Plasticity Conclusion

Recently in science class we did a plasticity lab. We took, corn starch and water and mixed it together and that created the mixture for our lab. The mixture was liquid at first then became a solid. The mixture became a solid when it melted in our hands. It would be both a solid and a liquid or a special type of solid. When first holding it, the mixture would melt and then if you rolled it around in your hands it would become a solid. I for one would consider this mixture a solid, yet a special type of solid due to the fact that it would melt in your hands yet act as a solid as well. Even after the mixture oozed out of your hands it then became a solid ball like clay. If we smashed the ball that we made of this mixture, it would tend to crumble into pieces, acting like a solid. Yet if we just let it fall between our fingers, it would act as a liquid. After pushing my fingers into the mixture it would become a solid and it was had to move it. It became like clay or play dough. This mixture is just like the earths mantle which is a solid and a liquid. The mantle acts the same way the mixture does. The mantle is the layer under the Earth's crust, and it is about 1800 miles thick. The mantle is the largest part inside the earth and it is both a solid and a liquid as our mixture was. This is how this lab connects to the Earth's mantle. An example of this mixture would be in this Youtube video. This man is walking on the mixture and is able to do it due to the fact that it is both a solid and a liquid. The part where the man walks is a solid and he is able to quickly run through it without his feet sinking into it. This is a perfect example of our lab.

Picture- http://www.skiptomylou.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/oobleck-2.jpg
Video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2XQ97XHjVw