The physics of salad dressing
Tuesday, July 14, 2015 - 06:00
in Physics & Chemistry
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have shown that in phase separation in liquids, as is seen when oil and water separate, occurs as a result of the ordered motion of droplets. Initially, a great number of small droplets are formed which then grow into larger (coarse) droplets, and such coarsening of droplets proceeds as a result of the regular motion of the small droplets. This is contrary to the conventional belief of more than 30 years that random motion and resulting droplet collision and coalescence is responsible for phase separation.