Duke Fruit

Fruit Market Disaster

"It's lunch time at the market. You catch sight of the apple of your eye. No sooner do you make your move than it feels as if all your dreams are cascading to the ground. Time freezes. You desperately grasp for memories of what you had once learned from Isaac Newton, the grand master of such matters. But even the great Newton did not know how to slow down time. Reality sets in as bystanders glare. Alone in your embarrassment, and standing in the rubble that includes your dented beauty, you are left to wonder how such a seemingly small move could lead to such disaster."

The following videos were filmed in conjunction with the Quick Study article entitled "Friction, Force chains and Falling Fruit" by Jacqueline Krim and Robert Behringer, for the September 2009 issue of Physics Today, volume 62.

The videos have been organized by the order in which the fruit has been stacked from bottom to top. Following the order of stacking are the respective coefficients of friction.

The thumbnails link to mpeg versions of the videos or you may watch on YouTube.

Please note that express permission is required for the reproduction of these movies.

You can view the original article at Physics Today here.

Unpeeled Onions, Apples, and Oranges (0.2 : 0.3 : 0.5)


Unpeeled Onions, Oranges, and Apples (0.2 : 0.5 : 0.3)


Peeled Onions, Oranges, and Apples (1.2 : 0.5 : 0.3)


Unpeeled Onions and Apples (0.2 : 0.3)


The following sets were recorded using identical constituents placed in differend stacking orders.
Unpeeled Onions and Oranges (0.2 : 0.5)


Oranges and Unpeeled Onions (0.5 : 0.2)





Peeled Onions and Oranges (1.2 : 0.5)


Oranges and Peeled Onions (0.5 : 1.2)