Photo: MANDEL NGAN / AFP / Getty Images
A team of mechanical engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) created a device capable of separating Oreo cookies without breaking them. The invention was baptized as an oreometer and its creators promise that it is capable of fulfilling its objective without leaving any type of waste or cookie crumbs.
Traditionally separating the lids of an Oreo cookie is a job that is done with bare hands, just like its The manufacturer, the Nabisco company, has featured it in its advertisements for years. However, on some occasions this methodology can fail and end up with a broken cookie , if the person applies too much force .
It was with this idea in mind that the engineering team made the decision to create a device that would be capable of fulfilling this mission without committing no faults.
Although the idea of creating a device capable of separating Oreo cookies may sound childish, in reality implies the application of complex scientific notions such as the analysis of the density of the biscuit cream. To this is also added the calculation of the torque necessary to be able to rotate the two biscuit lids without it breaking during the process.
It is for all this that the results obtained during the trial and error process of the team were published in the scientific journal
Physics of Fluids with the title “On Oreology, the fracture and flow of milk’s favorite cookie”.
Crystal Owens, a postdoctoral student in charge of the study, says that the idea behind the device goes beyond the Oreos because the same mechanics can be applied to other soft solids such as the ink used in 3D printers.
He comments that the process to reach the final device took a total of about 6 months and for this more than dozens of cookies were needed, of all the flavors that exist
How does the device?
The device is made up of two types of tweezers which adapt perfectly to the shape and size of each of the cookies. Once the tweezers are located, they are placed on a kind of support which aims to keep them in a vertical position.
Later a weight must be placed at one end of the device so that it exerts pressure in one direction and cleanly separates both cookies .
Due to the innovative characteristics of the study, the scientists made the design of the machine available to the public, so that anyone can build their own own prototype at home.
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