Vincent Summers, Author at Quirky Science

01Apr 2016 by Vincent Summers 26 Comments

Devils Dice – What Are They?

[caption id="attachment_13950" align="alignright" width="380"] Peruvian Striated Pyrite - Rob Lavinsky iRocks.com CCSA3.0[/caption] I was in my 30s when I first heard of Devils Dice. What are they? I was raised in New Jersey. At the age of 33, I moved to Virginia. This short north-to-south emigration exposed me to certain speech, food, and culture changes. It took me a month to get over the accent. During that time, my brain adjusted and the accent sounded totally normal to me! I missed scrapple a lot. Since then, I’m happy to say scrapple successfully has invaded the south. But there were other changes as well. In the south, there are buzzards. There are red bud trees. There are ABC stores! Even the ground itself offered something new. There is this kind of…

30Mar 2016 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Volvox Reproduction and Morphogenesis

Biology, Plants

[caption id="attachment_13926" align="alignright" width="440"] Volvox - Frank Fox www.micro-foto.de[/caption] Volvox, volvox reproduction, and what we learn from volvox morphogenesis are not your typical high school topic. Yes, biology is a standard college preparatory course. If it weren't for dissection, it would probably be one of the most popular sciences. Especially would that be so of the fascinating tiny, one-celled creatures. These include: 1. Amoeba 2. Paramecium 3. Euglena1 4. Hydra We learned about small plant forms as well, including: 1. Molds 2. Algae 3. Mosses 4. Lichens We will discuss one form of algae, Volvox of the family Volvocaceae. There are a number of forms of algae. Volvox is one of the green algae – a chlorophyte. Volvox is unique among the chlorophytes. It is most unusual in structure and…

25Mar 2016 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Nitrocellulose Motion Picture Film Decomposition

Chemistry, Technology

[caption id="attachment_13904" align="alignright" width="440"] Film Decomposition - Library of Congress[/caption] If you’re like me, you enjoy not only some of the more modern offerings of the motion picture industry, but many of the gems from the golden era. Sadly, some excellent productions are either damaged or lost due to nitrocellulose motion picture film decomposition. Nitrocellulose Motion Picture Film Motion picture films incorporate an emulsion atop a “plastic” substrate. Historically, this substrate has been made from three basic materials. The oldest of film varieties was cellulose nitrate, a.k.a. nitrocellulose. Films produced using this material were, and are, the most susceptible to loss through deterioration. It’s a matter of chemistry. Chemical Structures Notice the structure of cellulose, a major component of plant fiber. Then examine the largely similar structure of nitrocellulose. Take…

14Mar 2016 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Imidazole Synthesis and Chemistry

Biology, Chemistry

Imidazole is an aromatic 5-member ring organic compound containing two skeletal atoms other than carbon. Both of those are nitrogen. One of the molecule's resonance structures, if it actually existed, would contain a secondary amine group (-NH-), an imine group (=N-), and an alkene group (-C=C-). The other resonance structure would contain two imine groups and a methylene group (-CH₂-). Those structures are drawn below. However, imidazole doesn't act like either of them. This is typical for aromatic compounds. We will briefly discuss the ring's synthesis and chemistry. Synthesis Imidazole is formed by reacting glyoxal with formaldehyde in the presence of ammonium acetate in acetic acid. The driving energy is microwave radiation. More generally, this reaction is used to produce substituted imidazoles. The basic reaction, however, is written, OHC-CHO +…

14Mar 2016 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Cement Production Aggravates Carbon Dioxide Levels

Chemistry, Manufacturing

The greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, has been present in our atmosphere for thousands of years. Although plants consume CO2, the supply is excessive. To label some sources as natural and some as man-made is futile. Here we discuss how producing cement aggravates carbon dioxide levels. To Illustrate Much of mankind spends considerable time in temperatures around the 80 to 100 degree range. If that temperature increased by 30 to 40 degrees, health and welfare would be endangered. Some carbon dioxide is necessary for proper ecosystem function. But as carbon dioxide increases, the planet's welfare is called into question. So what represents the percentage carbon dioxide due to cement production? Limestone to Lime There are many materials containing a limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCO3). While this ingredient is used in producing cement,…

11Mar 2016 by Vincent Summers No Comments

QSO Instructional Videos

Mathematics, Physics

[caption id="attachment_13734" align="alignright" width="340"] Blue = the parabola Black = the Lemniscate of Gerono Violet = the circle Red = QSO (1:1)[/caption] QSO Instructional Videos. Robert G. Chester, guest author at QuirkyScience.com surpassed expectation in his article on quasi-spherical orbits. A mathematics piece that should see application in many areas of physics as well, there is a distinctive flavor of art as well. To aid the reader of his article Quasi-Spherical Orbits – The Most Interesting Curves You’ve Never Heard Of, Robert has provided visual aids in the form of videos that may be seen on YouTube. In fact, they may even be downloaded if the visitor chooses to employ a download application for the purpose. Why are such videos of great value in understanding QSOs? Because most of us…

11Mar 2016 by Vincent Summers 6 Comments

Transcribe Missing Words in This 1700s Document

History, People

Transcribe missing words... A distant relative purchased a photocopy of part of a letter from the late 1760s written by a family member. In fact, the letter’s author was my 4x-great-grandfather, George Stockham. He was my mother’s mother’s mother’s husband’s father’s father’s father. I transcribed the letter. Can you transcribe missing words I couldn't? He was born in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England in 1736. He died 20 Apr 1821 near Bristol, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. At the time of the letter, George was engaged in seeking willing and able men to travel aboard the Concord, under the captain-ship of Jacob Volans of Bristol, and become indentured servants in the colonies/states. George Stockham is of particular interest in connection with the Revolutionary War and persons who wish to join either the S.A.R.1 or…

09Mar 2016 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Difference between Fission and Fusion?

Physics

[caption id="attachment_13674" align="alignright" width="440"] Deuterium-Tritium Fusion[/caption] In the 1900s, seeming peace was rudely interrupted by two developments in nuclear science. The first was fission. The second was fusion. Both can be used in positive ways. But rarely does mankind focus on good. What’s the difference between fission and fusion? Fission Fission is the dividing or splitting of something. This word well applies to the splitting of the atom. More often than not, that atom is the uranium atom. In particular, it is 235U. The 235 stands for isotope atomic weight. There are other isotopes of uranium, most notably 238U. Atoms are fissionable with a net release of energy if they have an atomic weight higher than approximately that of iron. Fusion Fusion behaves in the opposite manner. Fusion is defined…

07Mar 2016 by Vincent Summers 5 Comments

How to Glue Teflon

Chemistry

Teflon® is famous for its smooth surface. Essentially nothing sticks to Teflon. It has been bragged that the only thing that can stick to it may be a gecko. This is because of the special nature of a gecko’s grip. In fact, it appears a gecko can only stick to Teflon under special conditions. So the question is: How can we glue Teflon? I Need to Know How to Glue Teflon And yet, that was the task I was given at my place of employment. I was told the use of a special chemical pre-treatment could allow objects to be glued to the slippery stuff. Since I am a chemist, the reader can rest assured this piqued my interest immensely. What was the pre-treatment, and how did it work? The…

07Mar 2016 by Vincent Summers No Comments

What are Radians? Where Do They Come From?

Mathematics

Consider a simple equilateral triangle (a triangle that has 3 equal sides and 3 equal angles). Most high-school students know the three angles of such a triangle are 60 degrees (60°) each, for a total of 180°. But degrees is not the only unit used to quantify an angle. Alternately radians can be used. What are radians? Are they just another number? Where do they come from? Degrees Before we get into radians, however, let’s consider where degrees came from, and why it may not be the best choice for the measurement of an angle. If you are facing north and turn to the east, you have turned 90 degrees. Now turn south and you’ve turned another 90 degrees. Turn west, another 90 degrees. Continue the turn so you once…