Who knew that cornstarch can be used for so much more than just a decent lemon meringue pie? This science demonstration is just so cool that I rushed home to try it myself.

The video above shows the reaction of a cornstarch paste on a speaker with a steady tone applied to it. My photos below show how to make a complete mess of a kitchen and home theater, with absolutely zero results. I mixed up the cornstarch paste, found a speaker I didn't mind destroying, and set out to make magic. I tried to protect the speaker at first, so I stuck the speaker inside a baggie. No reaction at all, no matter what what signal I played or the volume. I started with a little portable player, but quickly moved onto a real amplifier. I ended up sacrificing the speaker after all and poured the paste directly onto the driver. Again, no movement of the paste. I needed more power, and an oscillator to generate lower frequencies.

Finally, I didn't want to destroy my subwoofer driver, but I put the paste on top of the sub's enclosure and blasted it as loud as I think the foundation of my home could withstand. Alas, the paste just sat there, taunting me with its stillness.

Go ahead and watch the video again. Lord knows that's the only way I'm going to see magical dancing cornstarch. If you get it to work, let me know your secret.

Via LiveLeak