I Do Water-ver I Want!

So…Yeah…

Ahem, well! Everyone needs a vacation now and then so whatever!

Just to ease all y’all back into regular updates, I’m going to start with something soothing and relaxing.

Anyway, it’s time you kids learned some of the facts about water. Yes, water. In Seattle, between the rain and the Puget Sound, water is a popular topic of conversation. However! Outside of watering animals and plants, the properties of water are still under-appreciated. Yet, I have read and/or heard like, five news articles/tweets/telegraphs/telepathic broadcasts around town warning the unwary that, despite the high temperatures (Lower 80s. Yes, I know it’s not that high. Shut up), the Sound is still freeze-your-ass-off cold. But does anyone know why? Because water has a huge heat capacity. Thanks to the hydrogen bonds involved in forming the water molecule, it takes a LOT of energy for water to vaporize. As a result, large bodies of water act as “heat sinks” that moderate local climate. So Seattle and other coastal cities will not get nearly as hot or as cold as other places that are not surrounded by water.

If you’ve had instant coffee, instant soup, alka seltzer, Kool-Aid, etc, you have an inkling of the solvent properties of water. Thanks to the uneven distribution of electrons between the hydrogen and oxygen that compose the molecule, water is a polar substance. I has strong intermolecular forces, but most polar solutes can overcome this. Nonpolar substances, however, can and will and won’t dissolve like good little molecules. The rebels.

Probably the most important quality of water is its transparency. Without this simple quality, algae and water plants and phytoplankton would wither and then where would the rest of us be? Up Shit Creek without a paddle, that’s where.

So you damn well better enjoy the view guys, it’s the reason you’re here.

Source

-. 2010. GRE Subject Test: Biology 5th Ed. Kaplan, New York.

True Facts

These videos are amazing and hilarious and I’m sharing because I love you all.

Ig Nobel Prize

Ig Nobel Prize

A friend (who shall remain nameless, but for his heroic actions have earned him bro status) has introduced me to the Ig Nobels. These are the prizes for hilarious and hilariously imaginative research in any field you can think of.Some highlights:

2011 PEACE PRIZE: Arturas Zuokas, the mayor of Vilnius, LITHUANIA, for demonstrating that the problem of illegally parked luxury cars can be solved by running them over with an armored tank.

REFERENCE: VIDEO and OFFICIAL CITY INFO

ATTENDING THE CEREMONY: Arturas Zuokas

 

2009 VETERINARY MEDICINE PRIZE: Catherine Douglas and Peter Rowlinson of Newcastle University, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK, for showing that cows who have names give more milk than cows that are nameless.

REFERENCE: “Exploring Stock Managers’ Perceptions of the Human-Animal Relationship on Dairy Farms and an Association with Milk Production,” Catherine Bertenshaw [Douglas] and Peter Rowlinson, Anthrozoos, vol. 22, no. 1, March 2009, pp. 59-69. DOI: 10.2752/175303708X390473.

WHO ATTENDED THE CEREMONY: Peter Rowlinson. Catherine Douglas was unable to travel because she recently gave birth; she sent a photo of herself, her new daughter dressed in a cow suit, and a cow.

Enjoy!

Hulking Out Over Radiation

Time now to wander astray of the bio path and into the realm of chemistry. Frightening, eh? Well it’s about to get more frightening because I’m going to tell you about radiation.

Radiation is the emission of energy, such as light or heat. Unstable nuclei (the juicy, proton-neutron center of the atom) radiate particles to become stable. This is radioactive decay and as a result the nucleus may transform or move into a lower energy state. Basically, the nucleus is chilling out, working on some things, maybe taking yoga. Not really. Nuclei only have three ways to chill/decay, that is, via alpha, beta and gamma radiation. Alpha radiation involves nuclei shedding the equivalent of a helium nucleus: two protons, two neutrons. Beta particles are simply electrons or positrons (positively charged particles). Finally there’s gamma radiation, which involves the emission of photons and the alteration of the nucleus’ energy state. Now, what does this mean for safety? Alpha particles may be halted by paper, while beta and gamma particles require a sheet of gold or thick lead (respectively). If you don’t protect yourself, you could get radiation poisoning or turn into the Hulk. And no one wants that. But! Anything emitting alpha radiation is extremely dangerous if ingested, while controlled amounts of beta particle-radiating substances are used in radiation therapy. No joke, I had a general chemistry homework question that went like this: you have an alpha particle-radiating substance and a beta particle-radiating substance in lab neighboring yours. Will you experience any radiation while sitting in the next room? What if you walked into the lab and ate the alpha particle emitter? I wrote in my textbook that you have more to worry about if you’re eating random crap in labs. Also “no” and “yes”, respectively.

So kids, do your homework, it’s HILARIOUS.

 

 

Source

–. 2012. “Radioactive Decay”. Elementary Physics. 6 Feb 2013 < http://physics.bu.edu/py106/notes/RadioactiveDecay.html&gt;