Submitted by bwaredapenguin t3_122xlas in nottheonion
VanDenBroeck t1_jdt2ddj wrote
“The agency says peanut butter fits its definition of liquid, which it declares as something with no definite shape that takes the shape of its container.”
That could also define a gas.
But my question is why does peanut butter take the shape of the jar? Is it because it is forced to under pressure during the manufacturing process?
If I scoop out a large portion with a tablespoon, does it fill the spoon like a liquid and the excess run out?
If I scoop out a bunch of it and dump it in a measuring cup, does it uniformly fill the cup by seeking a level like water would?
The TSA is a ridiculous bunch of nitwits.
DuePomegranate t1_jdu7nwp wrote
The rule was always about liquids and gels. Or to be more anal,
>Any liquid, aerosol, gel, cream or paste
https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/liquids-rule
My understanding is that the "liquid" explosives that airlines are afraid of are often quite viscous and more like gels or putties (or peanut butter) than water.
The TSA media person is just doing a terrible job of explaining the rationale. They could just have said that peanut butter is a paste and that's restricted.
Longshot_45 t1_jduz5ii wrote
In another post someone noted that some machines are actually calibrated/tested using peanut butter and honey as they mimic the consistency of certain explosives they are looking for.
curlyhairlad t1_jdvcctq wrote
I’ve played enough Arkham City to know about explosive gel
eXecute_bit t1_jdtgk5w wrote
Peanut butter is a non-Newtonian fluid.
> a liquid with non-constant viscosity
antiquemule t1_jduomrd wrote
Not very helpful. Most gels, pastes and other gloop are non-Newtonian and they do not all behave like peanut butter.
To be precise, it is a yield stress fluid, which means that when pushed a little bit, it acts like a solid, whereas when pushed a lot, it flows like a liquid. The (fuzzily defined) amount of push separating the two states is called the yield stress.
SpencerWS t1_jdu9hdr wrote
Actually they’re completely right. Also, the bigger issue is that you can mix chemicals in there that make it dangerous or can be distilled into powder later.
K4m30 t1_jdufx8a wrote
Seems like the definition of a fluid ifnyou ask me, but what do I know, I'm no scienceoligist.
RuneanPrincess t1_jdur3u6 wrote
A gas has no definite volume either.
hypnos_surf t1_jdwfibv wrote
The whole concept of no liquids is ridiculous.
Mrsum10ne t1_jdwq61i wrote
Not to agree with or defend their assetry, but if I’m remembering correctly gases are fluids. They aren’t liquid though. All (most?) liquids are fluids, not all fluids are liquids. And maybe peanut butter is like pitch. It just takes forever for it to flow. If they would’ve called it a fluid they may be technically right.
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