Liquid kryptonite

Thousands of people will travel to Metropolis, Ill., to celebrate the "Man of Steel" this weekend for the Superman Celebration 2009. You can celebrate at home by creating your very own kryptonite.

Materials

* 1 1/4 cup of cornstarch

* 3/4 cup of water

* Sturdy stirring spoon

* Green food coloring

* Mixing bowl

Instructions

STEP 1: Add the desired amount of green food coloring to the 3/4 cup of water in the bowl.

STEP 2: Slowly add the cornstarch to the water, making sure to stir in little portions of the cornstarch at a time or it will become too hard to mix properly.

STEP 3: Adjust the amount of cornstarch to reach the desired consistency. Add more cornstarch to achieve a thicker mixture. Less cornstarch will leave the liquid kryptonite more runny.

Explanation

Liquid kryptonite is considered a non-Newtonian fluid, which means it can exhibit properties of both a solid and a liquid. This is due to the nature of cornstarch, which is a natural polymer.

Jason Lindsey is a Science Outreach Educator with Hooked on Science. Check out his website "Hooked On Science" at hookedonscience.org for webcasts and experiments that might get you hooked on science. Send him your science questions at jlindsey@hookedonscience.org. More science experiments can be found at www.semissourian.com.