October 2013 - Quirky Science

30Oct 2013 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Ennui: The Historic Illness of Wealthy Ladies

[caption id="attachment_5179" align="alignright" width="220"] Peignoir[/caption] Ennui? What in the Dickens is that? My friend Bernice and I found ourselves musing about what illness, if any, might prove a benefit. Here is a list we started. I have finished the compilation in her memory. One - Ennui In French novels of long ago, wealthy ladies would occasionally suffer from ennui, a kind of lassitude. They would spend days in their boudoir dressed in lovely peignoirs and receive gentlemen callers. They probably enjoyed some light refreshment and interesting discussions including gossip and mild flirtation. It was probably a welcome diversion from routine. We could revive this “illness” and even, perhaps, have employers allow “ennui days”, as they do sick days. Men as well as women could take part in this diversion. The…

30Oct 2013 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Questioning Examination Questions

Mathematics

[caption id="attachment_5170" align="alignright" width="480"] Professor lecturing at a blackboard[/caption] You are to undergo testing. You look at your test paper and see many examination questions... Many useful equations are arrived at by solving differential equations—for instance, the equation for the acceleration experienced by a falling object. This kind of activity involves some mathematical expertise and lots of care. When I was working in industry, my partner told me that he suspected that there was an error in arriving at the navigation equations from its differential equations. He asked me to monitor his work as he solved the equations anew. Mathematicians Do It Too I know that when a mathematician (yes, even a good one) does math, he makes mistakes. I truly believe that he tends to get the easy stuff…

29Oct 2013 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Why Sand Filtration to Treat Waste Water?

Health

[caption id="attachment_5157" align="alignright" width="440"] Treatment Plant - CCA SA 3.0 Germany by Martina Nolte[/caption] Is sand filtration out of date? If not, what are its advantages? Waste water received by a treatment plant must be processed several ways before it is sent to the sand filter, disinfected and discharged to the environment. Large objects and grit are first removed. Treatment to remove nitrogen and phosphorous follows. Suspended solids are digested and removed. The waste water is next aerated, allowed to settle and then pumped to the sand filter. Sand filtration blocks tiny particles. A separate layer of activated carbon may be included in the sand filter. Sand Filtration Operation Particle removal features two mechanisms. Particles larger than the gaps between grains of sand are blocked. Many smaller particles are absorbed…

28Oct 2013 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Silicon Tetrachloride Acts Like a Strongly Electronegative Atom

Chemistry

[caption id="attachment_5121" align="alignright" width="440"] Silicon Tetrachloride Molecule[/caption] The empirical formula of the compound silicon tetrachloride is SiCl₄. The molecule possesses tetrahedral symmetry. This means the atom of silicon is located at the center and the four atoms of chlorine are located at the four corners of a tetrahedron. Each chlorine atom is strongly electronegative, so the molecule of SiCl₄ strongly draws electrons. The core, silicon atom is insignificantly electronegative. Elemental Electronegativity Electronegativity is the tendency of an atom or other particle to attract electrons. It is high when an atom is small and outer electrons are least shielded from the positive nucleus. This makes fluorine the most electronegative of elements. Conversely, the alkali metal astatine, is least electronegative. Chlorine, while not so much so as fluorine, is still very electronegative.…

28Oct 2013 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

The Fabric of Space Time

Astronomy

[caption id="attachment_5108" align="alignright" width="440"] Fabric of Space Time - GNU Free Documentation License Version 1.2 by LobStoR[/caption] This morning I read the Quantum Day article "Binary White Dwarf System J0651 Emits Gravitational Waves". It says just as sound waves require a medium such as air to travel through, gravitational waves as predicted by Einstein though as yet undetected would require a medium of travel as well. That medium would be the so-called fabric of space time. Quirky Ideas Though I am not certain such a fabric exists, I feel it is one of the more believable concepts in modern physics. I decided to speculate on the nature of that fabric. Is it absolutely continuous and smooth? Or might it only appear such, as air and water appear smooth, when they…

20Oct 2013 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Chemicals With the Same Empirical Formula

Chemistry

An empirical formula lists the elements of a compound but not the structure. Oxalic acid has the formula C2H2O4. Its structure is HOOC–COOH. Multiple compounds can have the same empirical formula and a different structure. The Same Yet Different Location of a specific kind of bond may make the difference. There are compounds with the same empirical formula in which spatial orientation is the only difference. Sometimes one structure can be changed into another structure of the same formula. Most often compounds having the same formula but different structures are completely unrelated. Simple Bond Shift In some cases, a simple bond shift produces different structures with no formula change. An example is 1-butene and 2-butene. The first has the structure H2C=CH-CH2-CH3. The second has the structure H3C-CH=CH-CH3. Both have the…

18Oct 2013 by Vincent Summers 11 Comments

What is Red Clay?

Geology

[caption id="attachment_4995" align="alignright" width="440"] Red Clay - CCA 2.0 Generic by CC:BY[/caption] Red clay or red mud, is the common name for a variety of ultisol found in the SE United States. Residents who live in the area often speak poorly of the soil, although in fact it isn't as poor as all that. Some dislike it because it is hard to keep their clothes and homes clean. The USDA’s “Soil Taxonomy – 2nd Edition” includes ultisols among its twelve soil orders. Red clay is rich in weathered minerals. Over time, rain leaches out soil calcium, magnesium and potassium. This makes a soil 'old.' Particles in such soils are smaller than 2.0 microns. The red color is due to iron oxide. General Clay Composition Clays include the kaolinite of red…

14Oct 2013 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Electron Structure in Atoms

Physics

[caption id="attachment_4966" align="alignright" width="440"] 4dxz Orbital[/caption] Chemistry is the study of the interactions of atoms, determined largely by the outermost or surface electrons. Electron structure in atoms obeys the laws of quantum mechanics. They do not move randomly as if in some sort of cloud, but are organized into shells, subshells and orbitals. Electron Structure in Atoms Four quantum numbers are responsible for this structure. They are the principal quantum number, the azimuthal quantum number, the magnetic quantum number and the spin quantum number. Principal Quantum Number - Shells The principal quantum number, “n”, must be a positive integer. That is n = 1, 2, 3… This number dictates an electron’s energy level. Electrons fill the lowest energy level first, then the second energy level, the third and so on.…

12Oct 2013 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Scale Independent Math Expressions for Physical Processes

Physics

[caption id="attachment_4949" align="alignright" width="440"] Spiral Galaxy NGC 1232 - ESO[/caption] Scientists seek the ability to explain all physical processes by means of single math expressions independent of scale—from the subatomic to the astronomic. Is that possible? There are also physics anomalies. Or, perhaps, they are best described as dichotomies. For example, light is known to act sometimes as a particle, sometimes as a wave. Can these two behaviors be reconciled into one, describable using one mathematical expression? I believe the answer in both instances is, Yes. Perhaps I feel so because historically scientists have believed there should be simplicity in the laws of nature. Disclaimer: The author, though not an unintelligent man, does have moments when his mental prowess can be more closely described as bone-headed. This may be one…