Rigatoni Rigatoni Rigatoni are a form of tube-shaped pasta of varying lengths and diameters originating in Italy. They are larger than penne and ziti, and sometimes slightly curved, though nowhere near as curved as elbow macaroni. Rigatoni characteristically have ridges down their length, sometimes spiraling around the tube, and unlike penne, rigatoni's ends are cut square (perpendicular) to the tube walls instead of diagonally. The word "rigatoni" comes from the Italian word "rigato" ("rigatone" being the augmentative and "rigatoni" the plural form), which means "ridged" or "lined", and is associated with the cuisine of southern and central Italy. Rigatoncini are a
Nuclear pasta Nuclear pasta In astrophysics and nuclear physics, nuclear pasta is a theoretical type of degenerate matter that is postulated to exist within the crusts of neutron stars. Between the surface of a neutron star and the quark–gluon plasma at the core, at matter densities of 10 g/cm, nuclear attraction and Coulomb repulsion forces are of similar magnitude. The competition between the forces leads to the formation of a variety of complex structures assembled from neutrons and protons. Astrophysicists call these types of structures "nuclear pasta" because the geometry of the structures resembles various types of pasta. Neutron stars form as