What Are the Key Physics Concepts Involved in the Study of an Egg?

[anjanp]

I have been confronted with a strange and vague, but oddly interesting assignment of creating a research paper on an egg through the perspective of a physics. Does anyone have any ideas as to what i can research online or in a book over the PHYSICS of an egg?

Thanks

 

[berkeman]

Moved from Advanced Physics to Introductory Physics.

anjanp, welcome to the Physics and Math Forums (PF). From my perspective, there is way more biology and chemistry than physics in an egg. The only physics aspect would seem to be the mechanical protection that the outer shell provides for the inner contents. For that, I would just research the mechanical aspects of spheres and elliptical shells. I'm not sure where to point you for that, however. Do you think there might be some physics aspect of eggs beyond this mechanical protection angle?

 

[tim_lou]

how sophisticated do you want to be? well, if it is for an introductory physics class, maybe I can help you.

suggestions:
1. moment of inertia of raw egg and boiled egg.. you can conduct an experiment yourself.

2. the structure and the shape of the egg. How much stress can the egg sustain when some forces are applied on different parts of the egg.

3. the center of mass of the egg... kind of stupid, but just an idea.

4. density of the egg. raw egg vs. boiled egg. Does it float in water, sink in water...etc. conduct an experiment measuring the density of eggs using water and salt (if the egg sinks). if the egg floats... then, use oil and soap (that would be messy, hehehe) or just mass the egg and measure the volume (the most usual way).

5. how much heat energy it takes to cook an egg.

6. can egg be frozen?

that's all I can think of right now...

 

[berkeman]

Nice! Very creative, Tim. Hey, does the bouyancy of the egg really change after boiling? (You can tell how often I boil eggs.)

 

[tim_lou]

7. conductivity of egg shells.

8. internal friction of a rotating raw egg and the viscosity of egg yolk

9. specific heat of egg shells, egg yolk, and heat capacity of these materials.

10. thermal conductivity (is that the right word) of eggs or different parts of an egg.

11. stable equilibrium and different orientations of eggs. the possible orientation the egg can have when it is put on the ground.

13. aerodynamic property of eggs

hopefully that's enough... but if you want more...

 

[AngeloG]

How much thermal expansion occurs when boiling an egg and how much thermal expansion is needed to break the egg =).

The terminal velocity of an egg.

At what speed air needs to move to give an egg lift :).

 

[anjanp]

i think all of those ideas are great, i already explored the shape of the egg but i think ill look into the thermal conductivity, stable equilibrium, and aerodynamic properties, thanks a lot for all of your help guys.