Every frequent traveler has been drilled in on these Transportation Security Administration requirements: Liquids with a volume of no more than 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters) each are permitted to be brought on board.
However, fans of peanut butter were outraged when the TSA recently confiscated a jar of Jif due to this regulation. Some security skeptics could assume that famished policemen only wanted to cook their own PB&Js. The TSA disputes this, claiming that peanut butter is a liquid and that a full-size jar of Jif exceeds the 3.4-ounce restriction.
The tale, along with the indignation it sparked, spread just like Americans’ preferred legume-based sandwich filling. I study fluid dynamics as a mechanical engineer, therefore the TSA action made sense to me. The definition of a liquid in science is that peanut butter is one.
On a slice of white sandwich bread, peanut butter has been spread.
Swirls in the spread are simply created using the knife. Every frequent traveler has been drilled in on these Transportation Security Administration requirements: Liquids with a volume of no more than 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters) each are permitted to be brought on board.
However, fans of peanut butter were outraged when the TSA recently confiscated a jar of Jif due to this regulation. Some security skeptics could assume that famished policemen only wanted to cook their own PB&Js. The TSA disputes this, claiming that peanut butter is a liquid and that a full-size jar of Jif exceeds the 3.4-ounce restriction.
The tale, along with the indignation it sparked, spread just like Americans’ preferred legume-based sandwich filling. I study fluid dynamics as a mechanical engineer, therefore the TSA action made sense to me. The definition of a liquid in science is that peanut butter is one.
First, think about fluids.
We must first define a fluid before we can define a liquid. A fluid is any substance that continually flows in the presence of a shearing force. Consider a shearing force as a cutting motion that sends a substance flowing constantly. For instance, as you move your arm, the air around you deforms, to use the physics term, and moves out of the way. When your arm makes a swim stroke, the water experiences the same thing.
Fluids come in a variety of varieties. Some have relatively predictable behavior and fluid motion, like air or water. Newtonian fluids is the term given to them in honor of Sir Isaac Newton. In a Newtonian fluid, the shear force fluctuates in direct proportion to the strain it places on the material, which is referred to as the shearing strain, according to science. The barrier to fluid flow, or viscosity, of a Newtonian fluid is constant for any given temperature.
Other sorts of fluids do not flow as easily or smoothly. Some, like peanut butter, may require a minimum shearing or cutting force to flow, and this force may change nonlinearly with the shearing strain. Think about stirring some peanut butter. The PB becomes runnier when you stir extremely quickly and with a lot of shearing power, but stays stiff when you stir slowly. Non-Newtonian fluids are the name given to these fluids. Peanut butter might stick more than flow, thus you might think of this movement as chunkier in style.
Since it doesn’t flow as easily as air or water but will flow if enough force is applied, such as when a knife spreads peanut butter on bread, it’s actually a wonderful example of a non-Newtonian fluid. The temperature will also affect how easily it flows; if you’ve ever spread peanut butter on warm toast, you may have noticed drips.
There are strange fluids everywhere around us.
Unexpected fluids are a part of our daily life but not our carry-on luggage for flights. In general, a fluid is anything that can flow. And eventually, it will adopt the form of its container.
Surprising liquids like whipped cream, mayonnaise, and cookie batter live next door to peanut butter in the kitchen. Others, like toothpaste, are in the bathroom. Other odd fluids, such as lava, mudslides, avalanches, and quicksand, can be found in the natural world.
Gravel is comparable to a fluid. Individual gravel particles are solids, but a clump of gravel can be poured into a container to fill it; this is known as a granular fluid because it possesses fluid-like characteristics. The same can be said for sugar or cereal that has been poured directly from a box.
People flow out of a packed athletic event, and traffic flows on a congested roadway.
Even a cat laying in the sun might be thought of as a fluid once it has flattened out and filled its skin like a container. Dogs that are dozing off, squirrels, and even sleeping infants can all fit the criteria of a fluid.
One category of a fluid is liquid.
Nevertheless, you might be arguing that the TSA simply stated that peanut butter is a liquid rather than calling it one.
Gases and liquids are the two main divisions of fluids. Both liquids and gases can be poured into containers and deformed before they take on the shape of the container. However, although liquids cannot be compressed, at least not readily, gases can.
When peanut butter is poured into its container, it might take on the shape of that container and distort. Furthermore, peanut butter does not compress, as every 5-year-old knows. The peanut butter does not smoosh down into a smaller volume when they smush their PB&J sandwiches or peanut butter crackers together. No, it squirts onto their hands and out the sides.
So, liquid peanut butter is a great conclusion.
Bring less than 3.4 ounces of liquid peanut butter if you intend to create a PB&J sandwich in flight. The same holds true for jelly, its watery cousin.
