Physicists will meet to dish on the behavior of different foods at the 75th annual meeting of the American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics online and in person in Indianapolis Nov. 20-22.
Registered journalists interested in hearing the scoop on what helps chocolate fountains flow, how oil and vinegar in vinaigrettes separate and why squeezing causes sauce to splatter out of bottles are invited to attend a press conference online or in person in room 210 of the Indiana Convention Center on Nov. 20 at 10 a.m. EST.
Complimentary registration for news media with valid APS press credentials is required to attend the press conference and meeting. To request press credentials, visit APS’ online press room.
Additional details, including instructions for joining the press conference remotely, will be sent via email to registered journalists. The press conference will be recorded and available upon request.
Summaries of the studies that will be spotlighted in the press conference are below.
Simulation Shows the Ways That Temperature, Speed and Materials Can Impact Chocolate Fountains
Chocolate fountains are popular, because they serve as beautiful and functional party centerpieces. But differences like heat distribution or fountain structure can unpredictably influence the way that these fountains flow — potentially threatening how they look and, most importantly, how their chocolate tastes.
Now, Lyes Kahouadji and colleagues will present how they built a model that evaluates the physical flow, heat transfer exchanges and geometry’s effect on chocolate fountains. The model also accounts for how the ingredient used, like oil and chocolate, influences the fountain’s quality. The team says that their work could inform advancements in the production of other foods that exhibit flow.
Study Examines Why Oil, Mustard and Vinegar Separate in Vinaigrette
While vinaigrette doesn’t experience flow in the same way as chocolate fountains do, it does separate quickly.
At the meeting, David Brutin and colleagues will introduce their new study on this phenomenon, which starts as olive oil separates from a previously emulsified concoction of oil, mustard and vinegar. Their findings indicate that varying the concentrations of vinegar and mustard alters the rate of vinaigrette separation. For example, more vinegar in a mustard-free vinaigrette decreased spread rate. According to the authors, this research could be used by industrial food manufacturers who are seeking to make stabler liquid products.
Framework Describes the Expulsion of Liquids from Containers, Like Squeezing Sauce Out of a Bottle
In the industrial food industry, the experience of getting the food out of the container is almost as important as the food itself. For example, no one wants a ketchup product if the design causes ketchup to splatter out of the bottle when lightly squeezed.
Now, Callum Cuttle and colleagues will offer insights on the fluid dynamics that happen as a sauce bottle is squeezed or when a bubble is blown through a straw into a milkshake. Specifically, their analysis identifies how these flows are beholden to viscosity, like that of the sauce or milkshake, during the compression of a gas reservoir, such as the air pocket in the sauce bottle or the bubble in the straw. Beyond the implications of these results for food manufacturing, the framework could also be applied to technology related to carbon dioxide sequestration in underground aquifers or design of fuel cells.
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The American Physical Society is a nonprofit membership organization working to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics through its outstanding research journals, scientific meetings and education, outreach, advocacy and international activities. APS represents more than 50,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories and industry in the United States and throughout the world.