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Separation of Peas and Carrots in Boiling Water

Authors :
Levine, Zachary H.
Source :
Physics Teacher. Nov 2021 59(8):643-645.
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

Frozen peas and carrots are commonly available in grocery stores in the United States. The carrots are cut into cubes roughly 8 mm on a side, while the peas are roughly spherical with a diameter of about 6 mm. They are prepared together in water that is brought to a boil. The peas and carrots, which are initially mixed together, separate as the water is heated. By counting the number of border vs. non-border vegetables before and after boiling, the decrease of the number of vegetables on the border demonstrates separation rather than chance rearrangement with the highly significant value p < 0.00001. The demonstration is a kitchen physics example of pattern formation in nonequilibrium systems.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
0031-921X
Volume :
59
Issue :
8
Database :
ERIC
Journal :
Physics Teacher
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
EJ1330537
Document Type :
Journal Articles<br />Reports - Descriptive
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1119/10.0006916