A Shear Mystery
Everyone has had problems with a ketchup bottle at one time or another. After struggling and only getting a few drops, a flood suddenly gushes out and buries your food. With perfect timing, the ketchup changes from a thick paste to a runny liquid. If you find yourself wondering 'why?' you're in good company. Physicists are puzzled, too.
Ketchup is one of many complex fluids - including whipped cream, blood, film emulsions, nail polish and some plastics - that share a property called 'shear thinning.' Normally thick like honey, they can become thin and flow like water when stirred or shaken. The phenomenon is common enough, yet scientists aren't sure why it happens.
The ketchup-like behavior of pure fluids at their critical point is still only theoretical. Even simulations using supercomputers can't prove the theory. Think of that the next time you whack the bottom of a ketchup bottle. Even supercomputers can't predict the outcome!
