Chips come in all kinds of shapes and I was just wondering what the physics behind that is (if this even has to do with physics), bc the oil alone shouldn’t have such an effect.
I know it’s kind of a random question but I just couldn’t explain it to myself.
In: Physics
during the process of being fried in an open vat the slice of potato expands and contracts unevenly.
Pringles uses a mold to make the shape they come in while frying.
It’s due to differential heating or locally different properties in the potato chip.
For the first, think about how the chip doesn’t hit the oil all at the same time, one part hits first. If that area contracts, it won’t do it uniformly, it will instead tend to wrinkle. Even if you’re in a uniform bath getting heated uniformly, it’s unlikely your potato is perfectly uniformly cut or has no internal structure. Some areas will be stiffer than others and resist contraction better, causing a wrinkle to develop.
Pringles avoid this by being constructed more like particle board than a solid piece of wood. When they get pressed and cooked, their properties are similar everywhere, so they can retain their shape.
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