What is the difference between an extremely thick liquid and a solid? At which point does the difference stop mattering, it at all?
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Isn’t it simple, liquids have no definitive shape but a solid does?
The difference largely comes down to the amount of toilet paper you need to use when finished…a solid often requires just a quick proof wipe to guarantee it’s clean, while a thick liquid often requires a large number of wipes.
A fluid flows. No matter how viscous it would be, it’s molecules move in either a laminar or turbulent flow when a force is applied. A solid molecules don’t move. If they do, the material would break.
Thankfully Humboldt County is one of my favorite movies and in it Brad Douriff explains the difference.
“Solids and liquids are differentiated from one another by the way they respond to stress. If the material deforms, stays deformed or springs back when the stress is removed then it’s a solid. If instead the material flows when stressed, rearranges itself in such a way as to remove the stress, then it’s a liquid. “
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