What's Happening?
Physicists at Aix-Marseille University in France, led by Prof. Emmanuel Villermaux, have discovered a universal law that predicts how brittle objects shatter into fragments. By treating shattering as a statistical problem, they developed an equation that applies
to various materials, regardless of their chaotic breakage patterns. The equation considers factors like dimensionality and conservation laws, predicting that smaller fragments are more common than larger ones. This model has been tested against data from different materials, including glass, ceramics, and ocean plastics, showing consistent results across diverse settings.
Why It's Important?
This discovery has significant implications for industries reliant on fragmentation, such as mining and materials processing, where understanding fragment size distribution can optimize processes and reduce energy consumption. Additionally, it can aid in environmental studies, particularly in understanding the breakdown of plastics into microplastics, which have ecological impacts. The model also has potential applications in safety engineering, such as predicting debris patterns in rockfalls or explosions, thereby improving hazard assessments and protective measures.
