Non-Newtonian Fluid

What is Non-Newtonian Fluid?

A fluid whose apparent viscosity changes with the rate at which it's sheared, unlike the simple linear behaviour of a Newtonian fluid. A cornstarch-and-water mixture is the classic demonstration — it flows like a liquid when stirred gently, but resists almost like a solid when struck suddenly.

The five clues

Engineerdle #31 described Non-Newtonian Fluid with five clues, revealed one at a time from hardest to most direct. Each clue points at a different property of the concept.

1. 01A fluid that breaks the tidy rule its more famous cousin obeys.
2. 02Its apparent viscosity changes depending on how hard it's sheared.
3. 03A cornstarch-and-water mixture is the classic kitchen demonstration.
4. 04Stir it gently and it flows; punch it and it behaves almost like a solid.
5. 05A fluid whose viscosity depends on the applied shear rate, rather than staying constant.

More Fluid Mechanics concepts

• Venturi EffectPuzzle #50
• ViscosityPuzzle #46
• Reynolds NumberPuzzle #41
• Newtonian FluidPuzzle #36
• Pascal's LawPuzzle #13
• Archimedes' PrinciplePuzzle #8