Paste - Definition and Overview

(this page is about substances rheologically similar to toothpaste. See cut and paste for computer text editing).

According to physicist David A. Weitz, a paste is a substance that behaves as a solid until a sufficiently large load or stress is applied, at which point it flows like a fluid. Pastes typically consist of a suspension of small particles in a background fluid. The small particles are jammed together like grains of sand on a beach, forming a disordered, glassy or amorphous structure, and giving pastes their solid-like character. It is this "jamming together" that gives pastes some of their most unusual properties.

Examples include toothpaste, mustard, and putty.

See also fragile matter, granular material.