question...kinda weird...for physics..Why is sugar deflected to the side when it is sifted?

[chiwawa626]

Consider this situation : When you sift confectioner's sugar (very small grained sugar, it's like a powder) the sugar starts out falling straight down but gradually more and more of the sugar is thown to the side as it falls. Why is it deflected like this?

 

[jlee75]

i'm not understanding. in the center when the sugar starts falling, it's got more weight on it in the center. it might just be an illusion that the sugar is "deflected" to the side? i'm still a little unsure about what you're asking and explaining.

 

[chiwawa626]

That question is exactly how my teacher wrote it..i dont get it really...

 

[jlee75]

<< That question is exactly how my teacher wrote it..i dont get it really... >>


ok. well confectioner's sugar is really fine powder. used on thigns like cookies and funnel cake. anyways, i think i'll stick with what I wrote earlier. the weight of the sugar in the center forces it to exit the sifter. the friction on the sugar on the sides makes it so it doesn't follow to the center. that is why there's more sugar on the sides and it doesn't just keep on going down the middle. i don't recall ever seeing the sugar being deflected. interesting question though . if i make funnel cake tonight, i'll let you know what I observe.

mmmmmm... funnel cake! alright maybe not tonight..... but soon

 

[realmie]

maybe get some powdered sugar and try it out. it helps to see first and then think.

just imagining it, i think perhaps it is because when you sift the sugar, the stuff that doesn't go through the sifter stays at the bottom of it, making the smaller grains go around the clump that is not going through. also when you sift you use a side to side motion. *shrug*

 

[Semimaker]

The main stream of powder is causing back flow or turbulance. The pushes the outer particles to the side, therefore the stream diverges.

Cheers.

 

[chiwawa626]

bump..

 

[wfbberzerker]

witchcraft. pure and simple.
how do you think guns work? witchcraft!

 

[ZeroBurn]

witchcraft could be an answer, but than everyone that ever sifted sugar would have to be hanged and torched.

actually, as you sift the sugar, the sugar becomes electrically charged (all the sugar is the same charge). as you know, opposites attract and similiars repel. the sugar repels itself, but the sifter has developed an opposite charge to the sugar. this makes the sugar want to "stick" more to the sifter over time.

hope that helps