Relaxation Times & Wind Chimes

Using the Google blog search found this Q&A on relaxation time determination.  What makes the post weird is it appears on a site devoted to wind chimes.  What makes the post great is that someone answered the question.

Tracking Google (Further Update)

This won't be news to some, but one can search blogs using blogsearch.google.com.  This blog and the Rheol Thing blog appears on the second page using the keywords "rheology blog".

Blog Organization

I've added some links to rheology courses off to the right hand side.  If you have a course you know about or would like to ad, send me an email.

Surely You're Joking (#6): 1st Class

(Another in a series of t-shirt ideas.  Explained here.)

Practical Rheology Course

I received this email through SOR recently...

Dear Colleagues:

We are pleased to announce that our annual Practical Rheology Course will be held on Wednesday - Thursday, June 23 - 24, 2010 in Princeton, New Jersey.

The Practical Rheology course is an intensive course focusing on the basics of rheology, rheological measurements, rheology modifiers and the use of rheology in product development and formulation. The course emphasizes practical aspects using examples from various industries.

Details and registration information are available at www.hydan.com

 
I’ll appreciate it if you could forward this message to those who may be interested in attending the course.
 
Thank you.

Best regards,
 Hemi Nae

Quotations of the Moment

Up in the Air: Movie Edition

(George Clooney plays Ryan, and Anna Kendrick plays Natalie.)

Natalie: I followed him to Omaha.
Ryan: You did?
Natalie: I had a job waiting for me in San Francisco when he got an offer from ConAgra.  He said we could start a life together.  So, I followed him.
Ryan: To Nebraska?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Natalie: Are you going to be OK?
Ryan: What do you mean?
Natalie: In Omaha?
Ryan: I don't know.
Natalie: It's better than you think.

(Posted just because I live in Omaha and work for ConAgra.  Besides, these quotations are not on the movie's IMDb page.)

Painting the Lab

One possible worry during rotational tests is that the sample can be expelled from a cone or parallel plate fixture at high shear rates.  This occurs when the centrifugal force exceeds the surface tension.

My most memorable experience occurred in my sales days.  I was installing a special system with a 6" (152.4 mm) fixture.  To test it out, I bought a bottle of corn syrup, because I wanted to use something more viscous than water.  There was not enough syrup for the fixture, so I added water to the fixture.  It turns out that water mixes slowly with the corn syrup that's available in American supermarkets.

I started the fixture using controlled stress mode, which was my first mistake.  As the water and corn syrup mixed together, the viscosity started to drop.  As the viscosity dropped, the fixture started to speed up and began fling the sample around the lab.  I shut down the system before all the sample made it to the laboratory walls.

A former colleague of mine referred to this phenomenon as "earning your stripe."

Updated 4/26: (Hey, I have an idea for a new t-shirt!)

Surely You're Joking (#5)

The latest in the series of T-shirt ideas.

It's Not Really a Contradiction...

...it's just viscoelastic.

Starburst Candies has started a new ad campaign that states the chews are "solid, yet juicy like a liquid."

Here's one of the ads, which introduces the Scotch-Korean spokesperson.



Actually, the candies have a temperature-sensitive glass transition temperature. When the candies are placed in a warm, moist environment, they soften and can be chewed.

Tracking Google (Update)

A search of the keyword "rheology blog" puts this blog at #5.  For some reason, the post on iTunes is selected as representative, even though it was posted in February.  Even though he often uses the word "rheology" in his blog, John's Rheo Thing blog isn't listed.  Searches of "rheology blogger" and "rheology blogspot" bring up his work.

CP-20 Help

Anyone out there using a CP20 oscillatory squeezing rheometer?  (There's also a CP50 system out there that's the same instrument.)  If so, drop me an email.  We have a system here that we're trying to get started again.

The system was orignally sold by TA Instruments and then db Scientific purchased the rights around 2005.

Thanks for your time.

UPDATE (April 20th) -- no contact from anyone on this matter.  There aren't enough rheologists who know about this blog.  Thanks for reading.

March Poll Results

6 people voted in March's unscientific poll.  I voted twice, as I have two rotational rheometers in my lab.  Here are the results...

• 3 votes for Rheometrics systems (now owned by TA)
• 2 votes for Anton Paar systems
• 1 vote for TA AR systems
• 1 vote for Malvern systems

The orginal post had two comments, which is a record for a post on this blog.

I think we're still a little short of regular readers for the poll to generate reasonable results, so I'll hold off on new ones for a little bit.

Thanks to everyone who voted.

Jobs Report (April)

A "rheolog*" keyword search on Monster.com showed 34 positions available.  The search was conducted April 1st.

I heard from a former colleague who's been looking for a job since November.  He's more optimistic now about opportunties that he's finding.