Fascinated by "Fracture"

2020/03/18

What impression do you get when you hear the word "fracture"? Most people probably imagine something negative. A negative image of fracture is inevitable. This is because the fracture of transport machinery such as aircraft and automobiles, or infrastructure equipment, threatens our lives as "accidents" and, in some cases, can take human lives. However, the mindset of engineering researchers working on fracture research is by no means negative. Rather, they approach their research with the positive determination to "eliminate fracture from the world!" The daily work of causing metals to fracture in the laboratory to investigate the causes and the efforts to eliminate fracture from the world are understated but deeply significant.

The target of "eliminating fracture" is not limited to mechanical structures. Things we consume daily are also related to fracture. The author's family home runs a sake brewery (Kikuchi Sake Brewery Co., Ltd.) in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, and in the process of making sake, "how to prevent fracture" is considered important. In the rice polishing process, technology is needed to polish the rice without it breaking, and in the washing and koji-making processes, work is required to ensure the rice does not break or crack (fracture). In the fermentation process, the secret to making delicious sake is how to prevent the yeast from dying and how to grow it smoothly. When yeast dies, the cell walls are destroyed, causing unnecessary amino acids to scatter, which leads to off-flavors or a breakdown of the aroma.

Also, to use a more appropriate expression, I have recently been keenly aware of the importance of "controlling" fracture rather than "eliminating" it. At a private medical company where I serve as an advisor (Doctors Co., Ltd.), we are developing a medication management system using aluminum foil with opening detection as one of our crowdsourcing projects involving a team of over 400 active doctors. When the aluminum foil with a special sensor is fractured (the medicine is opened), the attending physician detects the patient's medication intake via smartphone, allowing for the monitoring of overdosing or forgetting to take medicine. Therefore, the key point is whether the patient can easily fracture the sensor-equipped aluminum foil only when taking the medication. The exquisite strength design of the aluminum foil to realize the control of fracture is where engineering researchers can show their skills.

As someone fascinated by fracture, I seem to be suffering from an occupational hazard where I link everything to fracture.