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7 Man-Made Substances that Laugh in the Face of Physics

cracked.com — Up yours, nature.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jun 22, 2009

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  • Fhwqhgads, on 06/22/2009, -12/+447"Aerogel, also called "Frozen Smoke," is very much like Ben Affleck's appeal: practically non-existent, but still there somehow."

    I love Cracked!
  • twystoffate, on 06/22/2009, -2/+427"Carbon nanotubes will ***** solve it all."

    I find an article about once a week with a new use for carbon nanotubes being discovered. Those little things really are the future.
  • mathyou87, on 06/22/2009, -10/+423Was I the only person that looked at the thumbnail and seriously thought that Crayons were going to be on this list?
  • nshady, on 06/22/2009, -7/+367Hahaha, remember that line from that article you read? Good times.
  • neelshiv, on 06/22/2009, -2/+315"Every once in a while, science rules."

    Specifically, on 100 different occasions between 1993 and 1997, each 26 minutes in length. That is, if you are a follower of Bill Nye.
  • harsh3r, on 06/22/2009, -6/+202wtf of the month:

    "...if air had a party, while aerogel was busy getting hummers in the back, loser oxygen would be making sure everyone was using a coaster. That's how much cooler aerogel is. ***** you, oxygen."
  • fluidfoundation, on 06/22/2009, -2/+187Kick mother nature in the face with your energy legs!
  • levitron, on 06/22/2009, -1/+179Make your own non-newtonian fluid:

    - Mix 3/4 cup cornstarch with 5-7 drops food coloring [for fun!]
    - Slowly add cornstarch to 1/3 cup water and food coloring mixture. Do not stir!
    - Let the mixture stand for 2-3 minutes.
    - Pick up a handful of it and squeeze it until it forms a hard ball. Open your hand and it will turn from a solid ball back into a liquid.
  • Unixed, on 06/22/2009, -1/+120Flubber
  • RainyDayNinja, on 06/22/2009, -1/+105The writer seems to confuse aluminUM with aluminA. Replacing "-um" with "-a" is the convention for referring to metal oxides, so transparent alumina is a salt, not a metal.
  • pegothejerk, on 06/22/2009, -8/+100there is no such thing as indestructible. Matter is just energy temporarily in a stable(ish) form. They may be super stable, but that's nothing a little quantum magic can't fix.
  • Hetman, on 06/22/2009, -0/+88If that is the case then I reccomend we make everlasting gobstoppers out of them.
  • Vodstok, on 06/22/2009, -5/+85In defense of the title, I never actually said anything about them breaking the laws of physics, it just implies that they don't behave as you would normally expect. By existing, everything obeys the laws of physics.
  • cplusplus, on 06/22/2009, -0/+69"The future is here, it's just not evenly distributed "
    - William Gibson
  • lfroker, on 06/22/2009, -0/+68Thank you, i was looking for someone to point out how stupid that one was. Its called Oobleck and I made it in 6th grade.

    Great article though
  • MarkaL, on 06/22/2009, -10/+77***** you.
  • pegothejerk, on 06/22/2009, -6/+72ah, I see we don't talk about science in threads here on digg anymore, we just act infantile. good to know.
  • ProfessorLX, on 06/22/2009, -1/+61im gunna go home, make some of that gel and masturbate with it
  • pegothejerk, on 06/22/2009, -5/+59since when does being an ***** make something untrue in the scientific community?
  • drstock, on 06/22/2009, -1/+55It ***** works
  • atgmac, on 06/22/2009, -1/+49You mean you replied to a top level comment with a completely unconnected statement just to get more diggs?
  • TVarmy, on 06/22/2009, -0/+48BILL BILL BILL BILL BILL BILL
  • failtrain, on 06/22/2009, -2/+46Carbon isn't a metal.
  • shakabrah, on 06/22/2009, -7/+47these don't laugh in the face of physics, they are governed by the laws of physics. they laugh in the face of commons sense, maybe.
  • cawpin, on 06/22/2009, -26/+66"7 Man-Made Substances that Laugh in the Face of Physics"

    You mean 7 man-made substances that use physics to be really cool?
  • Rudegar, on 06/22/2009, -1/+39the scientific term is probed
  • bjs3171, on 06/22/2009, -2/+39wait. these aren't magic? HOLD THE PHONE.
  • Oea420, on 06/22/2009, -0/+37The small tubes can be inhaled and otherwise make their way into the body.

    These tubes can lodge themselves in the lungs (exactly like asbestos) and continually puncture and otherwise damage healthy tissue for a long time... they are small enough to do damage, too large and indestructable for the immune system to remove..) Consistent damage of tissue leads to potentially malignant mutations to occur

    u gotz cancer brah
  • IgnatiusJReily, on 06/22/2009, -0/+36So does repeating what the person above you just said.
  • dgendreau, on 06/22/2009, -1/+37@DBlaise, Toxic as in they have the same effect on human lungs as Asbestos.
  • iticu, on 06/22/2009, -4/+39Since digg got assimilated with 4chan users, youtube users, ebaumsworld..

    The list goes on really. You'll have better luck debating on reddit/fark.
  • ElectricI, on 06/22/2009, -5/+39Carbon nanotubes have one tiny drawback...they are completely indestructible. So whatever you make out of em, you better want it forever.
  • wraiyne, on 06/22/2009, -0/+33sci sci sci sci science rules
  • inactive, on 06/22/2009, -1/+32The mice in the perfluorocarbons was a little disturbing because I would imagine that wasn't a very pleasant experience for the lab mice.

    I have a feeling that if extraterrestrials ever do actually pay us a visit, they'll view us as lab rats. And then we're screwed.
  • poog99, on 06/22/2009, -9/+39Buried for focusing on title rather than the article itself...jerk
  • Polycarp87, on 06/22/2009, -1/+28Yet. Research takes time. It is one thing to see a potential application for something, and quite another to get it functional in the laboratory. Then you have to try to scale this process up to the industrial level, and make it profitable too.
  • KrugSmash, on 06/22/2009, -2/+29My materials science professor in college is the co-inventor of the darkest material in the world, using carbon nanotubes. It was pretty cool to read that article after I had just taken his class. (Prof Ajayan)

    http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN15 ...
  • fwertz, on 06/22/2009, -1/+27When God gives you lemons YOU FIND A NEW GOD.
  • iticu, on 06/22/2009, -2/+27 FUNNY
  • SpoonMSU, on 06/22/2009, -0/+24Everyone has had one and one is enough for anybody.
  • felidaeus, on 06/22/2009, -0/+24Bill Nye the Science Guy!
  • inactive, on 06/22/2009, -0/+24They USE physics and laugh in the face of common conception of how materials will act.
  • purple, on 06/22/2009, -0/+23I always thought it was 22 minutes with 8 minutes of commercials.
  • iticu, on 06/22/2009, -3/+26Or, if you're an apathetic procrastinating Digg user, just watch that episode of Brainiac.
  • Bologner, on 06/22/2009, -0/+23GODBERRY: KING OF THE JUICE
  • sgtbutterscotch, on 06/23/2009, -0/+22This comment is hilarious after reading the one above it.
  • Lane, on 06/22/2009, -0/+22Let us know how that plays out will you?
  • kerbe6, on 06/22/2009, -0/+22No Bose-Einstein condensate?
  • meridian, on 06/22/2009, -0/+21 Perfluorocarbons = LCL from Neon Genesis Evangelion
  • edwartica, on 06/22/2009, -3/+24I find your lack of faith disturbing.
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