(Press-News.org) Contact information: Sarah McDonnell
s_mcd@mit.edu
617-253-8923
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cocktail novelties inspired by nature's designs
Mechanisms behind water bugs and lilies applied to culinary devices
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- An MIT mathematician and a celebrity chef have combined talents to create two culinary novelties inspired by nature.
John Bush, a professor of applied mathematics, and renowned Spanish chef José Andrés have designed a cocktail accessory and a palate cleanser based on the mechanics of water bugs and water lilies, respectively.
The cocktail accessory — an edible "boat" produced by 3-D printing — motors around on the surface of an alcoholic drink, propelled by the same fluid mechanics as certain water bugs. About the size of a raisin, the boat is filled with alcohol of a higher proof than the drink in which it floats. The boat steadily releases alcohol through a notch at one end, creating a difference in surface tension that propels it forward. This approach mimics one used by some insects, which release a chemical that drives them toward shore after an accidental fall into water.
The team also designed a "floral pipette" resembling an upside-down flower. When dipped into a drink, the pipette captures and closes around a drop or two of liquid, which a diner can sip as a palate-cleanser. The device is the opposite of a water lily, which closes its petals when submerged, keeping liquid out. Both mechanisms work via surface tension and hydrostatic forces.
Bush, who has published the details of both designs in the journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, says the culinary novelties stem from his group's attempts to rationalize nature's designs.
"Nature tends to come up with ingenious mechanisms that are optimized over evolutionary time," Bush says. "Engineers often take it to the next step by asking, 'How can we apply this?' In this collaboration, scientists and engineers have combined with chefs, allowing us to follow the entire route from nature to the kitchen."
Is that a boat in my drink?
This particular collaboration began when Bush attended a science and cooking lecture at Harvard University, where Andrés was invited to speak. After the talk, Bush approached the chef with ideas from his work in fluid mechanics. The concept attracted Andrés, and the two began to brainstorm ways to apply Bush's designs to the culinary arts.
The cocktail boat, their first project together, is propelled by a phenomenon called the Marangoni effect, which arises when two liquids with different surface tensions come into contact: When a floating object is in contact with two such fluids, it is pulled towards the fluid with the higher surface tension.
When certain bugs accidentally fall into water, they release a chemical that reduces the surface tension behind them, pushing them forward, toward the shore. Bush's cocktail boat works via this same principle, taking advantage of the difference in surface tension between higher- and lower-proof alcohol to make the boat move.
To make the cocktail boats, Lisa Burton and Nadia Cheng — at the time, graduate students in mechanical engineering — fabricated silicone molds using a 3-D printer. They filled the molds with various edible materials, such as gelatin and melted candies, and cast them in the shape of small boats. The boats were filled with alcohol, which leaked onto the surface through a notch at the rear of the boat, reducing the surface tension and propelling the boat forward.
The researchers then experimented with various liquors and boat designs to optimize both the speed and duration of the boat's motion. The team found that the boats could motor around for up to two minutes before running out of fuel.
Printing petals for your palate
The team's floral pipette is based on the behavior of certain water lilies, which float at the surface of ponds or lakes while anchored to the floor. As water rises, hydrostatic forces act to close a lily's petals, preventing water from flooding in. Taking the water lily as inspiration, Pedro Reis, the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering, designed an upside-down flower that does the opposite, grabbing water as it's pulled up, thereby reversing the role of gravity.
Reis and Bush calculated the optimal petal size for capturing a small sip of liquid, then used a 3-D printer to form molds of the flower, each of which is about 35 millimeters wide — about the size of a small dandelion.
"By pulling this out of liquid, you get something that seals shut and looks like a cherry. Touch it to your lips, and it releases its fluid," Bush says. "It turns out to be an elegant way to serve a small volume of palate-cleansing liquor between courses."
The group has handed off the molds for both the cocktail boat and the floral pipette to Andrés' management company, ThinkFoodGroup, where chefs are experimenting with the molds, filling them with various edible materials.
Bush says that in many ways, scientists and chefs are like-minded in their approach to innovation.
"Both should be familiar with a rich culture of all that has come before them," Bush says. "The challenge, then, is not to create something from nothing, but rather to combine things in novel, interesting ways."
###
Written by Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office
Cocktail novelties inspired by nature's designs
Mechanisms behind water bugs and lilies applied to culinary devices
2013-11-06
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Perfect faults: A self-correcting crystal may unleash the next generation of advanced communications
2013-11-06
Perfect faults: A self-correcting crystal may unleash the next generation of advanced communications
Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have joined with an international team to engineer and ...
Recent National Science Foundation study reveals increase in state government expenditures for research and development
2013-11-06
Recent National Science Foundation study reveals increase in state government expenditures for research and development
According to a recent study published by the National Science Foundation (NSF), state government agency expenditures for research and development ...
Updating building energy codes: How much can your state save?
2013-11-06
Updating building energy codes: How much can your state save?
How much in energy and cost savings would your state realize if it updated its commercial building energy codes? You can find out in a new on-line publication* from the National ...
Not just a pretty face: Bodies provide important cues for recognizing people
2013-11-06
Not just a pretty face: Bodies provide important cues for recognizing people
Computer recognition of people has focused almost exclusively on faces, but a new study suggests it may be time to take additional information into consideration. ...
Postoperative pain may increase risk of temporary problems with learning, memory
2013-11-06
Postoperative pain may increase risk of temporary problems with learning, memory
The pain caused by a surgical incision may contribute to the risk of postoperative cognitive dysfunction, a sometimes transient impairment in learning and memory that affects ...
3-dimensional carbon goes metallic
2013-11-06
3-dimensional carbon goes metallic
New metallic structure may be stable at ambient temperature and pressure with potential applications in science and technology
A theoretical, three-dimensional (3D) form of carbon that is metallic under ambient temperature ...
Clean Air Act has led to improved water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
2013-11-06
Clean Air Act has led to improved water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Declines in atmospheric nitrogen pollution improved water quality over a 23-year period
FROSTBURG, MD (November 6, 2013) – A new study shows that the ...
Research reveals possible cause of diabetic cardiomyopathy
2013-11-06
Research reveals possible cause of diabetic cardiomyopathy
Findings could help lead to prevention and treatment of heart failure in diabetics
Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered one of the ...
'Don't get sick in July'
2013-11-06
'Don't get sick in July'
Real dangers for high-risk patients when trainees take on new roles
With almost no experience, newly graduated medical students enter teaching hospitals around the country every July, beginning their careers as interns. At the same ...
Osteoarthritis medicine delivered on-demand
2013-11-06
Osteoarthritis medicine delivered on-demand
Scientists are reporting development of a squishy gel that when compressed — like at a painful knee joint — releases anti-inflammatory medicine. The new material could someday deliver medications when and where osteoarthritis ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
AACR 2025: Colon cancer risk reduction, predicting melanoma spread and new drug therapies among Ohio State findings
Landmark 20-year screening program drives down colorectal cancer cases, deaths
Can a baby’s DNA predict future disease? This study says it might
Gene mutations linked to worse outcomes in stomach cancer
Blood proteins can predict liver disease up to 16 years before symptoms
Study: New DNA-reading technology holds promise for rare disease research
Study: Antibiotic exposure before age two linked to childhood obesity
Study: Artificial intelligence more accurately identifies child abuse
Study: Opioid use disorder treatment improves pregnancy outcomes
Study: Education improves in-home gun safety
Study: Treatment ineffective for newborns with low oxygen or blood supply
Study: Children with chronic conditions at risk for severe RSV outcomes
Study: Telehealth in pediatric primary care supports judicious antibiotic prescribing
Animal energy usage made visible through video
Precision agriculture advances: novel spectral model improves soybean detection
Metformin for knee osteoarthritis in patients with overweight or obesity
Repurposed diabetes drug can reduce pain for those with knee arthritis and overweight or obesity: study
Global South cities hold key to unlocking healthcare solutions – studies show
Autism not linked with increased age-related cognitive decline
Study shows 90% metal pollution drop in Adirondack waters five decades after the clean air act
Can technology revolutionize health science? The promise of exposomics
Human pressure most affecting Atlantic Rainforest deer density, study finds
The effects of smoking, drinking and lack of exercise are felt by the age of 36, new research indicates
Nanophotonic platform boosts efficiency of nonlinear-optical quantum teleportation
Scientists urge plastic limit for lateral flow tests
Prepare today to save lives tomorrow: SFU study finds gaps in B.C. extreme heat response plans
National Foundation for Cancer Research congratulates Dr. Rakesh Jain on AACR Lifetime Achievement Award
Farms with more intensive management have lower soil functionality
Tracing the emergence and spread of H5N1 in U.S dairy cattle
Carnivorous “bone collector” caterpillar patrols spiderwebs while adorned in body parts of its insect prey
[Press-News.org] Cocktail novelties inspired by nature's designsMechanisms behind water bugs and lilies applied to culinary devices