Vincent Summers, Author at Quirky Science

13Apr 2019 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Organic Chemistry and Life: Has Vitalism Been Born Again?

[caption id="attachment_23607" align="alignright" width="480"] Pillars of Creation[/caption] The phrase ‘organic compound’ relates to the word organism, closely associated with life and life processes. Organic compounds largely consist of carbon atoms linked in chains or rings that contain hydrogen and frequently one or more other atoms called hetero atoms – notably oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus. Inorganic compounds are everything else – for example, nickel chloride, ammonium nitrate, carbon dioxide, and phosphorus pentoxide. It is important to recognize that there are a relative handful of organic compounds that do not contain carbon chains or rings, but result from life processes, including for example, urea, NH2-CO-NH2.. During the 1800s, scientists widely believed organic compounds could not be generated in the laboratory. However, in the year 1828, chemist Friedrich Wöhler converted inorganic ammonium…

13Apr 2019 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Use of the Hull Cell in Maintaining Electroplating and Electroforming Baths

Chemistry, Electrical

[caption id="attachment_23592" align="alignright" width="480"] Hull Cell[/caption] Electroplating is the depositing of a metallic film onto a substrate, whatever form that substrate takes. One most unusual substrate is baby shoes! The electroplating industry contributes both functionally and aesthetically to a host of consumer products. Plating is both a science and an art. Electroplating bath chemistry is crucial. It is dynamic, ever changing. Frequent adjustments, tweaks, keep it in top operating condition. Plating Bath Components Every plating bath is different, but there are some components that are pretty standard for the majority of them. 1. Water 2. Metallic salt 3. An acid or an alkali version of the same salt as the metal 4. Brighteners 5. Anodes Example One example demonstrating the art-science dichotomy is the cyanide-copper flash bath, primarily used in…

13Apr 2019 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Amino Acids and Proteins: Major Components of Meat

Chemistry, Food

[caption id="attachment_23573" align="alignright" width="480"] Image by LifeisGood[/caption] The meat we eat largely consists of proteins, which are made up of amino acids. Proteins may be broken down into amino acids – and, amino acids may be built up into proteins. Consider the basic structure of amino acids and proteins. Amino Acid = Amine + Carboxylic Acid Amino acids contain an amino group, an acid group, and an alkyl group. In an amino group, there is one trivalent nitrogen atom, which is attached to two hydrogen atoms. We write out an amino group as –NH2. An amino acid also contains a carboxylic acid group. It is written –COOH, that is, it contains one tetravalent carbon atom that is double-bonded to an oxygen atom, and also it is single-bonded to one hydroxyl…

12Apr 2019 by Vincent Summers 3 Comments

The Fascinating Kitchen Physics of Boiling Water

Chemistry, Physics

[caption id="attachment_23534" align="alignright" width="480"] Image by Jeshoots[/caption] Cutting-edge science is fascinating. Yet the science of everyday life is anything but boring. Consider the simple act of boiling water on the kitchen stove. There are many factors that come into play leading to the production of steam. Let's take a close look at water as an individual molecule and as a cluster of interacting molecules. Water at the Molecular Level Water consists of one oxygen atom plus two hydrogen atoms. An atom of oxygen is much larger than one of hydrogen. Most hydrogen atoms consist of a lone electron in orbit about a single proton nucleus. Oxygen atoms have a much larger nucleus orbited by 8 electrons. Oxygen has a strong affinity for electrons. So it is an electronegative element. On…

01Apr 2019 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Chocolate Ice Box Cake – My Early 1900’s Favorite

Food

Grandmother passed on her favorite cookbook to Mom. It was a lovely old volume, a brown-covered hardback more than two inches thick, with topical indents and brown-speckled page edges. The book was dated about 1905 to 1907 and it was not a first printing, so the book probably was penned during the late 1800's. As a youngster, I couldn't believe the breakfast listings. Some of them had as many as 6 courses! But times were different and work was harder. Then, too, women were considered "healthy" if they were just a mite plump! But my favorite entry in the book was Ice Box Cake. We now identify an icebox as a non-electrical refrigerator designed to hold ice (delivered by the iceman) for the purpose of preserving perishables. Lost! When Mom…

30Mar 2019 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Chemical Explosives: Picric Acid and Picrates

Chemistry, Technology

Two common varieties of reaction are acid-base and oxidation-reduction (Redox). A typical acid-base reaction involves the conversion of the reactants (naturally, an acid and a base) into a salt plus water. We all are familiar with table salt, which is only one of many salts. Table salt can be made by reacting hydrochloric acid with the strong base sodium hydroxide: HCl + NaOH → NaCl + H2O The valence states of the reactants remain the same when they are transformed into the products. Hydrogen, chlorine, sodium, and hydrogen all stay at +1, while oxygen remains at -2. Oxidation-Reduction Oxidation-reduction reactions feature valence changes. For instance, consider the oxidation of carbon by oxygen... C + O2 → CO2 Each carbon atom (left of the reaction arrow) loses 4 electrons, while each…

21Mar 2019 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Have You Ever Seen Beautiful Gray-Green, Dipped-in-Red, Soldier Moss?

Biology, Plants

I rarely ever notice the kind of car a person is driving, or the clothing they are wearing. Yet from the first time I was exposed to a tiny lichen on a piece of rotting wood, I was enchanted by its beauty. It had short shafts of pale gray-green with tips of the brightest, purest red I've ever seen in nature. But then, I've often noticed the tiny things are often the most beautiful, if you look at them closely. Soldier Moss Soldier moss is also known as British soldier. The red tips are referred to as fruiting bodies. Although the comparison is not quite the same, the mushrooms we eat are just the fruiting body. The essential part of the fungus is called the mycelium. Actually, Soldier moss is…

20Mar 2019 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Is Lard Public Enemy No. 1? Not in Your Sweet Life

Food, Health

[caption id="attachment_23419" align="alignright" width="369"] Copyright © 2014-2015 Renderings Natural Fats, LLC. All rights reserved.[/caption] I am 70. During just my lifetime, there have been many changes in viewpoint as to what it is healthful to eat. Among the changes were controversies concerning Butter Chocolate Eggs Organ meats Lard The first three foods have regained acceptance, at least to a degree. The fourth item, organ meats, includes livers, kidneys, sweet breads, and hearts. As a result, how many of us today include kidneys or 'sweet breads' in our menu? Once removed from the dinner table, children are not exposed to such foods, so they are reluctant to try them later. But What About Lard? Just as butter was largely replaced by a manufactured product, margarine, lard was replaced by products such…

11Mar 2019 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

The Curious, Ever-Circling, Bee-Eating Robber Fly

Nature, Plants

About 25 years ago, I entered a phase of my life in which I envisioned a kind of nature reserve for the 5-acre plot surrounding my home. The land was beautiful. It was wooded and rocky and the soil was rich. Recently, I had fallen in love with native wildflowers and since I tend to focus when I'm interested in a thing, I soon became well-acquainted with hundreds! The Trees There was a wonderful assortment of hardwoods on the property. Hickory, oak, black gum, cucumber magnolia, linden, sassafras, cherry birch, and tulip-poplar. I'm not even sure I haven't missed a few. Well I planted black locust. If I still lived there, I'd have planted Osage orange, too. The Flowers I am not going to attempt to name the hundreds of…

14Feb 2019 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Was Mom Right? Is Eating Carrots Good for the Eyes?

Chemistry, Food

From childhood, Mom admonished me, "Eat your carrots! They're good for your eyes." Now, I wore glasses. Later, with Mom's approval, I became an organic chemist. Since I listened to Mom, I eat my carrots. In fact, with lots of butter and salt, I rather enjoy them! But throughout my youth, I always wondered if they really are good for our vision. Here's what I learned. Carrot Chemistry Carrots contain the organic compound β-carotene. It's chemical structure is seen in the image below. The chemical formula of β-carotene is C40H56. In addition to imparting the orange color to a carrot, if a molecule is split down the middle and the cleaved double bond is hydrated for both halves, the result is two molecules of retinol, C20H30O. See the image. Carrots…