Scaling in buckling of long columns

When long columns are buckled, most of them are broken into two pieces of columns of different length. Scaling behavior of the frequency distribution of length discrepancy of the two columns is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Employing the dimensional analysis and assuming self-similar behavior in buckling, we find theoretically a scaling exponent of the distribution that agrees well with the measured one using spaghetti columns within a small error. The present short letter permits us to study the self-similar behavior and helps in understanding the basic ingredients underlying buckling scaling.