Quicksand Fans

I'm very interested in this kind of material, does anyone know what is the recipe? I want to make some and sink in this sticky situation.

zxy070401 wrote:I'm very interested in this kind of material, does anyone know what is the recipe? I want to make some and sink in this sticky situation.

It's basically corn starch and water (oobleck).

The extra ingredients we used altered the non-Newtonian properties to a certain extent. But most of these changes were in the 'messy' context. If you want the grabby, sinky feel, oobleck is good for that.

In any case, I don't promote the idea of playing in this stuff without a partner to help out. It can be tricky. Play safe.

dlodoski wrote:

zxy070401 wrote:I'm very interested in this kind of material, does anyone know what is the recipe? I want to make some and sink in this sticky situation.

It's basically corn starch and water (oobleck).

The extra ingredients we used altered the non-Newtonian properties to a certain extent. But most of these changes were in the 'messy' context. If you want the grabby, sinky feel, oobleck is good for that.

In any case, I don't promote the idea of playing in this stuff without a partner to help out. It can be tricky. Play safe.

How about to mix clay and glue together? I heard it would be better this way. I wonder if you have experimented before. And what are the results?

zxy070401 wrote:

dlodoski wrote:

zxy070401 wrote:I'm very interested in this kind of material, does anyone know what is the recipe? I want to make some and sink in this sticky situation.

It's basically corn starch and water (oobleck). ...

How about to mix clay and glue together? I heard it would be better this way. I wonder if you have experimented before. And what are the results?

I'll pass.

Although I see no harm in questions about various possible mixtures, there are so many different characteristics that might be wanted in the result, It is my opinion that only route to satisfaction is probably one's own experiments.

Experiment yes, but if you're unfamiliar with any given ingredient I would absolutely research it and ask questions about it before immersing yourself in it. So many things out there may have attractive sinky potential to them but may be hazardous to your health. Either by themselves or when mixed with other things. Chemical burns, asphyxiation, cancer, or even something as simple as unexpected tenaciousness (you simply can't get out without help). Your example of clay and glue for instance, sounds rather risky, not to mention expensive. What happens if you're playing in a big batch of that and the glue starts to set like concrete?

zxy070401 wrote:How about to mix clay and glue together? I heard it would be better this way. I wonder if you have experimented before. And what are the results?

Sounds like a great opportunity for you to test it. I don't know where you "heard it" from but based on the way both of those substance work chemically, I think you're just gonna make a mess.

Duncan Edwards wrote: Sounds like a great opportunity for you to test it. I don't know where you "heard it" from but based on the way both of those substance work chemically, I think you're just gonna make a mess.

I 'hear' stuff all the time. Sometimes it's because someone is actually speaking. Hehe

Seriously though, we did plenty of experimenting over the years, mostly at Camp MPV. There were several occasions when the workbench was filled with rows of Dixie cups with various concoctions in them. The cool thing about this sort of trial and error is that you can use small amounts of material and then scale it up when you find something that works.

Hint - a grease pencil is pretty much mandatory if you want to know what is in a particular test cup after the fact.

Duncan Edwards wrote:

zxy070401 wrote:How about to mix clay and glue together? I heard it would be better this way. I wonder if you have experimented before. And what are the results?

Sounds like a great opportunity for you to test it. I don't know where you "heard it" from but based on the way both of those substance work chemically, I think you're just gonna make a mess.

You mean it will make some bad chemical reaction?(e.g. make it less fine and smooth) Could you explain what will happen?

Experiment like a scientist. When a scientist does an experiment, it is not random. That is to say, a scientist does not just do, if it was a chemist, Mix A and B and see what happens over and over with all possible combinations. A scientist tries mixing A and B when, based on prior research, study, and common sense, there is an outcome to be plausibly expected. The experiment is to see if the expected outcome actually happens. A chemist who mixes A and B blindly is soon very much like a bold pilot, which is to say dead. [I am not a chemist but I can mix metaphors.] Maybe even semaphores.