Slime, cornflour, quicksand and ketchup are all non-Newtonian liquids. They are also 'thixatropic liquids', from the Greek thixis, meaning the act of handling and trope, meaning change. So when a force is applied to a non-Newtonian liquid, it can now act like a solid....
To read more click here to download Dr Hal's fact sheet on Making Your Own Slime (900kb pdf file)
Welcome to Dr Hal's Backyard Science, experiments you can try at home. These are experiments that you can try in your garden or house with parental permission and supervision. Each of them comes with some health and safety instructions that an adult must read. The text is reproduced by kind permission of Education in Chemistry a journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Let us know how you get on by emailing drhal@drhal.co.uk