7 man-made substances that laugh in the face of physics

[balans]

I came across this and thought it was pretty cool:
The universe is full of weird substances like liquid metal and whatever preservative keeps Larry King alive. But mankind isn't happy to accept the weirdness of nature when we can create our own abominations of science that, due to the miracle of technology, spit in nature's face and call it retarded.

That's why we came up with...

http://www.cracked.com/article_17476_7-man-made-substances-that-laugh-in-face-physics.html

[PrincessBandit]

I loved the link to the food myths!

[R6_kid]

Pretty cool to read but the title couldn't be more wrong... you'll find that all of those things exist BECAUSE of physics - laughing in the face of nature would be more appropriate.

[Brett]

That was awesome :D

[Mikkel]

"...laughs in the face of common sense." would be the appropriate wording methinks.

You can make non-newtonian liquids in your kitchen if you want - all you need is corn flour and water. Good fun at parties - roll it into a ball and then leave it on a plate and it melts away into a puddle.

You'd have to be trekkie to get wound up by alumina though - it's just another crystal with the same limitations that afflict other crystals (i.e. they are very hard but not tough, extremely complicated to machine and they can not be welded).

I dare assume that the elastic conductors owes a lot to the work of this gentleman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_MacDiarmid) - with whom I do hope some of you would be familiar.

[R6_kid]

I dare assume that the elastic conductors owes a lot to the work of this gentleman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_MacDiarmid) - with whom I do hope some of you would be familiar.

I think you'd be right, but unfortunately many New Zealanders wouldn't have the first clue that a) he was a 'famous' NZer, or b) what he discovered.

[Mikkel]

I think you'd be right, but unfortunately many New Zealanders wouldn't have the first clue that a) he was a 'famous' NZer, or b) what he discovered.

You are probably right - which is also why we should do what we can to change it. I never met Alan myself, but from those of my colleagues who did I can tell he was a remarkable man as well as a remarkable scientist.

[Finn]

I think you'd be right, but unfortunately many New Zealanders wouldn't have the first clue that a) he was a 'famous' NZer, or b) what he discovered.

I know that his final discovery was Newton's law of gravity.

[Mikkel]

I know that his final discovery was Newton's law of gravity.

Awww, now that's in poor taste. ...it wasn't that discovery that gained him the Nobel price though.

But quite close to the truth too. I hope, that in researching the material for that low blow, you learned more about the man.