Beer Science Gets Frothy
By Faith Smith
Forget searching for a (slightly clearer) answer to life, the Universe, and everything - scientists have found the answer to a far more pressing question - why the foam on a pint of lager disappears quickly but the head on a pint of Guinness lingers.
Yes, it's true, finally the answer is here and the Great Beer Riddle has been solved! A pair of prestigious pub-loving scientists from the States, mathematician Robert MacPherson from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and physicist David Srolovitz from New York's Yeshiva University, have devised an equation to describe beer froth.
Writing in the science journal Nature, the duo described the foam as "a microstructure with complex interfaces" - in simpler terms, bubbles separated by liquid.
As a result of surface tension, the bubble walls move. The speed at which they move (related to the curvature of the bubbles) determines how quickly the bubbles merge. Once this happens, the structure "coarsens", the foam settles, and there is no more head.
This isn't the first time a beer-loving scientist has tried solve the boozy-riddle. The answer was found by building on work by a computer pioneer, John von Neumann, who in 1952 devised an equation in two dimensions.
Now scientists are one step closer to solving the next most important question in science - how to pour the perfect pint!
Thirsty for more weird science? Take a sup from these tasty links:
- Spoof - Beer goggles get scientific
- News - The wine-buff bot
- Obvious - Why beer and saunas don't mix
- News - Pooch booze goes on sale
Yes, it's true, finally the answer is here and the Great Beer Riddle has been solved! A pair of prestigious pub-loving scientists from the States, mathematician Robert MacPherson from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and physicist David Srolovitz from New York's Yeshiva University, have devised an equation to describe beer froth.
Writing in the science journal Nature, the duo described the foam as "a microstructure with complex interfaces" - in simpler terms, bubbles separated by liquid.
As a result of surface tension, the bubble walls move. The speed at which they move (related to the curvature of the bubbles) determines how quickly the bubbles merge. Once this happens, the structure "coarsens", the foam settles, and there is no more head.
This isn't the first time a beer-loving scientist has tried solve the boozy-riddle. The answer was found by building on work by a computer pioneer, John von Neumann, who in 1952 devised an equation in two dimensions.
Now scientists are one step closer to solving the next most important question in science - how to pour the perfect pint!
Thirsty for more weird science? Take a sup from these tasty links:
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- Spoof - Beer goggles get scientific
- News - The wine-buff bot
- Obvious - Why beer and saunas don't mix
- News - Pooch booze goes on sale
Image: Victor Silkin
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