传统上，研究人员认为高黏度流体之所以会发生断裂，是因为它们具有弹性。然而，德雷克塞尔大学的化学工程研究教授 Thamires Lima 与其团队在拉伸一种无弹性的碳氢化合物简单流体时，意外听到了断裂声，并在后续实验中证实这种简单流体在承受足够拉伸应力时确实会发生类似玻璃的「脆性断裂」。

透过高速摄影机观测，研究人员发现无弹性流体的裂纹传播速度极快，可达每秒 500 至 1,500 公尺，远快于有弹性复杂流体的每秒 0.07 公尺。这是因为简单流体缺乏弹性能量来吸收和耗散应力，一旦裂纹形核，便会以物理极限速度传播，其裂纹形状也与玻璃裂痕更为相似。

令人惊讶的是，无论是复杂流体还是简单流体，发生断裂的临界应力皆约为 2 百万帕（megapascals）。这项发现挑战了长久以来将弹性视为液体断裂必要条件的理论，未来可能应用于纤维纺丝、喷墨列印、脑损伤保护及软体机器人等工程与医学领域。

Traditionally, researchers believed that elasticity was what enabled complex fluids to fracture under stress. However, Thamires Lima, a research professor at Drexel University, and her team unexpectedly observed that a nonelastic simple hydrocarbon blend fractured when stretched, challenging long-held assumptions about fluid mechanics.

Using high-speed cameras, the researchers found that cracks in simple fluids propagate extremely fast, reaching velocities of 500 to 1,500 meters per second, compared to just 0.07 meters per second in elastic complex fluids. This rapid propagation occurs because simple fluids lack elasticity to dissipate energy, allowing the crack to travel as fast as physics permits, leaving glass-like fracture patterns.

Surprisingly, both complex and simple fluids were found to fracture at the same critical stress level of 2 megapascals. This discovery, which links fluid fracture to fundamental cohesive energy rather than elasticity, could have significant implications for engineering and medicine, including fiber spinning, inkjet printing, and soft robotics.