Odo's combadge

[Timo]

Really, the most basic of Odo's shapeshifting tricks already require him to defy the laws of physics big time. Disallowing him to mimic a transparent glass that shatters would be illogical when he can pull off much, much more demanding tricks like being a rat or a bag.

As for "loose bits of Changeling revert to jello", I don't think we ever really got a confirmation for that. It happens to Odo - but then again, Odo is a clumsy toddler in many other ways as well. We haven't really seen it happen to non-Odo Changelings, except in "The Adversary". And in that episode, Odo was the one who brought up the theory that this would happen (based on his own experiences); the Founder aboard just listened in on this convertsation, and took advantage of the false beliefs of our heroes to frame one of them.

For all we know, the blood that dripped from the palm of "Martok" in "Way of the Warrior" was in fact Changeling goo, which successfully pretended to be blood even when detached. No need for "Martok" to slay a real Klingon for a supply of that blood, then.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[All Seeing Eye]

^ What about the episode where Weyoun asks for another sample from the female shapeshifter? she pulls off some skin and drops it into the jar where it quickly reverts back to a liquid.

 

[Timo]

Good example, but perhaps not enough to prove or disprove the idea. For one thing, that Changeling was quite ill, and might have relapsed to embarrassing childhood habits akin to bedwetting. More significantly, there was no need for her detached parts to retain any particular shape - so they would revert to jello by choice, not because they had to.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Natural]

It has to be a real combadge because it works. This is one of those questions the writers avoid for the sake of needlessly overcomplicating things. It would be very awkward to tell a story if Odo couldn't wear a combadge, or if he had to run and set it down on the table before morphing every time. If you're one of those people who must have an answer in Trek terms, I guess you could theorize that since the creatures he morphes into aren't real in a biological sense, he could just store the combadge internally, bringing it to the surface when he changes back to his humanoid form.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Odo actually creates a real working combadge from himself, he just doesn't consciously realize it.

 

[Timo]

...Actually, he vehemently denies it because then everybody would ask him to do the phaser, and he hates doing the phaser, even more than he hates doing the neck trick. Guns are just uncool. When did we ever see Odo fire one?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Guns are just uncool. When did we ever see Odo fire one?

In the pilot episode, Odo says he does not allow weapons of any kind on the Promenade. Presumably this includes him.