Marinated or pickled eggs are enjoyed in cultures across the world, and recipes for these eggs use diffusion to saturate the egg white of a hard-boiled egg with sauce. Inspired by the marinated egg, this experiment demonstrates diffusion in an easy and quantitative way. Peeled hard-boiled eggs are placed in a dye solution, and the penetration distance of the dye into the egg white is measured as a function of time using image processing. The penetration distances are consistent with the expected dependence on the square root of time, and the diffusion of the dye occurs faster at higher temperatures as expected. This experiment provides a new way to demonstrate diffusion-based mass transfer visually and to make a connection between physics and culture.
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Marinated eggs: An engaging quantitative demonstration of diffusion
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April 2022
NOTES AND DISCUSSIONS|
April 01 2022
Marinated eggs: An engaging quantitative demonstration of diffusion
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Carson Emeigh;
Carson Emeigh
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588
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Hyeonggeun (Luke) Bak;
Hyeonggeun (Luke) Bak
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588
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Dilziba Kizghin;
Dilziba Kizghin
Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588
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Haipeng Zhang;
Haipeng Zhang
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588
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Sangjin Ryu
Sangjin Ryu
a)
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588 and Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588
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Carson Emeigh
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588
Hyeonggeun (Luke) Bak
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588
Dilziba Kizghin
Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588
Haipeng Zhang
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588
Sangjin Ryu
a)
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588 and Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588a)
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0001-9142-3030.
Am. J. Phys. 90, 317–320 (2022)
Article history
Received:
July 02 2021
Accepted:
February 20 2022
Citation
Carson Emeigh, Hyeonggeun (Luke) Bak, Dilziba Kizghin, Haipeng Zhang, Sangjin Ryu; Marinated eggs: An engaging quantitative demonstration of diffusion. Am. J. Phys. 1 April 2022; 90 (4): 317–320. https://doi.org/10.1119/5.0062178
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