Forwarded from a student in this winter’s class- Tangential to food chemistry per se but not to the polymer science parts of it.
Military use new gel that hardens on impact
To quote the article “The substance relies on “intelligent molecules” that “shock lock” together to absorb energy and create a solid pad”. Seems to me they don’y need to be too “intelligent” just big enough and entangled enough that they can’t pull apart (disentangle) on the imposition of a high speed deformation, like a bullet impact. Silly putty on steroids. It is cool stuff nonetheless.
Aah- Finally a quote from the inventor “Richard Palmer, the inventor of this gel said “When moved slowly, the molecules will slip past each other, but in a high-energy impact they will snag and lock together, becoming solid … In doing so they absorb energy.” http://www.daxii.com/articles/d3o_the_magic_shock_absorbent_gel.aspx
Image From Telegraph.co.uk
Vision of d30 in action here…
http://splodetv.com/video/reactive-d3o-gel
and here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EBWGbhsuws
image via http://thegearjunkie.com
OSU
Exactly. Repeat after me: “Rheopexy”. “Dilatancy”. “Shear-Thickening”.
And since this a food-ingredient blog, mix a 60/40 w/w dispersion of cornstarch/water. You’ll end up with a thick liquid, much like house paint, but with a big difference. You can pick some of it up and roll it around in your hand to form a nice hard ball, but as soon as you stop, it will run out between your fingers. Or you can quickly slap it with your hand and it will set up into a hard solid and not splash out. Attempting these exercises with house paint is left for the interested student.
I love your blog subtitle… “Everything flows, but only the macromolecules are worth the time”. My feelings exactly except just for foods