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Pancake Physics to Cut Batter Splatter

Posted by chrisd on from the all-hail-science dept.

Anonymous Coward writes "The headline just about says it all on this one. A physics grad student in the UK has come up with the mathematical formula for how to flip a pancake and have it land correctly back in the pan. The BBC has the details."

9 of 298 comments (clear)

  1. Ah-hah! by Gortbusters.org · · Score: 4, Funny

    His secret is revealed: The angular velocity of the object equals the square root of Pi, times the gravity divided by the distance the pancake is from the elbow times four - that is how to get the pancake back in the pan.

    Seriously, mimicing real life movement in mathematical forumla is a tough one (that's why we don't see any battlemechs walking around, or tons of popular robots in every house hold.

    --
    --------
    Free your mind.
  2. Butter! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    If you butter both sides, will it land on its edge?

    A better question, what if you butter the edge as well?

    1. Re:Butter! by Ashtead · · Score: 5, Funny
      Actually, the study of bread falling off table was taking into account the starting position which is on the table and with the buttered side up. Seems the height of the table and the inertial torque of the bread conspire to make it roll somewhere between 1/4 and 3/4 turns, and therefore fall face down more often than not. With subsequent need for cleanup. If the table had been about twice as tall as a standard table (60 in instead of 30 in) the pieces of bread would have time to tumble one full turn and thus fall face up.

      Falling cats are famously able to turn around and land on their feet. Unless the height of the fall is too large, the cat has no problems with that. I forgot the exact conditions of falling cats, but they are able to turn around in a fall in a lot less than the 30 inches down from a table.

      If the two were to be combined and the cat has a piece of bread strapped to it, it is the cat that prevails, being more active, heavier, and having a larger moment of inertia.

      I'd imagine that the same would apply to pancakes, and I have disregarded the risk of the cat eating the food.

      --
      SIGBUS @ NO-07.308
  3. Apparently it's all in the wrist action... by Boss,+Pointy+Haired · · Score: 4, Funny

    So no problem for most geeks then...

  4. Actually... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think you meant:

    In Heaven, the police are British, the lovers are Italian, the cooks are French, the engineers are German, and it's all organized by the Swiss.

    In Hell, the police are German, the lovers are Swiss, the cooks are British, the engineers are French, and it's all organized by the Italians.

  5. Re:Pancakes, crepes, flapjack... by Xxanmorph · · Score: 5, Funny

    Too much information about other countries! My american brain can't take it!

  6. Re:Amazing Brits... by freddled · · Score: 5, Funny

    We are having a rest after inventing democracy (o/s for civilisation), the English language (o/s for culture and arguably thinking), Football (conflict resolution and war emulation) and Cricket (cultural add-on for massively-scalar beer drinking in the park).

  7. Okaaaaaay, by DongleFondle · · Score: 5, Funny

    I do believe it is time that someone introduced Europe to the concept of the 'spatula'. We sort a solved this whole pancakes on the floor dilehma a looooooooong time ago . . .
    You know what? While we're at it, let's give China forks and spoons.

  8. Re:I'm gonna nit pick. by fyonn · · Score: 4, Funny

    Are you a geek? Be proud of it. Prove it. Memorize 1000 digits of pi!

    I can remember *all* of the digits to pi

    now the order.. thats a different matter...

    dave