INTRODUCTION

All fluids have a property known as viscosity that describes how the fluid flows,
commonly thought of as how thick or thin a fluid is. For instance, honey is much more viscous
than water. When a fluids viscosity is constant it is referred to as a Newtonian fluid but, a non-
Newtonian fluid is a fluid with properties that differ in any way from those of Newtonian fluids.
Most commonly, the viscosity (the measure of a fluid's ability to resist gradual deformation by
shear or tensile stresses) of non-Newtonian fluids is dependent on shear rate or shear rate history.
Some non-Newtonian fluids with shear-independent viscosity, however, still exhibit normal
stress-differences or other non-Newtonian behaviour. Newton stated that the viscosity of a fluid
can be changed only by altering the fluids temperature. For example, motor oil or honey flows
more easily when you warm it up and becomes very thick when it gets cold. So, a Non-
Newtonian fluid has the same dependence on temperature, but its viscosity can be changed by
applying pressure. When you squeeze a handful of oobleck, its viscosity increases so it acts like a
solid for a split second. When you release pressure, the oobleck behaves just like a liquid.

What is oobleck? Oobleck is a suspension of cornstarch and water that can behave like a
solid or a liquid depending on how much pressure you apply. Try to grab some in your hand and
it will form a solid ball in your palm just until you release the pressure, then it will flow out
between your fingers. Materials that behave this way are classified as non-Newtonian liquids
because their flow properties are not described by a constant viscosity. The name Oobleck comes
from the 1949 childrens book, Bartholomew and the Oobleck, by Dr. Seuss. In the story a sticky
liquid falls from the sky as a result of the king becoming bored with normal weather.

Another non-Newtonian liquid is ketchup. Ketchup behaves in just the opposite way from
oobleck. It becomes less viscous when agitated. Liquids like this are called thixotropic. If you
leave a bottle of Ketchup on a shelf, it becomes thicker or more viscous. Nearly everyone has
experienced this while trying to pour the liquid from a new bottle, it refuses to move. If you
shake the bottle or stir it up it becomes less viscous and pours easily.

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 Not all non-Newtonian Fluids behave in the same way when stress is applied some
become more solid, others more fluid. Some non-Newtonian fluids react as a result of the
amount of stress applied, while others react as a result of the length of time that stress is applied.

The table below summarises four types of non-Newtonian fluids.

Type of behaviour Description Example

Thixotropic Viscosity decreases with
stress over time.
Rheopectic Viscosity increases with
stress over time.
Shear thinning Viscosity decreases with
increased stress.
Dilatant or shear thickening Viscosity increases with
increased stress.
Table 1: Types of non-Newtonian Fluids.
Honey keep stirring, and
solid honey becomes liquid.
Cream the longer you whip
it the thicker it gets.
Tomato sauce.
Oobleck

OBJECTIVE

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 1. To understand the concept of non-Newtonian fluids.

2. To observe the Oobleck fluid behaviour when in contact with pressure.

3. To observe the reaction of non-Newtonian fluid when in contact with the sound waves of
different frequency.

METHODOLOGY

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Equipments:

Audio Speaker

Laptop

Corn starch A cup of water

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 Paper towel/wipes
Bowl

Plastic bag/plastic wrap

Procedure:

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 1. Pour approximately 1/4 of the packet of corn starch into the mixing bowl and slowly add
about 1/2 cup of water. Stir.

2. Continue adding corn starch and water in small amounts until you get a mixture that has
the consistency of honey. It may take a little work to get the consistency just right, but
you will eventually end up mixing one packet of corn starch with roughly 1 to 2 cups of
water. Notice that the mixture gets thicker or more viscous as you add more corn starch.

3. Observe the oobleck, notice it is solid if you push on it, yet slip your fingers in and it will
be liquid.

4. Connect the speaker to the laptop.

5. Cover speaker with plastic and pour some of the oobleck into the center of the speaker.

6. Open tone generator from online at wwww.onlinetonegenerator.com, and set the sound
frequency to 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 150, 180, 200, 250, 300, 350, and 400 Hz.

7. Observe the behaviour of the oobleck.

DISCUSSIONS

From our observations, the mixture is poured over speakers. The fluid then begins to
bubble and dance to the frequency sound. The frequency sound from the speaker is increased
from 10Hz to 400Hz, reaching maximum frequency at about 3 minutes in. The variation in the

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strength of the speakers' vibrations gives a nice look at both the liquid and solid-like properties
of non-Newtonian fluids.

Figure 1: Oobleck in a Static condition

From the beginning of the recording(10Hz - 160Hz) the oobleck has not shown any sign
of movement, but start from 180Hz the fluid looks as if its trying to boil. This is the result of
interfering waves. Liquids will react to a force by creating waves. If those waves interfere, then
you sometimes get raised localization points, which are the lumpy bumps that appear in the
figures below.

Figure 2: Oobleck reaction when in contact to the sound wave

The moment the frequency reached 200Hz to 300Hz, it looks more like a composed
pancake than a disjointed mass of water. This is the solid-like behaviour that non-Newtonian
fluids adopt when they experience a rapid force. Lastly, from 350Hz to 400Hz, the fluid does not

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shows much movement from the vibration of the speakers. This is because starting 350Hz, the
rapid movement of the speakers is too fast, thus the oobleck does not shows any movement from
that frequency, but the oobleck still in a harden state due to the given pressure force from the
vibration of the speakers.

The difference between Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids is how readily they flow, a
property called viscosity. On a molecular level, Newtonian fluids flow more easily because the
distance between molecules is large compared to the size of the molecules. Therefore, when a
stone is dropped in a glass of water, for example, it sinks rapidly because the molecules have
ample room to move out of the way of the object.

On the other hand, molecules of non-Newtonian fluids are more tightly packed. So, when
you drop a stone in a glass of honey, the more tightly-packed molecules require more time to
move around one another. Much like if you were trying to move an elephant through a room. The
elephant will move slower in a crowded room and more quickly in a less crowded room.

CONCLUSION

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As a conclusion, the higher the frequency of the sound wave, the higher energy applied to the
oobleck fluids, the force of the sound wave is fast enough to not giving a non-Newtonian fluids
molecule time to react. Instead of flowing around the object, the molecules just bunch up. This
behaviour of non-Newtonian fluids has a few important implications to our life. For examples, if
a house is built on certain types of clays and an earthquake puts stress on this material through
the sudden movement, the apparently solid clay can turn into a runny liquid. Not only that, non-
Newtonian fluids can make a body armour that behaves like a liquid so that you can move easily
but turns into a solid on impact from stress could be useful for police or the military.

REFERENCES

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1. Non-Newtonian Fluids, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Newtonian_fluid

2. Newtonian Fluids, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newtonian_fluid

3. G.K. Batchelor (200) An Introduction to Fluid Dynamic, Cambridge Mathematical

Library Series, Cambridge University Press.

4. Yunus A. Cengel, John M. Cimbala, 2006, Fluid Mechanics Fundamentals and

Applications, NewYork : McGraw-Hill Inc.

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