Fractured fare

Abstract

id you ever notice how half-eaten food often takes on an appearance similar to that of certain engineering alloys? Maybe not, unless you happen to be a failure analyst whose eyes have been trained to look for certain fractographic and metallographic characteristics as a result of extensive time on the job. Nonetheless, these features are encountered daily, in foods ranging from fruit to candy. The next time you are dining, take a moment for a closer look at your food, and see if you can detect a feature comparable to that of a broken metal, plastic, or glass component.