Fluids Can Fracture

Researchers at Drexel University have made a surprising discovery about the behavior of simple fluids. Thamires Lima, a research professor in chemical engineering, was conducting an experiment using extensional rheology, a method that involves stretching liquids between metal plates to find the force that makes them flow. During the test, Lima heard a short, sharp crack and initially thought it was the machine, but it was actually the fluid that had fractured. The fluid in question was a nonelastic simple fluid, a blend of hydrogen and carbon, which is not expected to exhibit such behavior. Typically, fractures are seen in elastic complex fluids, which can act like solids under certain conditions. However, Lima's experiment showed that even a simple fluid with low elasticity can snap apart under stress. To confirm the results, Lima repeated the experiment several times, and each time the fluid broke. This discovery has left experts like Arnold Mathijssen, a fluid physicist at the University of Pennsylvania, surprised and intrigued. The findings challenge the conventional understanding of fluid behavior and could have significant implications for various fields, including engineering and materials science.