An inexpensive, non-toxic sample of a non-Newtonian fluid sometimes known as oobleck can be made very easily by adding corn starch (cornflour) to a cup of water. Add the starch in small portions and stir it in slowly. When the suspension nears the critical concentration - becoming like single cream (light cream) in consistency - the so called “shear thickening” property of this non-Newtonian fluid becomes apparent. The application of force - for example by stabbing the surface with a finger, or rapidly inverting the container holding it - leads to the fluid behaving like a solid rather than a liquid. More gentle treatment, such as slowly inserting a spoon, will leave it in its liquid state. Trying to jerk the spoon back out again, however, will trigger the return of the temporary solid state. A person moving quickly and/or applying sufficient force with his feet can literally walk across such a liquid.
Shear thickening fluids of this sort are being researched for bullet resistant body armor, useful for their ability to absorb the energy of a high velocity projectile impact but remain soft and flexible while worn.
The other day, thanks to a good friend of mine, I had the chance to make a re-discovery of a great website.
The site is deviantART, and while some of you might be familiar with it, those who are not should definitely have a quick (or long) look at all that’s on offer. The community of users accounts for millions (yes, millions) of pieces of art in the form of prints, photography, digital art and paintings, all readily available for your personal viewing pleasure, as a source of inspiration, or as a starting point for discussing techniques and ideas.
The site also provides RSS functionality. Unfortunately only the title of each item is available from the feed. Still most definitely worth a click through…
Back to bookmarking then, I guess.
The Guardian recently published a list of their top 10 British dotcoms to watch, many of which I hadn’t heard of. It’s nice to see some good ideas coming out of this country. How many times have you checked out the latest cool web app and ended up thinking, “Yeah, it’s cool, but if only they had it with UK data.”
As someone looking to move house in the near-future, I’m particularly liking the GoogleMaps-powered ononemap.com and extate.co.uk
Check out petmoustache.com, a viral microsite created for Burger King that was supporting a TV ad’ for the new Western Whopper. You can upload a photo of yourself to grow and groom the cowboy moustache you’ve always desired, then send your mates a ‘Monty Python-esque’ mouth-moving singing telegram.
Good funny fun, but I had no idea it had anything to do with a new Whopper or that it had anything to do with Burger King, until I had someone point out the BK logo in the bottom right-hand corner. Got me to write this blog entry didn’t it though!
Another viral microsite which enables photo uploads of your face is one for Verizon, a US based broadband provider with the strapline ‘The Power of Verizon Broadband’ where you can upload your face onto a 3D generated action hero, to create a short action movie ending in you powerfully saving the day.
I’ve found a lovely little site which appeals to the Japanese-loving side of a couple of us in the office including myself. The site is called ReadyMech.com and is a small collection of downloadable PDF flat-pack designs for making your very own miniature ‘Mechs’.
Mechs are little boxy-type characters which come in many flavours, all ready for you to stick your fingers together with super glue trying to ‘pimp your desk’.
The series has been developed by Fwis, a graphic design group in Portland, Denver, Cupertino and Brooklyn, USA.
As you can see here, mine is already my bestest pal and I’m sure he’ll have a few more companions before the week is out.
In the words of ‘Art Attack’s’ Neil Buchanan, “Try it yourself…“
That’s the question being asked (and answered) at DesignCanChange.org, a pro-bono site built by smashLAB, a Vancouver-based design firm.
There’s a lot to like at this site. Not only do they provide excellent visuals that explain the concepts of climate change, but they also candidly address the impact that design has on the world. They also gives tips on how to take action.
On Friday we were invited to see the end-of-year show by the graduating students of the MMU (Manchester Metropolitan University) Faculty of Art & Design
Well, we took ourselves off with high hopes on Friday as we prepared to be impressed by this year’s MMU graduating students. The show encompassed many varying disciplines with a lot of ‘cross-pollination’ which made for a few very interesting pieces of work.
Among our favourites were a light/architecture installation that reminded us of Superman’s diggs, and a nice set of stuffed toys called the ‘Unglefor’ species.
We like to go to things like these because it gives us an insight as to where the new talent is coming from and keeps our ‘finger on the pulse’ as it were.
Importantly though, I feel that being subjected to creativity in any respect is like food for the soul and, as a team, reminds us of where we started, giving us a chance to reflect on where we are and why we decided to pursue a creative career.
There was definitely a lot to see, and in the couple of hours we were there we felt we only saw half of what we would have liked. So, if you are planning to take a trip yourself during the coming week in which the show is open to the public, I suggest allowing yourself a good amount of time to take in all that is on offer.
Well… following on from our last gaming post, it becomes obvious that we (that is a few of us in the office) have a penchant for addictive online games.
In this latest installment of Digerati’s ‘Things We Like‘ we voice an appreciation of the newest online strategy game occupying our free time called WeeWar.
The first thing to note about this game is that is built using AJAX (Ollie wrote a post elaborating on the merits of AJAX in an earlier post).
It’s a very intuitive game in terms of useability, although if you haven’t played a game like it before (Risk?) it’s definitely worth a good-long look at the rules.
An interesting dimension to this game is that it can be played as quickly or slowly as the participants wish, as the players can receive ‘your turn’ notifications by email. There is also a chat element to the in-game page, which means it is a great way to keep in contact with friends who don’t live locally.
We’re all sold at Digerati and are deep in combat, so why don’t you have a go yourself at WeeWar.com.
An inexpensive, non-toxic sample of a non-Newtonian fluid sometimes known as oobleck can be made very easily by adding corn starch (cornflour) to a cup of water. Add the starch in small portions and stir it in slowly. When the suspension nears the critical concentration - becoming like single cream (light cream) in consistency - the so called “shear thickening” property of this non-Newtonian fluid becomes apparent. The application of force - for example by stabbing the surface with a finger, or rapidly inverting the container holding it - leads to the fluid behaving like a solid rather than a liquid. More gentle treatment, such as slowly inserting a spoon, will leave it in its liquid state. Trying to jerk the spoon back out again, however, will trigger the return of the temporary solid state. A person moving quickly and/or applying sufficient force with his feet can literally walk across such a liquid.
Give me a Benny, “Benny”. Give me a bit, “Bit”. Give me a Bob, “Bob”.
The other day, thanks to a good friend of mine, I had the chance to make a re-discovery of a great website.
The Guardian recently published a 
Check out 
I’ve found a lovely little site which appeals to the Japanese-loving side of a couple of us in the office including myself. The site is called 
That’s the question being asked (and answered) at 
