As a scientist, I can guarantee that the closest a solid object can be to a liquid state is a cat snoozing on a staircase in the sunshine.
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Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He's written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic and fights the abuse of science, but his true love is praising the wonders of real science.
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January 21st, 2012 at 8:03 am
Relaxed cats are well known to NOT be a true solid, but more of a gel.
January 21st, 2012 at 9:02 am
I have a pug that does that exact same thing. Sunshine pug = 100% less viscous than sunshine cat.
January 21st, 2012 at 9:52 am
[singing] It was subli-maaaaaa-tion, I know…… [/singing]
January 21st, 2012 at 11:41 am
Indeed.
January 21st, 2012 at 11:59 am
and then there are the dogs of various persuasions who go into snooze/comatose states in front of the wood stove.
January 21st, 2012 at 12:55 pm
@Wzrd1: It’s a very volatile gel, though, as anyone coming down the stairs without looking where they’re stepping will quickly learn
I wish we could post images. We could have a “Solid, Liquid, or Cat?” thread
January 21st, 2012 at 1:22 pm
When you mentioned it on twitter earlier without the photo, I was imagining the cat slumped over several steps, not lying on just one.
January 21st, 2012 at 1:25 pm
@Thopter My cat (also a maine coon like BA’s) does that – she’ll slump over anything. This is a rare picture of liqui-cat grace instead of drunken frat-boy style draping.
January 21st, 2012 at 1:51 pm
My cat sleeps on me at night. No matter how I roll over, she always stays right side up. She’s like a hot water bottle filled with Jell-O.
January 21st, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Of course, cats are a liquid. http://www.neatorama.com/2007/11/09/liquid-cat/
Here’s how you calculate their volume: http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/catvolume
January 21st, 2012 at 4:36 pm
Perhaps..the cat will go into sublimation and skip the liqued state?
January 21st, 2012 at 4:49 pm
In addition to two cats who frequently adopt liquid and gel forms, I also have a recently adopted, geriatric Shih Tzu who, upon being lifted into the air, assumes liquid form. Said senior citizen has been dropped more than a few times by unsuspecting but well-meaning caretakers. It’s like picking up a watermelon to discover that you’ve picked up a balloon disguised as a watermelon that’s really filled with liquid.
Two hands, people, always use two hands when dealing with potentially liquid animals.
January 21st, 2012 at 5:03 pm
@9Leona: Haha, awesome. I wish my cats did that. My old cat always slept on my bed, but he was an old geezer who needed the heat (he was at least 21 when he died). I think my two current cats are too young and pudgy to need any body heat
@ 10 Miss Cellania: I love it
January 22nd, 2012 at 12:33 am
Cats are definitely a gel when sleeping in the sun or on a person’s body. I’ve always called it the boneless cat.
January 22nd, 2012 at 9:04 pm
so if Mr S’s cat is inside a box on the stairs in sunlight, what state is it in?
January 23rd, 2012 at 2:34 pm
Cat people… You can’t escape them on the internet. I got linked here from a physics news website, imagine my surprise…
January 26th, 2012 at 12:27 pm
I had a cat, now deceased, who used to amuse us by sleeping on the sofa, then waking up and POURing himself off the edge headfirst, and walking away. Like a furry waterfall.