News Physics

X-ray scans explain how the ‘Brazil nut effect’ works

Videos reveal larger particles flip vertically, letting smaller ones fall below

mixed nuts

A new experiment helps explain why large Brazil nuts tend to gather at the top of mixed nut packages.

Boblin/E+/Getty Images Plus

By Maria Temming

A new experiment reveals, in a nutshell, why the largest particles in some mixtures tend to gather at the top.

This phenomenon is known as the Brazil nut effect, since jostling mixed nut packages tends to bring bulky Brazil nuts to the top. The effect can also be seen in cereal boxes and even space