Emmanuel Villermoy’s proposed general law of fragmentation proves effective in scenarios involving random object disintegration, such as a glass tumbler dropped onto a floor shattering into fragments of varying sizes. In these instances, the size distribution of the resulting pieces adheres to a power law, a result derived from balancing maximum randomness with the physical constraint imposed by the object’s overall scale.
However, the originator himself explicitly notes that this model is not universally applicable. Its predictive power diminishes when dealing with overly ductile materials, like certain plastics, where deformation typically bypasses the formation of a distinct crack network. Another counterexample arises in processes where fragmentation is highly ordered: a fluid stream breaking up into nearly uniform droplets, governed by surface tension effects, does not follow the power-law distribution predicted by the model.
Despite these limitations, Villermoy’s law successfully accounts for a large spectrum of destructive events, illustrating that underlying simple, universal principles govern what initially appears to be sheer chaos. This insight enables the prediction of the typical “signature” of fragment sizes based on the initial object’s geometric properties, offering benefits across disciplines, from fundamental physics research to practical engineering challenges concerning material integrity and the analysis of failure aftermath.
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