Scientists from Princeton University's complex fluid group recently published a research study on how people seem to spill their coffee much more often than they spill their lattes.

In studying the physical dynamics of sloshing liquids, researchers found that five layers of foam bubbles limited the height of waves ten-fold as compared to a plain liquid like black coffee.

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"What we observe in our cups of coffee, this happens every time you're carrying liquids in a container that's partially filled," said study co-author Emilie Dressaire, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at New York University.

In their experiment, the team filled a glass container with water and dish soap. Glycerol was added to provide a more viscous liquid for measuring in a laboratory environment.

Researchers then added uniform layers of tiny bubbles into the glass container atop the liquid. They observed the way the liquid behaved as they added more foam to the container.

They discovered the tiny waves produced in the liquid when the container was shaken were more stable when there was a higher level of foam.

The foam underneath diffuses the energy of the sloshing motion through friction against the sides of the container.

The research may also have industrial applications like subduing the sloshing of oil and other potentially dangerous substances during transportation on trucks, ocean tankers or trains.

The new study was published in the journal Physics of Fluids.

TagsLatte, coffee, foam bubbles, hot beverage, coffee bean, black coffee, Glycerol