Oobleck (nonfiction)

Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid made from a suspension of starch (e.g., cornstarch) in water (1 part of water to 1.5–2 parts of corn starch).

The name "oobleck" is derived from the Dr. Seuss book Bartholomew and the Oobleck. It is also called "ooze", "magic mud", etc.

Because of its properties, oobleck is often used in demonstrations that exhibit its unusual behavior. A person may walk on a large tub of oobleck without sinking due to its shear thickening properties, as long as the individual moves quickly enough to provide enough force with each step to cause the thickening. Also, if oobleck is placed on a large subwoofer driven at a sufficiently high volume, it will thicken and form standing waves in response to low frequency sound waves from the speaker. If a person were to punch or hit oobleck, it would thicken and act like a solid. After the blow, the oobleck will go back to its thin liquid-like state.

• Non-Newtonian fluid @ Wikipedia
• Engineers developed a mathematical model of Ooblek @ Boing Boing