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The Ig Nobel Prize: Why Are Cats Liquid? (2022)

26 points by sohkamyung 4y ago

Moissanite 4y ago
My cats are non-Newtonian - fluid when trying to force their way onto my knee past the laptop, but solid when sitting in the middle of a step as I try to walk upstairs.
lonelycompiler 4y ago
https://web.archive.org/web/20221221112833/https://stemfellowship.org/the-ig-nobel-prize-why-are-cats-liquid/ https://web.archive.org/web/20221221112833/https://stemfello...
darcien 4y ago
503 Service Unavailable for me. Archive link https://web.archive.org/web/20230304131345/https://stemfellowship.org/the-ig-nobel-prize-why-are-cats-liquid/ https://web.archive.org/web/20230304131345/https://stemfello...
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
branon 4y ago
Ketchup stuck to the sides of a bottle doesn't mean it's a non-Newtonian liquid though, right? Wouldn't it actually reinforce Newton's law of constant viscosity, because ketchup is _constantly_ viscous enough that it ends up stuck to the bottle? It won't come out once the bottle lacks a critical mass of ketchup, because gravity is no longer able to overcome the liquid's constant viscosity.
- jaclaz 4y ago
  AFAIK, it is non-Newtonian allright: >The Law of viscosity states that a fluid flows at a speed proportional to the force that is applied, where the constant of proportionality is the viscosity. Because ketchup does not obey this Law, it is known as a non-Newtonian fluid. https://www.futurity.org/ketchup-physics-rheology-1321922-2/ https://www.futurity.org/ketchup-physics-rheology-1321922-2/ Maybe you are thinking of those (starch based) mixes like ooblek that are shear thickening whilst ketchup (and mayonnaise, and similar) are shear thinning, but both are non-Newtonian: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Newtonian_fluid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Newtonian_fluid
- smegsicle 4y ago
  article author only seems to have a half understanding of the concept in the first place > Sometimes you just can’t get the ketchup out of the bottle, but after you shake it, it becomes runnier and therefore easily gets out. should say "as you shake it" not after, since the decreased viscosity effect only lasts as long as the stress
pelagicAustral 4y ago
The page has been DDoS'd. I wish I was that popular.
oefrha 4y ago
The Ig Nobel Prize: How to properly cache WordPress websites? (2023)
- Smar 4y ago
  Answer: wget.
jaclaz 4y ago
This (PDF) is the actual article by Marc-Antoine Fardin: https://gwern.net/doc/cat/biology/2014-fardin.pdf https://gwern.net/doc/cat/biology/2014-fardin.pdf

26 points by sohkamyung 4y ago

My cats are non-Newtonian - fluid when trying to force their way onto my knee past the laptop, but solid when sitting in the middle of a step as I try to walk upstairs.

lonelycompiler 4y ago

https://web.archive.org/web/20221221112833/https://stemfellowship.org/the-ig-nobel-prize-why-are-cats-liquid/ https://web.archive.org/web/20221221112833/https://stemfello...

darcien 4y ago

503 Service Unavailable for me. Archive link https://web.archive.org/web/20230304131345/https://stemfellowship.org/the-ig-nobel-prize-why-are-cats-liquid/ https://web.archive.org/web/20230304131345/https://stemfello...

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

branon 4y ago

Ketchup stuck to the sides of a bottle doesn't mean it's a non-Newtonian liquid though, right? Wouldn't it actually reinforce Newton's law of constant viscosity, because ketchup is _constantly_ viscous enough that it ends up stuck to the bottle? It won't come out once the bottle lacks a critical mass of ketchup, because gravity is no longer able to overcome the liquid's constant viscosity.

jaclaz 4y ago
AFAIK, it is non-Newtonian allright: >The Law of viscosity states that a fluid flows at a speed proportional to the force that is applied, where the constant of proportionality is the viscosity. Because ketchup does not obey this Law, it is known as a non-Newtonian fluid. https://www.futurity.org/ketchup-physics-rheology-1321922-2/ https://www.futurity.org/ketchup-physics-rheology-1321922-2/ Maybe you are thinking of those (starch based) mixes like ooblek that are shear thickening whilst ketchup (and mayonnaise, and similar) are shear thinning, but both are non-Newtonian: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Newtonian_fluid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Newtonian_fluid
smegsicle 4y ago
article author only seems to have a half understanding of the concept in the first place > Sometimes you just can’t get the ketchup out of the bottle, but after you shake it, it becomes runnier and therefore easily gets out. should say "as you shake it" not after, since the decreased viscosity effect only lasts as long as the stress

pelagicAustral 4y ago

The page has been DDoS'd. I wish I was that popular.

oefrha 4y ago

The Ig Nobel Prize: How to properly cache WordPress websites? (2023)

Smar 4y ago
Answer: wget.

jaclaz 4y ago

This (PDF) is the actual article by Marc-Antoine Fardin: https://gwern.net/doc/cat/biology/2014-fardin.pdf https://gwern.net/doc/cat/biology/2014-fardin.pdf