what is (Defn of liquid)

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In article <35...@columbia.UUCP>, zde...@heathcliff.columbia.edu
(Zdenek Radouch) says:

>> The best definition is one I was taught in first grade:
>> "A liquid flows and takes the shape of its container."
>>(hence molten glass is liquid, glass is not.)
>> Craig Werner (MD/PhD '91)

>You learn many new and exciting things in first grade, but some of them have
>to be unlearned later! Have you heard of viscosity and surface tension?
>There are some pretty lazy liquids around (know honey?). It takes them a LONG
>time before they take shape of a container.

A few hours (honey) versus several centuries (if ever, for glass)? You'll
have to do better than that. Almost any solid can undergo plastic deformation,
given a large enough stress over long enough time. That doesn't make it a
liquid.

>Have you seen a drop of mercury
>on a FLAT piece of glass? Tell me about a container.

Glad to. Anyone who thinks a flat piece of material qualifies as a
"container" needs some help badly. A container is something that *contains*
something else, not just supports it. If an object doesn't have a definable
"inside," it can't contain anything.

> He who knows not and knows not that he knows not, he is a fool - shun him!

Just curious-- Why? This type of man needs the most help of all.

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