as Ninja Warrior in the US) It's Japanese, not Korean.

[nikki.]

Originally Posted By: Tyranicus

Sasuke. (known as Ninja Warrior in the US) It's Japanese, not Korean.

I see your Sasuke and raise you one Takeshi's Castle.

[Callie]

Originally Posted By: Karoka

Back on topic, if you mix cornstarch and water you get a liquid that acts like a solid, in layman's terms.

*squirms uncomfortably*

[A less presumptuous name.]

Originally Posted By: Space Between

The example of flowing glass that I referenced earlier was hollow glass tubes that were stored on a rack that only supported the ends, leaving the middle to sag. Like

Code:

_________T       T

Is that not an example?

If an object sags in the middle when arranged as such, and is therefore classified as a liquid, then pretty much everything is a liquid. Wood and steal beams bend down when supported only on the ends. It's a result of the forces being applied, not liquid flow.

[Sudanna]

An example of flowing, I meant.

[Lilith]

And he's telling you that that's bending, not flowing.

[Sudanna]

Hmmmn. I'm not clear on the difference.

[Lilith]

A liquid will flow to take on the shape of the inside of its container. If you put a big chunk of glass in a box, it will not take on the shape of the inside of the box, no matter how long you wait or what weird position you put it in.

[Sudanna]

Alright, I was confusing myself the more I thought about it. Thank you.