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Why don’t the cornflakes at the bottom of the box get crushed by the weight of the flakes on top? That’s the question on this Moment of Science. Research by mathematician Bruce Pitman of the State University of New York at Buffalo indicated there are two factors that protect the bottom flakes: their arrangement in the box, and friction. Some of the flakes bear the weight of several, some lean against neighbors, are wedged in between other flakes, their rough edges catch on adjacent flakes, or they’re pressed against the walls of the container. These interactions create friction between flakes, and between flakes and the wall. This friction allows each flake to partially support another. The interlocking of the flakes transfers the weight in several directions, with most of it ultimately ending up at the walls of the box rather than the bottom.
為什么沒有在盒子底部的玉米片沒有被頂部的玉米片壓壞？這就是今天的科學問題。布法羅紐約州立大學的數學家布魯斯皮特曼所做的研究表明，保護底部的玉米片有兩個因素：他們安排在箱子中的排列和摩擦。一些薄片承擔幾個薄片的重要，一些薄片緊靠著旁邊的薄片，是在其他片之間的楔形，有些擠出進其他的撥片中，粗糙的邊緣和相鄰的薄片接觸，或是被容器壁擠壓。這些相互作用增加了薄片之間的莫燦，以及薄片和容器壁之間的摩擦。這種摩擦讓每個薄片有一部分支撐另一個。薄片環環相扣將重量向不同方向轉移，其中大部分重量落在容器壁上，而不是容器底部。
cornflakes n.干玉米片 wedge v.擠進 adjacent adj.鄰近的 interaction n. 交互作用
