Strange Fluids

Ketchup, custard and blood

An interactive lesson with 6 steps, about 5 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• Non-Newtonian fluids change viscosity with shear rate.
• Shear-thinning fluids (ketchup, blood) flow more easily when stirred; shear-thickening ones (oobleck) stiffen on impact.
• Viscoelastic materials are elastic quickly and viscous slowly.

Steps

1. Viscosity that changes
2. Shake the bottle
3. Running on custard
4. Blood in fast and slow flow
5. Escaping quicksand
6. Silly Putty