A non-newtonian fluid can be made to dance when placed on a speaker cone. Just like with custard if you apply a lot of pressure to it it becomes tougher, a non-newtonian fluid will at certain points above the speaker cone become tougher, this is due to what is called constructive interference – this leads to clumps of the fluid jumping in to the air. This would be great for younger children as it is a practical demonstration of science at work that will hopefully capture their imagination. As well as this, it will allow for older students to further understand the physics at work. For university students, it allows for a practical demonstration of the even more difficult idea of eigenmodes of an oscillation.
Comments