Vincent Summers, Author at Quirky Science

12Aug 2015 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Are Additional Varieties of Aromaticity Achievable?

Chemistry

[caption id="attachment_7679" align="alignright" width="380"] A stick model of the aromatic molecule, benzene.[/caption] I am a retired chemist. I have no laboratory, and I have no close affiliations, but I do retain a brain. One of my favorite topics is aromaticity. Organic chemistry, essentially the study of carbon chemistry, features aliphatic compounds and aromatic compounds. Aromatic compounds, even being constructed from alternating (conjugated) double bonds, possess resistance against undergoing addition reactions, tending toward substitution reactions instead. An Idea Begins to Take Shape Realizing this, I began to wonder about a kind of aromaticity that might utilize triple bonds, rather than double bonds. However carbon-carbon triple bonds force other atoms to take positions along the same axis as the triple bond. A ring created from alternating single and triple carbon-carbon bonds would…

31Jul 2015 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Generate 2D Math Objects by Collapsing 3D Math Objects

Mathematics

I had some excellent high school mathematics instructors. They both loved their field and took an interest in their students. Since high school, I have had a deep interest in collapsing 3D mathematical equations to derive equations for 2D mathematical objects or modifying 2D objects into other 2D, or 2D objects into 1D. A 3D sphere becomes a 2D circle. A 2D parabola becomes a 1D line. The 2D hyperbola shown, if collapsed along the x-axis, becomes two 1D line segments stretching at one end to infinity. The same hyperbola collapsed along the y-axis becomes a complete line. A 2D circle becomes a single 1D line segment of a length equal to the diameter. An Example of Collapsing 3D into 2D What can be obtained by collapsing 3D math objects…

26Jul 2015 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

Change Video Pitch Using the VideoLAN (VLC) Player

Technology

[caption id="attachment_15684" align="alignright" width="340"] Highway cone image by Pixabay.[/caption] YouTube videos sometimes play at too rapid a speed. The worst part is the excessively high-pitch audio. You would think it should be obvious a good video player should have the option to change video pitch along with the pace. However, as the bumper sticker says, "Assume nothing." If you slow the pace, invariably the pitch remains high. The people move like snails, but they squeak like they're on helium. To date, I have found no satisfactory method fixing this situation using the Windows Media Player. But there are other fish in the sea that make it easy to change video pitch. And one of the best of these is absolutely free. You may have seen it advertised, with its iconic…

24Jul 2015 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Mathematical Equation for a Cone

Mathematics

You go to the mall and request a double scoop of Rocky Road ice cream. The fellow serving says "Yes," and then he asks you asks if you would like that on a wafer or a sugar cone? Since most have eaten ice cream since childhood (unless we are dairy or otherwise intolerant), the majority of people think of a simple v-shape hollow structure as a cone. It has a top. It has a bottom. But is this the kind of geometrical shape that mathematicians think of when they refer to deriving the mathematical equation of a cone? A Mathematics Cone The cone of the mathematician bears some resemblance to that, but there are differences. The figure included with this article demonstrates that there are two v-shaped portions, not one.…

17Jul 2015 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Human Consumption, Respiration, Elimination

Biology

[caption id="attachment_7434" align="alignright" width="480"] A child engaging in consumption![/caption] Whatever goes up must come down is a simple truth. Perhaps a corollary to that can be written. Whatever goes in must come out. It is surely so for the human organism. Whatever goes in, comes out—one way or another. The human is, essentially, a thermodynamic system. It involves consumption, respiration, and elimination. What Goes In Let’s list everything that goes into a human in any given 24-hour period. Humans take in food, water-containing beverages, and air. We can ignore additional miniscule factors, such as sunshine. The oral cavity, the lungs, and even the skin participate in the input-output processes. Must Come Out - Consumption, Respiration, Elimination Solid waste is excreted via the bowels. Most of that waste-material is not water-soluble.…

15Jul 2015 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Too Quirky Even for Me: The Mathematics of a Tornado

Meteorology

[caption id="attachment_7424" align="alignright" width="440"] The tornado spiral should be a fascinating topic for the mathematical meteorologist![/caption] I would love for someone to write an article on the mathematics of a tornado. A tornado is rather like a spiral, affected by the media and media parameters surrounding it. Doubtless, scale plays a role as well, even as scale causes the aeronautics equations of a jet to vary from those of a paper airplane. Download Mathematics of a Tornado I know of one publicly downloadable article on the subject of the mathematics of a tornado. It is written in broken English, but it was removed from its original online location. The good news is that it has been archived on Archive.org. Can you fully understand the piece and then in understandable terms,…

15Jul 2015 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Surprising Insights on Global Warming by Meteorologist Jon Plotkin

Meteorology

[caption id="attachment_7412" align="alignright" width="480"] Contrails (high-moisture exhaust) by aircraft.[/caption] I’m very active since my retirement from the rat-race. I don’t have lots of time to watch or read about the weather. But I do manage to keep up. One of the better ten-minute periods I spent was on a global warming written by meteorologist Jon Plotkin of the former science site Decoded Science. What a Difference a Day Makes Some mistakenly think each day should be degrees warmer “if there is such a thing as global warming.” They want to think they know what it is without reading any scientific explanation. The global warming article is special in that it does not focus on high temperature, but temperature difference—the high temperature of the day minus the low temperature of the…

05Jul 2015 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Not Infinitesimal Point Coordinates

Mathematics

[caption id="attachment_7388" align="alignright" width="480"] A coordinate system.[/caption] Infinitesimal point coordinates or not? Do you occasionally enjoy speculating? Even if one has technical training, if he speculates outside his field of expertise, he is opening himself up for possible difficulty. What he speculates, if he voices it, could result in his being labeled someone who doesn’t know what he is talking about. But I never was bright enough to avoid speculation, though I always acknowledge it for what it is. So humor me here… So if you know something of all this and what I'm writing either doesn't jive, or you can 'supercharge' it, please let me know. Mathematicians’ Points – Reality? Generally, a point in space is seen as a dot in space, having infinitesimal point coordinates, that is, no…

01Jul 2015 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Edge Effects for the Universe?

Physics

[caption id="attachment_7377" align="alignright" width="480"] Introducing the universe.[/caption] A strange thought crossed my mind. I was in that twilight state between awareness and sleep. What about the edges of the universe? Does the universe experience edge effects? Materials all have their own properties. Metals, for instance, have a melting point. They have conductivity, density, malleability, and ductility. Liquids, gases, and plasmas have properties as well. A material or an object can act differently at its interior, than at its edge. Consider some objects interacting with electromagnetic radiation. Magnets and Capacitors Capacitors exhibit so called Casimir edge effects. The electrical field between capacitor plates behaves differently at the edges, than between the centers. The same is true of the edges of magnets. Frequency Skin Effect Electrical engineers understand the high frequency skin…

26Jun 2015 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

Some Reasons I Disbelieve in Time Travel

Logic

[caption id="attachment_7363" align="alignright" width="440"] I disbelieve in time travel.[/caption] I love a good science fiction precept. One of the classic precepts is time travel. Books have been written. TV shows aired. Movies released. I can’t get enough of it, especially if some fresh nuance concerning time travel is postulated. Despite that, I totally disbelieve time can be traversed, or indeed that it is anything other than one-dimensional and forward moving. I have a few reasons for feeling so. The last one I present represents for me the final sword thrust, the coup de grâce, for time travel. Time Travel – My First Difficulty The first concept of travelling in time is doubtless to return to the age of dinosaurs. The notion of travel to the past is abundant in classic…