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This elastic-to-plastic transition can also occur in experiments using lasers to initiate nuclear fusion. In such experiments, a laser blasts a metal capsule containing fuel, creating pressures and temperatures so high that the nuclei within the fuel fuse together, releasing energy (SN: 2/16/24Scientists hope to eventually harness nuclear fusion as an energy source.
But studying how materials behave under the extreme conditions needed for nuclear fusion is difficult, so in their latest experiment, the scientists studied how mayonnaise mixed with a gas (air) while spinning a wheel containing a few drops of mayonnaise. The centrifugal force of the spinning wheel accelerated the mayonnaise into a gas.
After the wheel stopped spinning, the scientists watched the mass to see if it would return to its original shape, change shape, or break apart. The boundary between elastic and plastic behaviorIn May, they reported Physics Review E.
The mayonnaise and air are similar to the molten metal and gases contained within a fusion fuel capsule. The molten capsule has some of the properties of a solid; it will not flow on its own, like thick mayonnaise, but it can break apart if enough force is applied. If the metal becomes plastic before fusion occurs, the gases could escape, jeopardizing the fusion attempt.
There’s one downside to selling mayonnaise: If you put 48 bottles of it at a supermarket checkout, it’s bound to attract attention. “Grocery stores often ask us why we buy so much mayonnaise,” Banerjee says.
