Vincent Summers, Author at Quirky Science

25Nov 2018 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Beets for Baby? If So, You Might Want to Read This

When I was a young child, my mom fed me a variety of foods. And that is great! Kids today are asked what they would like to eat, rather than being told this is what we are eating tonight... Well, I was served, among whatever else Mom gave me, beets. Delicious beets. Beets are tender, sweet, and if served as they were served to me, buttery and salty. A really marvelous food. Well, the next day, Mom called the Doctor in a panic... "Doctor," she cried, "my baby has blood in his stool!" The Doctor's Response: Beets "What did he eat yesterday?" Well, you get the point. I'd been given some of these delicious red orbs to eat. So if you choose to feed your little child beets, just remember…

23Nov 2018 by Vincent Summers 3 Comments

Microwave Cooking Hot and Cold Spots – Why?

Food, Technology

You place your dinner of leftovers in a bowl in the microwave oven, loosely cover it, shut the door and set the timer for 6 minutes. You picked that time from experience. When the timer beeps, you pick up the plate with your oven mitt and set it on the table. Then you gingerly remove the covering to avoid a steam burn. You salt and pepper your food, let it set two minutes or so, and begin eating. You taste the first mouthful and it is perfect. However, the second mouthful much hotter! Stirring the food half-way through the cooking process would have helped prevent this. Why the Hot Spots? The oven is a microwave oven. The heat results from absorbed invisible waves, specifically microwave standing waves, produced by a…

17Nov 2018 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Bakelite: The Chemistry of Art Deco

Chemistry, The Arts

[caption id="attachment_22984" align="alignright" width="480"] 1935 Bugatti[/caption] Styles come, styles go. Art Nouveau came. Art Nouveau went. Next came Art Deco. Nouveau was stylish to the point of ostentation. Deco was simpler, more modern. It reflected a change in Society's perspective. Art Deco surfaced just before the start of the Great War, later renamed World War I. The fires of Art Deco were fanned by the end of the War, and rolled in at full steam with the Roaring Twenties and the age of the Flapper! [caption id="attachment_24622" align="alignleft" width="340"] Bakelite clock[/caption] Art Deco - a Brief Description Art deco was, as its name hints, of French origin. It started before the Great War (WWI) did, approximately the first to second decade of the 20th Century. Art Deco combines geometric designs…

14Nov 2018 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Pressure Cookers Cook Hotter and Quicker – The Ideal Gas Law

Chemistry, Food

[caption id="attachment_22958" align="alignright" width="480"] Modern 8.5 quart steel pressure cooker[/caption] Your time is limited. Besides, you are concerned about tenderness and nutrition. So you are in the market for a pressure cooker. But you are just a bit curious about how and why they work. And you are not certain which one to buy. Meats and Vegetables Water ordinarily boils at 212° Fahrenheit (100° Celsius). So food cooked in an open saucepan,1 whether by boiling or steaming, cooks at approximately that temperature. Using a Pressure Cooker In an open saucepan, water boils at atmospheric pressure, something over 14 pounds per square inch. However, when water boils in a pressure cooker, steam pressure is considerably higher. Now steam is essentially gaseous water. This brings to mind our high-school days and the…

05Nov 2018 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

Wilson H. Fitzgerald – “Rags to Riches” in Camden NJ

Genealogy, History

Probably the name Wilson H. Fitzgerald doesn't ring a bell for you. He was an imposing fellow, but it is the time and events in which he was involved that make him interesting. And everyone appreciates a rags-to-riches story... Wilson H. Fitzgerald... Belonged to the Philadelphia Resolution Hose Company. He built dozens of homes in Camden, New Jersey. Pioneered special business practices in Camden, New Jersey. Once traveled the rails West on one of Raymond's Vacation Excursions. Was guilty of assault and battery against a fellow City Council member.1 Found a large chunk of human flesh on his property 5 miles from an explosion. Found twenty-five or thirty Revolutionary War cannonballs on his property. Helped his son-in-law escape charges for embezzling from the Postal Service. Had a son, John L.,…

27Oct 2018 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

Purpose of the Plume Poppy (Macleaya cordata)

Plants

I recently discovered this plant with very decorative leaves plus a kind of flower that didn't actually look like a flower growing on top. Although I didn't recognize it, I thought somehow this plant seemed familiar. I took a few snapshots with my tablet and edited one so that only one leaf remains. My mind began to squeak out the beginnings of recall, with the single letter "p". That's all the further I got, so I contacted a plant identification site and was informed what it was. A few weeks later, I visited the owner of the house and plants with the intent of informing him what the plant was (since he didn't know either), when I realized the plant, with leaves about two inches in size, were now huge,…

06Oct 2018 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

What is Cream of Tartar? Why is It Used in Food?

Chemistry, Food

We know the tiny white cubes of salt we shake over our food is sodium chloride. We know the sugar we spoon into our cereal (assuming that's not already been done for us) is sucrose. But what in the world is cream of tartar, and how why to we put that in our food? Chemical Structure Cream of tartar is a by-product. What is it a by-product of? The fermentation of wine. It often settles out in the cask and sometimes in the bottle. Cream of tartar's common technical name is potassium bitartrate. Sometimes it is called potassium acid tartrate since only one of its two available acid groups is neutralized by potassium (red circle), leaving the other acid group unreacted (blue circle). See the diagram. Its acid group, is…

29Sep 2018 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Beryllium Metal: the Seldom-Discussed, Tiny Atom of Curious Properties

Chemistry, Health

[caption id="attachment_22220" align="alignright" width="440"] Emerald cabochon scarab ring[/caption] The periodic table of the elements begins with the tiniest atom, hydrogen. From there we proceed through helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, and carbon. Let's very briefly touch bases on all of these except beryllium metal. The Other Elements Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe. It is the fuel of the stars. Compounded with oxygen, it forms water, essential to life. Helium is abundant in space as the fusion product of hydrogen. It is lighter than air, as is obvious when it fills our children's balloons. It is chemically essentially non-reactive, hence harmless. As a joke, we may even inhale a little helium and speak out in a high-pitched, 'chipmunk-like' voice. The third atom, lithium, is the smallest metal. It…

26Sep 2018 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Why Do Certain Artificial Flavors Taste Better Than Others?

Chemistry, Food

Whether it is candy, a cake, or ice cream, I've heard statements of preference given for one particular fruit flavor over another. What is it that turns some people on to certain fruits, while turning them off to others? How is it certain artificial flavors taste better than others? The People Factor Of course, there is personal preference. But if a large enough group of people who express their taste preferences is polled, and an overwhelming number of them agree they like or dislike a specific flavor, isn't it fair to suggest it is not just a matter of personal preference? Another Factor Then, too, what if those polled say they dislike a particular artificial flavor, but they enjoy its natural flavor counterpart? Why is that? The no-brainer answer must…

27Aug 2018 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

The Chemical Bond – What Model Can We Choose to Represent It?

Chemistry, Physics

Atoms and molecules are small indeed. Until recently, catching even a glimpse an atom was impossible. It still is impossible to see a chemical bond. Despite that, we know quite a few chemical reactions and can predict how many more will turn out. But we could know ever so much more about the scientific world of the very small if we had a very close bond model. We will discuss three bond models that have been used in the past, and to some extent still are used. The rigid model The spring model The force / charge model See the images associated with article. Each depicts one of the models discussed below. The Rigid Model One can depict a diatomic molecule by joining two balls with a thin dowel rod.…