A few Christmas science facts:

Transcription

1 A few Christmas science facts: Certain molecules and substances change color when exposed to specific acidic or basic conditions Poinsettia Literally no one knows why it is called ph > power of hydronium ions ph = Logarithmic Scale Low numbers indicate a larger number of hydronium ions, and that a substance is more acidic.

2 Turmeric Fluorescence ingredients: ethanol turmeric UV light Tonic water turmeric = curcumin molecules tonic water = quinine molecules It is the same process that makes tonic water glow blue The quinine molecules in tonic water get excited by UV light turmeric, curcumin is a conjugated molecule (alternating single and double bonds) the electrons that form those bonds aren't pinned down in one place, but can move along the whole molecule. the electrons have many possible energy states. the lowest energy state ( ground state ) is one where the electrons are closest to the nucleus of the atom, and are paired up, with each electron in the pair spinning in the opposite direction. at room temperature, the electrons have enough heat energy to bounce around and bump one another between energy levels at random. most of the electrons will be in the lower energy levels at any given time. the electrons in the molecule have energy levels of different types. the basic energy levels are the electronic states (the ground state, the excited ground states, and the exited triplet state). but layered on top of these are vibrational and rotational energy states. these extra vibrational states allow the electron to absorb photons of different energies that raise the energy of the electron to different levels. since the energy of a photon is related to its wavelength (the color of the light), many slightly different colors of light can be absorbed by the electron to push it into higher energy states. once an electron has absorbed a photon and has jumped into a higher energy state, it can lose some of the energy easily by releasing the vibrational energy as heat. the electron then settles into the lowest vibrational energy level at that excited electronic state.

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9 Uncorked: The Science of Champagne, Gérard Liger-Belair CHAMPAGNE POPPING WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE STUDY OF BUBBLES? OCEAN WAVES BREAK TRAP AIR BUBBLES EJECT AEROSOL WHEN BURST PERFECT MILK FROTHING PROTEIN IN COLD MILK BINDS TO BUBBLES STOPS BINDING C WATER + ETHANOL + CO2 FERMENTATI ON = CO2

10 Uncorked: The Science of Champagne, Gérard Liger-Belair CHAMPAGNE POPPING SCIENCE OF CHAMPAGNE HENRY S LAW high pressure At a constant temperature: concentration of dissolved gas partial pressure i.e. more bubbles in your champagne = a high pressure between liquid cork MORE CO2 AT LOW TEMPERATU RE OPEN BOTTLE PRESSURE DROPS GAS EXPANDS WATER AND ETHANOL CONDENSE S = FOG FLAT GLASS TURBULENT FLOW + TRAPPED AIR TILT GLASS MORE GENTLE ON BUBBLE FLOW KEEP OPEN CHAMPAGNE IN THE FRIDGE! studied by monitoring IR absorption (4.2 µm) increase viscosity at low temperatures

11 Uncorked: The Science of Champagne, Gérard Liger-Belair CHAMPAGNE POPPING SCIENCE OF CHAMPAGNE Nucleating bubbles: gas cavity > µm Where are cavities? Hollow, cylindrical cellulose fibres on wall of glass MORE CO2 HELD IN FLUTE (VS. COUPE) HOW MANY BUBBLES? BUBBLES CREATED NEAR WALL OF GLASS FLOAT UP ABSORB CO2 + GET BIGGER DISPLACE SURROUNDIN G FLUID = CHAMPAGNE WAKE Moving liquid = tiny volatile aromas Mini iceberg: Bubble reaches top + floats Bursts = high sped jet of liquid = many champagne droplets Lots of flavours!

12 CHRISTMAS ANOMALIES CHRISTMAS LIGHTS Bypass wire CONNECTE D IN SERIES NO CURRENT IN WORKING BULB FILAMENT BURNS ALL CURRENT THRU SILVER FULMINATE AgCNO SAND PAPER FRICTION

13 SINGING WINE GLASSES SINGING WINE GLASSES RESONANT FREQUENC Y FINGER SLIDES AND STICKS GIVES ENERGY TO GLASS MOLECULE S WARM UP + VIBRATE MAKES AIR AROUND IT VIBRATE VIBRATING AIR = SOUND A FULL GLASS CONTAINS LIQUID LIQUID DRAGGED AROUND BY GLASS VIBRATION INCREASES MASS OF GLASS AND DECREASES ENERGY CHANGES PITCH AND SOUND