A slurry of cornstarch and water is far weirder than the sum of its parts. Move it slowly, and it flows like a liquid; hit it or sheer it quickly, and it locks up like a solid. The goo is so weird ...

Mixing corn starch and water in appropriate amounts produces a slurry that is liquid when stirred slowly but hardens when you punch it—a substance colorfully dubbed “oobleck.” (The name derives from a ...

Scientists are keen to develop new materials for lightweight, flexible, and affordable wearable electronics so that, one day, dropping our smartphones won’t result in irreparable damage. One team at ...

This article was taken from the February 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by ...

It takes guts to attempt running across the surface of a liquid. Even more so if a sneaky physicist is nearby. Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid, meaning that its viscosity changes depending upon the ...

An aluminum rod just before (left) and just after (right) it strikes the surface of a cornflour and water suspension. Rather than penetrating, the rod causes the suspension below it to solidify for an ...

(BCM) - We often hear about the importance of cultivating the next generation of scientists and engineers. For young children that starts with simply helping them to develop scientific skills like ...

Cosmology 'The chances of you living 50 years are very small': Theoretical physicist explains why humanity likely won't survive to see all the forces unified Surgery 'Eventually, it becomes you': ...

Lots of people have demonstrated that, surprisingly, if you fill a pool with water and cornstarch you can run across it. Stop, and you sink. How that happens, though, has been something of a mystery ...