NEW YORK, Feb. 10 (UPI) — Since the iconic candy commercial first was aired in 1969, the world of lollipops has been dominated by a single existential question: “How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?”
The answer, it turns out, is quite a bit more than Mr. Owl’s estimate of three. Researchers at New York University and Florida State University have determined that it takes roughly 1,000 licks to get to the chocolate center of a Tootsie Pop.
Scientists were able to come up with the number by modeling the complex fluid dynamic processes that allow crystalline candy structures to form and be dissolved by water currents. The researchers came to a more complete understanding of the effects of fluid currents on candy by submerging lollipops in flowing water and watching closely.
“How flowing fluids generate unique shapes through erosion or dissolution is complex and fascinating,” study author Leif Ristroph, an assistant professor at NYU’s Courant Institute, explained in a news release.
Researchers found the water currents eroded the lollipops in unique ways, sculpting the candy into a consistent shape that persists until finally disappearing with the rest of the candy structure. The results of the study may have implications both the pharmaceutical industry and the field of geology. The same fluid dynamics could help scientists better understand the dissolution processes that affect ingested drugs or the weathering of canyon walls.
The new study was published in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics.
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