Thixotropy!
Bode pointed me to the below YouTube video of the Kaye effect. I remember noticing this in high school, pouring liquid detergent into the top of our front-loading washing machine. Every now and then the flow would bounce off as though there were no friction.
It turns out detergent is thixotropic, or shear-thinning. That is, once it gets flowing, it flows more easily. Grease is also thixotropic; I wonder if this sort of thing, with a thin shear band, is what goes on in a plain bearing...
Beware annoying music:
Posted by VeenWR
It turns out detergent is thixotropic, or shear-thinning. That is, once it gets flowing, it flows more easily. Grease is also thixotropic; I wonder if this sort of thing, with a thin shear band, is what goes on in a plain bearing...
Beware annoying music:
Click to viewPosted by VeenWR