More than a spread? How mayonnaise might guide us to a deeper understanding of nuclear fusion

'Mayonnaise is being used in nuclear fusion related research because it behaves like a solid, but when subjected to a pressure gradient, it starts to flow, said Arindam Banerjee', a professor at USA's Lehigh University.

Scientists and researchers of Lehigh University, situated in Pennsylvania, USA are experimenting with mayonnaise with the hopes of figuring out unknown facets of nuclear fusion - which might provide an endless supply of renewable energy, as per a report by Interesting Engineering.

In 2019, these researchers published a study which explained how they are using mayonnaise to understand more about the science of nuclear fusion. This study forms the basis for their new investigation.

Arindam Banerjee, the Paul B. Reinhold Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics at Lehigh University said, “We use mayonnaise because it behaves like a solid, but when subjected to a pressure gradient, it starts to flow”.

Nuclear fusion, which essentially drives our solar system by virtue of being the sun's power source, has the potential to produce an endless supply of energy and possibly putting an end to the Earth's energy crisis. However, reaping the benefits of nuclear fusion here on Earth is understandibly quite challenging.

Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is, however, one method that can successfully create nuclear fusion in a controlled environment. This method entails compressing and heating microscopic capsules which contain hydrogen isotopes. These isotopes are essentially what trigger a nuclear fusion.

“At those extremes, you’re talking about millions of degrees Kelvin and gigapascals of pressure as you’re trying to simulate conditions in the sun”, said Banerjee.

“One of the main problems associated with this process is that the plasma state forms these hydrodynamic instabilities, which can reduce the energy yield,” he also added.

The real success of the research using mayonnaise at Lehigh University is the fact that scientists were able to study the aforementioned instability without the requirement of extremely high pressures and temperatures, which are usually quite challenging to attain and regulate in a lab setting.