Vincent Summers, Author at Quirky Science

12Feb 2019 by Vincent Summers No Comments

The Peculiar Origin of the Graham Cracker

Food, History

[caption id="attachment_23324" align="alignright" width="480"] Available circa 1915[/caption] Crackers come in every shape and size. One of the most famous cracker varieties is not served with fish or olives. Rather, it is a sweet treat, often eaten stand-alone, or with butter, peanut butter, honey, or perhaps jam. It can be crumbled to make pie crust. We know it as the Graham cracker. The Flour behind the Cracker The Graham cracker is generally dark tan and has a somewhat gritty texture. This is because it is made from unsifted coarse-grind whole wheat flour. This namesake cracker was inspired by the preaching of the somewhat eccentric Sylvester Graham (1794-1851).1 As a young man, Sylvester tried many occupations, eventually deciding to be a clergyman. However, the message he preached was swayed by personal belief,…

04Feb 2019 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Chimera African Violets – What Are They? How Do I Cultivate Them?

Biology, Plants

[caption id="attachment_23293" align="alignright" width="480"] Pinwheel[/caption] In the 1950s, if an individual owned an African Violet, it was usually a small houseplant with fuzzy green leaves and blue or purple flowers. It wouldn't be long before violets came in nearly every color except the elusive yellow. And flowers were no longer necessarily singles. All sorts of combinations were introduced. Some flowers even had curly green edges. But even more striking developments were to come. Among these were the chimera violet. We ask: what is a chimera violet? where does it come from? how can I cultivate one? What Is a Chimera Violet? First, consider the word chimera. It is a complex word with various meanings. In mythology, a chimera is a beast constructed of parts from two or more different animals.…

30Jan 2019 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Mathematics Intrinsic Value, or Simply a Tool?

Mathematics, philosophy

It is a sunny day; you want to take a walk. We here define walking as the taking of repeated steps in any given direction. Our walk will take us into the field of mathematics. An Unusual Walk Imagine a stretch of sidewalk that is precisely 6 feet long. An initial 3 foot step is taken. Every step after that must be 1/2 the distance of the previous step. So our second step is 1/2 the length of the first step. The third step is 1/2 the length of the second step, and so on. Questions: 1. Theoretically, how long would it take you to reach the end of the 6′stretch? 2. How far would you have traveled, after each step? Answers: 1. You would, again theoretically, never make it…

26Jan 2019 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Give that Old African Violet a ‘Facelift’

Biology, Plants

[caption id="attachment_23247" align="alignright" width="480"] Image: Morguefile by Ronnieb[/caption] You've grown to appreciate African Violets. You started growing them about 10 years ago. Now you have several very beautiful varieties. Your first purchase produced single purple flowers. Now the plant has a long twisted stem and is not desirable to look at. But it has sentimental value. Your mom gave it to you just before she died. You wonder if anything can be done to save it? What Needs to Change The plant lost leaves over the years, producing a long, ugly, stem. Failure to rotate the plant on your windowsill caused the plant to lean so much it tips easily. The lower leaves have discolored, curled edges. You want to fix all of this. What can you do? The Long…

23Jan 2019 by Vincent Summers 3 Comments

Growing African Violets – Common Misconceptions

Plants

[caption id="attachment_23222" align="alignright" width="480"] The truly historic Athena.[/caption] A newly found friend heard the story about my mother and me, that we were African Violets aficionados. The story was true. We raised hundreds of them in dozens of varieties. My friend had many questions concerning the care and welfare of her violets. My Background Mom was always taking day trips of eight or ten hours length. To view antique glass or bisque, drop by a cemetery, listen to a recital at the Academy of Music, or visit a greenhouse complex. However, she hated to travel alone. So I was drafted. I was easy to get along with. As to greenhouses specializing in African Violets, we frequented Fischer's in Linwood, NJ and Tinari in Bethayres, PA. If it had been close-by,…

05Jan 2019 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Fermentation Adds Pleasure to Our Diet

Chemistry, Food

[caption id="attachment_23185" align="alignright" width="480"] Sausages, mashed potatoes, and sauerkraut.[/caption] When most people think of fermentation, they think of fruits rich in sugar, or of potatoes or other starches. In most cases, they are thinking in terms of alcoholic beverages, Grog! But it is not limited alcoholic beverages. For instance, did you know sauerkraut, coffee and chocolate are made utilizing fermentation? Let's Define Fermentation When yeast converts sugar, it yields alcohol plus carbon dioxide gas. When yeast is used to bake bread, the alcohol and the gas cause the bread to rise. But alcohol in beverages, involves no cooking. The alcohol must be "disposed of" in a different way! Now yeast is a budding, single-cell fungus. So fungus can serve a useful purpose. And what about sauerkraut?1 The fermentation of sauerkraut…

31Dec 2018 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Simplifying Mathematics: Introducing Vectors and Vector Addition

Mathematics, Physics

[caption id="attachment_23153" align="alignright" width="480"] Magnetic vector force field[/caption] We all know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide ordinary numbers, even if basic units are attached to them such as gallons, apples, feet, tons, and so forth. 4+3 = 7 5 lbs x 3.2 = 16 lbs These two examples illustrate pure numbers in the first instance, and simple quantities in the second instance. Introducing Vectors: What About Direction? What if we toss in direction? Imagine a huge square, 5 miles on a side. We have to travel along the perimeter to travel from Point A to Point B, and then on to our destination, Point C (see the image). We thus travel 10 miles to reach Point C. If we could travel "as the crow flies", we would only…

30Dec 2018 by Vincent Summers 10 Comments

Double Tragedy for the Japanese-American Iba Family of California

History, People

I am a chemist. So why do I write about the tragedy befalling a family? It stems from an article I wrote entitled The Tragic Case of the Los Angeles Wannabe Chemist. In that article, I describe a chemical explosion in 1947 that killed 17 and injured more than 150 persons. Alice was not simply killed. Her body was blown to bits. She was assisting the Ohio-born wannabe chemist, Robert M. Magee. Magee not only lied about his higher education credentials, he hadn't even finished high school, according to his mother. Introducing the Iba Family Alice had been hired just one month-and-a-half before the incident, and was given a change of assignment to work alongside Magee. Her education appears to have been limited to high school. How old was she?…

26Dec 2018 by Vincent Summers 8 Comments

The Tragic Case of the Los Angeles Wannabe Chemist

Chemistry, Technology

I wrote how I was, in younger years, badly gassed by the carcinogenic, heavy-metal compound chromyl chloride during a home chemistry experiment. Another article I wrote was about how I mistakenly produced, not an organic ester as intended, but a powerful tear gas. In both cases, I aptly demonstrated my lack of knowledge as a wannabe chemist. My "unfortunate" experiments did not prove tragic. Another fellow was not so fortunate... In fact, his experiment cost him – and sixteen others – their lives. Not to mention, those badly injured, and the many surrounding buildings it destroyed. Introducing Wannabe Chemist Bobby Magee Does the name remind you of the Janis Joplin song Me and Bobby Magee? Well our Bobby, or more precisely, Robert M. Magee was the son of James W.…

10Dec 2018 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Cyclopentadecane the Simplest Catenane Interlocking Ring Structure?

Chemistry, Logic

Notice the links in a gold chain, how they are not connected, but are a series of interlocked rings. There is a word that describes such an unconnected chain: concatenate. From this word, we can gain an understanding of what chemists call a catenane. Now we are probably already familiar with typical multi-ring compounds, such as naphthalene. But naphthalene consists of two hexagonal rings sharing two carbon atoms, and joined together by them. Hence, naphthalene is not a 12-carbon structure, but a 10-carbon structure, C₁₀H₈. Notice the simple illustration of one ring linking to another. This looks simple to achieve, but it is not so easy! We will not discuss the chemistry involved in preparing a catenane, but we will discuss some of the issues. Why Not Simple Ring Closure?…