The new research of the MIT team issued the top issue, netizens: the Ig Nobel Prize is scheduled!

Can Oreo cookies also be used to study rheology? In a paper published recently, a research team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) tried to twist out a sandwich biscuit with evenly distributed fillings

Using a laboratory rheometer, the research team tested the effects of twisting speed, amount of cream filling and cream flavor on the distribution of cream after twisting

However, the paper "succeeded"

Twist, do the experiment

This isn't the first time scientists have focused on how to "twist" cookies

Can the sandwich not separate perfectly, just because of "hand shake"?

The Owens team believes that Oreos, a sandwich-like biscuit, can be seen as a perfect model for a parallel-plate rheometer

Oreo cookies twisted open in the paper

So, what are the factors that affect which side of the cream center comes off?

To find out, the Owens team controlled for three different variables in the experiment: the speed of twisting the cookies, the amount of cream, and the taste of the cream

Experiments have shown that the two factors related to cream do not affect the complete shedding of the sandwich

However, it is the existing level of adhesion between the biscuit and the cream that really determines the distribution of the cream center when the biscuit is twisted open

For example, they found that in mass-market home-size biscuits, the center was more likely to adhere to the side of the cookie away from the edge

Study fluids at home

This experiment by Owens' team can be said to be a new idea for interdisciplinary research between rheology and food science

The Owens team believes that the fluid phenomenon in biscuit fillings deserves further study

The Oreometer requires no other source of energy, and requires only $6 (about RMB 40) of materials, including coins and rubber bands, to twist and test Oreo cookies and similar round samples

Oreometer operation process

　　For the convenience of everyone, Owens shares the 3D printing method and user guide on GitHub

　　This interesting experiment has attracted a lot of attention

　　In response to these claims, one of the authors of the paper, Max Fan, a third-year MIT student, said: "The purpose of our experiment is to arouse the hands-on ability and enthusiasm of the general public, and guide them to observe and experience life more
.
Perhaps.
There's some subtle physics hidden in it
.
"

　　The research team hopes to take this as an opportunity to call on more people to create similar simple models through biscuits and other common items in life, and to conduct interesting popular science on rheology that is unfamiliar to the public
.

　　The inspiration for Owens' team began at the beginning of the new crown pandemic, when many researchers were unable to enter and leave the laboratory because of the epidemic
.

　　From a scientific point of view, research on cookies adds interest to the experimental process of researchers; from a life point of view, it also shortens the distance between science and the public, and gives the public the confidence to understand and enter science
.

　　As Owens mentions in the article, while cookies may be nutrient-poor, they provide a rich subject for scientific research
.