Hey Google! There's Rheology Here!

When I was first wondering whether I should start the blog, I would put the phrase "rheology blog" into Google, and I wouldn't see too many other active blogs.  In fact, I still don't find the Rheo Thing unless I use the phrase "rheology blogs".  I finally realized that, even though this is a rheology blog, I don't use the word "rheology" in every post.  John has the same issue over at his blog.  Even though it's a blog about polymer rheology, he doesn't use the word "rheology" in every post.
This is not an issue that's confined to niche blogs like ours.  This Washington Post column by Gene Weingarten laments the loss of headline writers for online writing.  Online headlines are tailored for search engines and written to attract readers.  Online articles have bland headlines that just use people's names.  Gene's best example compares the online headline "Conan O'Brien won't give up 'Tonight Show' time slot to make room for Jay Leno" to the newspaper headline "Better Never Than Late."

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".

High Viscosity

Colleen Putnam, in a December post originally found on Lifestyle and then cross-posted at Zimbio's rheology blog followed up on a money-saving discussion started at Consumer Reports.  The first CR article discussed how much of a commercial product could be left in a container.  The second article described how to pull the remaining product out of the container.
Colleen identified a rheological theme among the commercial products--

The science of rheology, the study of flow, explains how thick, gooey things move differently than smooth watery things. It's a physicist thing. For the non-Newton layperson, it explains why the toothpaste tube, lotion dispenser, and ketchup bottle always have product left at the end that never seems to want to come out. 

As I thought about this comment, something started to bug me.  The main issues with the products (skin lotion, laundry detergent, condiments, and toothpaste) is not how they flow, but how they don't appear to flow.  Simply put, the viscosity of these materials is high.  That is why these materials stay in their respective containers.  Any non-Newtonian flow properties (pseudoplasticity, thixotropy) aren't as important as the viscosity at low shear rates.  For more evidence of this, just see to remove the product from the containers: dilution.  Add the appropriate solvent, reduce the viscosity, and you're on your way to saving money.

Welcome

My name is Eric Brown, and this is The Rheol World blog. The main purpose of this blog is to explore the field of rheology. What's going to appear here?


I don't know.

I have a few ideas, and I'm hoping to see what happens when I post here.

For those who are wondering, rheology is the study of the deformation and flow of matter. I entered the field while working on graduate studies in the Chemical Engineering department at Northwestern. For my project, I built an optical rheometer. Once I left school, I did a post-doc at the University of Texas in Austin. I then worked for the rheometer division of Anton Paar USA, first as a salesman, then as rheology lab manager. I currently work as a Senior Research Specialist for ConAgra Foods Inc. in Omaha, NE. This blog represents my opinions only and does not reflect the views of my employers, past or present.

The title of the blog is inspired by the 1985 song Welcome to the Real World by Mr. Mister. The chorus starts...Welcome to the real world / There's so much to learn