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UrduSaltwater taffy, a product that contains no actual saltwater, is neither fully solid nor fully liquid. Researchers from Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology put the sticky, sweet confection to the test to understand the physics behind this unique candy.
Tag: Rheology
At Home, Do-It-Yourself Fluid Mechanics
In Physics of Fluids, scientists describe their work on an at-home study of rheology, which is used to study the way non-Newtonian liquids or semisolid substances flow. The projects assigned to students had two parts: gathering qualitative visual evidence of rheological properties and taking quantitative measurements. The students checked for four behaviors – shear thinning viscosity, viscoelasticity, shear normal stress difference, and extensional viscosity – and even without access to laboratory rheometers, they developed creative and unique ways to carry out their measurements.
Tea Time Gets Flavor Boost from Thin Film, Impure Water
In Physics of Fluids, researchers describe how they applied rheology to the seemingly quaint purpose of improving the quality of a cup of black tea. They describe the interfacial phenomenon in a cup left to cool after steeping, when a thin film at the air-water interface can form, and assess the mechanical properties of the film, the formation of which is affected by water hardness, acidity, sugar or milk, tea concentration, and brewing temperature.