2022/03/30 by Madelyn Leembruggen, Leembruggen, Madelyn, Caroline Martin +1 · 3 voices
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Physics and Astronomy · #Complex Systems and Time Series Analysis #FOS: Physical sciences #Popular Physics (physics.pop-ph) #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) #cond-mat.soft #physics.pop-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2203.16580
openalex publication_date 2022/03/30 · arxiv published 2022/03/30 · arxiv updated 2022/03/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The statistical physics of phase transitions has been hugely successful at describing numerous natural, physical, and technological phenomena, and now a rigorous examination of the phase space of the culinary regime is likewise ripe for the picking. Despite great demand for the resolution of many scientific debates over the taxonomy of food, past attempts have failed to account for complex phase behavior and co-existence, and have thus left the public hungry for a more substantial theory. By applying the principles of statistical physics and thermodynamics, we here map out the complete phase space of all culinary dishes and find three distinct phase regimes: Soup, Salad, and Sandwich. We consider the effect of different state variables on these phase boundaries, as well as regions of co-existence and triple points. With this complete 3-dimensional phase diagram of all foods, we can conclusively answer many bitter debates, including the imperishable question "is a hotdog a sandwich?" The answer: yes.