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I don't specifically about thixotropism but chemisty is interesting--the more i learn about structure, the more interested i am
carbon (wonderful stuff!) pure carbon can have its molocules aligned one way, and they are collapsed, flattened, and then slide over each other almost like grease(graphite)
aligned an other way at rigid angles and you have a crystal form-- diamonds!
We tend to see solid things as solid-- but on a molecular level, things are not the same..
a classic fun "magic trick" is to take an equal volume of water and alcohol.. (say one cup of each) Use a measuring cup! then pour both liquids into a 2 cup vessel-- You end up with just over 1.5 cups of liquid! (you do need a high proof alcohol, but it can be "denatured" tax free undrinkable stuff!)
Its an amasing trick! the alcohol molocules fit into the empty spaces in the water. Its hard to imagine a solid as dense as water has having empty space.. but it does!
thixotropism is a property of gels and emulsions to become liquid when aggitated or under stress. sort of the opposite of the corn starch water mixture.
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A couple months ago there was a thread about mudslides from volcanoes and solifluction from earthquakes. Another source of homes being destroyed is "quick clay" which with only slightly greater than usual rain can cause a previously stable slope to collapse catastrophically.
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A use of "liquid glass" a hundred years ago was to preserve eggs for baking. A surplus of eggs immersed in it could be used months later. I suppose it worked by excluding oxygen.
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An extremely important form of carbon is what used to be called "activated charcoal". In organic chemstry it was invaluable for its power of removing small amounts of impurities from crude synthetic product.
Probably its biggest use it removing molasses color and taste from sugar. It can also be used to remove some pollutants from water. I don't know how the "activation" is achieved.
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A use of "liquid glass" a hundred years ago was to preserve eggs for baking.
Good grief, Bill--how did they get the eggs out, do you know?
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The liquid glass was just a syrupy solution of sodium silicate. It rinsed off readily. If I remember right it was called water glass.
PS from my dictionary, water glass, definition 4:
sodium silicate or, sometimes, potassium silicate, occurring as a stony powder, usually dissolved in water to form a colorless, syrupy liquid used as an adhesive, as a protective or waterproofing coat, as a preservative for eggs, etc.
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I have never done this, but someone I know put liquid glass in the engine of his dying car so that it wouldn't be obvious to the unsuspecting buyer that the car had serious engine trouble. It worked. He sold his car.  Poor baby that bought it. You can still find liquid glass in some pharmacies.
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newbie
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of Troy--Thanks for the water/alcohol trick. Wonder which other liquids would give the same sort of results?
Consuelo--how did pouring liquid glass into the car's engine conceal its flaws?
How much heat to melt a window before your very eyes?
OrB~
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OB- I'm not real sure, but I think it had a cracked engine block and the liquid glass sealed the crack. He changed the oil and the radiator fluid. I don't think it was a permanent fix, though.
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You can melt glass with a butane burner.. the same kind you use to solder pipes. thats what glass crafters use at fairs, plain glass tubes, clear or colored, that the melt and form into little glass animals.
My microwave came with a double tiered rack, and when one of the insulating covers on the foot broke, my son melted some scrap glass and fashioned a new glass insulator in a week or two. (sometime i am amazed that my kids never blew up the house, or burned it down!)
as for the water/alcohol trick, yes, i am sure there are others.. i just don't know any off the top of my head. that one works well because both water and denatured alcohol are easy to buy and reasonable cheap.
there is an other, one, a simple salt (not table salt, but some other salt) that turn water pink/red, add something else, it goes clear, and other salt, and now the water is blue..
(i was made to do recertations as a child, and i made my kids do something come the holidays.. my son did magic tricks.. he got quite good at them.)
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