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21m ago

MIT Study Overturns Long-Held Belief on Eggshell Strength

Research demonstrates that eggs are tougher when dropped on their side, challenging educational conventions and offering insights for packaging and engineering.

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MIT engineering students put a common belief to the test by examining whether eggs are really strongest at their tips. Their experiments revealed that eggs dropped on their sides — not their tips — are far more resilient.
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Eva Johnston, 3, marvels as Alyssa Crow pulls her egg from its wrapping, unharmed. Crow is the manager of the south branch of the Abilene Public Library which held an Egg Drop Challenge on April 17, 2021.

Overview

  • MIT researchers conducted 180 drop tests and compression experiments, finding eggs are less likely to crack when dropped horizontally rather than vertically.
  • More than half of vertically dropped eggs cracked from a height of 8 millimeters, while fewer than 10% of horizontally dropped eggs cracked from the same height.
  • Compression tests revealed that horizontally loaded eggs could absorb more energy before breaking, despite requiring the same force to crack in both orientations.
  • The study highlights the distinction between stiffness and toughness, showing that vertically oriented eggs are stiffer but more brittle under dynamic impact.
  • Findings suggest potential applications in redesigning egg packaging for better protection and inspire bio-inspired engineering for dynamic load resilience.