Walking on Ooblecks – add it to your bucket list

Walking on Ooblecks – add it to your bucket list

What do you get when you mix cornflour and water together? Those of you that are regulars to this blog will know by  now that you get a Non-Newtonian fluid… commonly called Ooblecks.

Cad a fhaigheann tú nuair a mheascann tú gránphlúr agus uisce le chéile? Má leanann tú an blog seo go rialta, tuigfidh tú go bhfaigheann tú sreabhán neamh-Niútanach nó ‘Ooblecks’.

What is a Non-Newtonian fluid? Well we know that most matter is either a solid, a liquid or a gas, but a Non-Newtonian fluid breaks the rules a little. Sometimes it acts like a liquid and sometimes it acts like a solid, and that can make for a LOT of fun!

Cad atá i gceist le sreabhán neamh-Niútanach? Bhuel,  tá a fhios againn go bhfuil an chuid is mó d’ábhar ina soladach, leacht nó gás ach briseann sreabhán neamh-Niútanach na rialacha beagán. Uaireannta gníomhaíonn sé mar leacht agus uaireannta eile, mar sholadach. Is féidir an-spraoi a bheith agat leis, dá bharr sin! 

If it is that much fun, why not make a huge vat of it, right? An interesting theory and one that we just had to try! Thankfully everyone over at Meangadh Fibín felt the same way. They are currently filming a fantastic new science series, for children, to be aired in 2016 on Cúla 4, TG4. The series, called Is Eolaí mé (I am a scientist) is all about exploring the curiosity of science; the what ifs? the whys? and the hows? Best of all it is full of great experiments and a real hands-on approach to science.That brings us back to the subject of ooblecks… what can you do with a huge vat of the stuff? A LOT!

Má tá an méid sin spraoi le baint as, nach mbeadh dabhach mór dhe do-chreidte spraoiúil?! Bhí orainn triail a bhaint as agus bhí gach éinne i Meangadh Fibín den tuairim céanna. Tá siad i lár scanánaíocht don sraith teilifíse eolaíochta nua do pháistí, a chraolfar i 2016 ar Cúla4 ar TG4. Is Eolaí Mé is ainm don chlár a fhiosraíonn ceisteanna móra na heolaíochta; cad má? cén fáth? conas? Tá sé lán le trialacha eolaíochta iontacha agus tá cur chuige teagmhálach aige freisin. Tógann sé sin ar ais ag Ooblecks muid… cad is féidir a dhéanamh le dabhach mór de stuif? NEART!

On Friday, in the small hours of the morning, one tonne of cornflour was mixed with a fair amount of water… using a cement mixer and a lot of time and patience.

I lár na hoíche ar an Aoine, meascadh tonna gránphlúr le méid suntasach uisce… ag úsáid meascthóir stroighne, an-chuid ama agus foighne.

Mixer

 

The result was a trough full of Ooblecks… one metre wide, three and a half metres long and 38 cm deep.

An toradh a bhí ann ná dabhach lán le Ooblecks… méadar leathan, trí go leith méadar ar fhaid agus 38cm domhain.

trough

 

Two diligent young scientists carried out some quality control testing before the crowd arrived. The crowd in question was a few hundred bemused students at Colaiste Lurgan, Inveran.

Bhí beirt eolaí óga díograiseach ann le rialú caighdeán a chur air roimh a thánaig an slua – cúpla céad macléin mearbhallach ó Choláiste Lurgan, Indreabhán.

testing

 

Once we got the nod from the young science team it was time to for the fun to begin. Peadar, the shows main presenter, had a test run…

Chomh luath is a raibh an nod ón fhoireann eolaíochta óg, bhí sé in am don spraoi tosnú! Bhí rith tástála ag Peadar, atá mar láithreoir ar an gclár…

Peadar

 

Then there was ballet, juggling, limbo, hurling and a lot more besides… all on top of the Ooblecks.

Ansin bhí ballet, lámhchleasaíocht, limbo, iománaíocht agus neart eile leis… uilig ar bharr an Ooblecks.

Ballet

 

It wasn’t long before everyone wanted a go!

Ní fada go raibh gach éinne ag lorg deis triail a bhaint as!

Everyone

 

As far as we are aware, this is the first time anything like this has been attempted in Ireland; it certainly caught the attention of local media and made the day’s news (Nuacht) on TG4, take a look! (It is at the 10 minute point.)

Chomh fada is atá a fhios againn, ‘sé an chéad uair gur baineadh triail as seo in Eirinn; agus tharraing sé aird na meáin áitiúla freisin – gliogáil ar (Nuacht) TG4 le tuilleadh a fheiceáil. (Ar an marc 10 nóiméad.)

It was a fantastic day with lots of surprises… if you don’t have “walking on ooblecks” on your bucket list then I strongly suggest you add it! I can now tick that box!

Lá iontach a bhí ann le an-chuid iontais… agus muna bhfuil ‘siúil ar ooblecks’ curtha le liosta do mhianta mholfainn duit é a chur leis! Is féidir liomsa tic a chur sa bhosca sin anois!

Me

 

So what happens if you do sink into that much Ooblecks? You’ll have to watch the programme to find out! Is Eolaí Mé will air in early 2016.

So, cad a tharlaíonn nuair a siúlann tú ar Ooblecks? Beidh ort breathnú ar an gclár le fáil amach. Craolfar Is Eolaí Mé go luath i 2016.

Want the science bit? Ooblecks is what we call a Non Newtonian Fluid… meaning that it does not follow the laws of Newtonian Physics.  When left to rest it looks just like a regular liquid.  However when disturbed by strong hitting, shaking or pulling it acts more like a solid.  It is a phenomenon worth studying and although still a bit of an enigma, scientists think that the material normally acts as a liquid but can produce a sudden, local reaction to rapid impact and stress, reinforcing the area and briefly solidifying the suspension.

Ar mhaith leat an eolaíocht taobh thiar de idir an dá linn? Is  sreabhán neamh-Niútanach é Ooblecks, rud a chialaíonn nach leanann sé rialacha Fisic Niútanach. Nuair a fágtar socar é tá cuma leachtach air. Ach, nuair a suaithtear é tríd é a chraitheadh, a bhuaileadh nó é a tharraingt, gníomhaíonn sé cosúil le soladach. Is feiniméin é gur fiú a staidéar agus cé nach bhfuil tuiscint iomlán air, ceapann eolaíthe go gníomhaíonn an ábhar cosúil le leacht de gnáth – ach gur féidir leis frithghníomhú tobann, logánta a chothú i gcoinne brú agus imbhualadh gasta. Treisíonn sé seo an ceantar agus cothaíonn sé fuaidreán soladach gairid san ábhar.

Ooblecks takes it’s name from the green slime that fell from the skies in the Dr Seuss book “Bartholomew and the Oobleck“.

Tagann an ainm Ooblecks ón sláthach glas a thit ón spéir sa leabhar “Bartholomew and the Oobleck” le Dr. Seuss.

 

A huge thanks to the lovely Sadhbh over at Where Wishes Come From for translating this blog post for me. There seems to be no end to that lady’s talents! 

Three of our favourite Science Experiments – the messy play edition

Three of our favourite Science Experiments – the messy play edition

There is a lovely linky running over on the Mama Courage blog. It invites bloggers to get over any hang ups they may have and let the kids get… well messy. Messy play is great for children as a fun, tactile, interactive activity. We are all for it in this house. I thought the linky would be a great wayto share some of our favourite messy experiments with you all.

I hope that these entice you to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in to some messy play science, just don’t look at me when it comes time to clean up!

Here are three of our favourite “messy” science experiments…

1. Making Slime

 

Of course this is top of the list… messy and slime are interchangeable really, aren’t they?

This is one of our popular slime recipes…

You will need… two bowls (or cups), borax powder (you can buy this in pharmacists throughout Ireland), water, PVA glue, some stirrers and food colouring of your choice (optional)

 

What to do…

Add one cup of water to the first bowl and mix in a teaspoon of borax powder until it is all dissolved.

Add a cup of PVA clue to the second bowl; add a cup of water and mix well.

If you would like to colour the slime add a few drops of your chosen food colouring to the glue mixture and mix thoroughly.

Add the borax solution to the glue mixture and start to stir immediately… you will notice that the glue turned to slime almost straight away.

The slime can be stored in an airtight container and will last for years once it is not allowed to dry out.

 

Time for slime
Time for slime

What is happening?…

Congratulation… you have just made a polymer!! In simple terms a polymer is a substance made up of lots of molecules arranged in long chains.  If you imagine that the glue is like cooked spaghetti, it slides and slips around the place quite easily.  When we add the borax to the glue it causes some of the molecules in the glue to stick together making the glue more rubbery and less liquid!  Imagine if you took those strands of spaghetti and tied them together in places, the strands would not be able to slip and slide around nearly as much! The borax and glue mixture is just like your knotted spaghetti!

 

2. Making goo (otherwise called Ooblecks)

 

Messy but fun
Messy but fun

This stuff is very messy but oh so much fun. Not just for the kids either, once adults get their hands on this goo their is no stopping them. It makes a great stress reliever… honestly, have a go!

 

You will need… A large bowl, cornflour, water, a large spoon to mix and food colouring (optional)

 

What to do…

Mix the cornflour and water together in the bowl (approximately one cup of cornflour to two cups of water). Add a few drops of food colouring if you wish. Once it is well mixed it’s time to get stuck in. First place your hands into the goo and slowly lift them, watching how it runs through your fingers. Now try punching the surface of the ooblecks with your fist, you may be surprised with the result.

 

Here is an demo from an enthusiastic member of the Science Wows team:

 

I left him play while I was making dinner but had to take one more video to show how much fun he was having (you’ve got to watch this one)…

 

What is happening?… 

Ooblecks is what we call a Non Newtonian Fluid… meaning that it does not follow the laws of Netonian Physics.  When left to rest it looks just like a regular liquid.  However when disturbed by strong hitting, shaking or pulling it acts more like a solid.  It is a phenomenon worth studying and although still a bit of an enigma, scientists think that the material normally acts as a liquid but can produce a sudden, local reaction to rapid impact and stress, reinforcing the area and briefly solidifying the suspension.
Ooblecks takes it’s name from the green slime that fell from the skies in the Dr Seuss booh “Bartholomew and the Oobleck“.

 

3. Our version of the ‘Coke and Mentos’ experiment

 

You have probably all seen the coke and mentos experiment, maybe you have even tried it yourself. The basic idea is that you want to get as many mentos as possible into a bottle of coke as quickly as you can.

Last year I found myself minding two boys who were off “sick” from school. As the day went on it was obvious that they were getting a little less sick and a little more bored. So I decided to give them a challenge (you can read the original post here);

I gave them these …

The props
The props

… and told them to devise their own version of the coke and mentos experiment.

This is what they came up with…. (notice the poor teddies that were strapped onto the front of the skateboard!)

So what is happening?...

Firstly, this is not thought to be a chemical reaction between the coke and the mentos.  It is most likely a physical reaction known as nucleation;  The coke is full of carbon dioxide gas, to give it its fizz;  the mentos are full of tiny little craters on the surface of the sweet, the carbon dioxide gas is able to form bubbles in these “craters” producings thousands of tiny bubbles all at once; these bubbles of gas are under a lot of pressure within the bottle of coke and so come shooting out the mouth of the bottle.  If anyone knows anything about Newton and his laws they will know that every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction (Newton’s third law of motion)… so the coke comes shooting out of the bottle in one direction and the force of this propels the skate board forward in the opposite direction.  PRETTY COOL!

 These are just some of our favourite messy play experiments. Check out what others are getting up to in Mama Courage’s Messy Play Project linky.