cement: To glue two materials together with a binder that hardens into a rigid solid, or the viscous glue used to affix the two materials. (in construction) A finely ground material used to bind sand or bits of ground rock together in concrete. Cement typically starts out as a powder. But once wet, it becomes a mudlike sludge that hardens as it dries.
colleague: Someone who works with another; a co-worker or team member.
force: Some outside influence that can change the motion of a body, hold bodies close to one another, or produce motion or stress in a stationary body.
liquid: A material that flows freely but keeps a constant volume, like water or oil.
non-Newtonian fluid: A goopy material that changes viscosity — becoming either thicker or thinner — when a force is applied to it. That force could be a slap or the action of smacking into some solid.
oobleck: Named for a sticky green material that Royal Magicians caused to fall from the sky in a 1949 Dr. Seuss tale, it is a mixture of two parts cornstarch to one part water. When blended well, the viscous goop takes on the property of a liquid when something your hand or other firm object slowly moves through it. But slap something forcefully on its surface and the goop immediately acts like a solid. It can in fact be solid enough for a human to run or dance across.
particle: A minute amount of something.
physicist: A scientist who studies the nature and properties of matter and energy.
solid: Firm and stable in shape; not liquid or gaseous.
viscosity: The measure of a fluid’s resistance to stress. Viscosity corresponds to the idea of how “thick” a liquid is. Honey is very viscous, for instance, while water has relatively low viscosity.