Scientific happenings, big and small, on this day in history

But first, today’s quiz:

What famous inventor, born on this day in 1871, will forever be famous for something he did for only 12 seconds? Think you know…? You might be right. To be sure check out the answer at the end of the article.

Every day is a historic day, as this column will attest. In the world of science, what has happened on this day? Here’s just a glimpse of some of the milestones, big and small, that have occurred on this date.

To start things off, here’s a little quiz:
What common item found in any toolbox, was patented by Solymon Merrick on August 17 in 1835? Don’t let it drive you “nuts”, the answer will appear at the end of the article.

In the meantime, here are some other happenings from this day in science history:

A good friend of mine recently introduced me to an effort that is currently underway that is very ambitious, but also very promising: Project Better Place… the brainchild of Shai Agassi, former President of the Products and Technology Group at SAP AG. The vision of Project Better Place is an oil-free future where personal transportation is no longer dependent upon gasoline-burning vehicles, but by the next generation of battery powered cars. This of course is not a new idea, but what is new about Project Better Place (PBP) is the detailed plans in place to implement that vision.

Mr. Agassi has developed the design of PBP not around the vehicles involved, but around the consumers. He has tackled the obstacles that keep many people that are interested in converting from gasoline to battery-powered cars: cost, convenience, and culture.

The key things that the current generations of automobiles offer us are independence and convenience. Although gasoline prices continue to go up, we have designed our lives and lifestyles around the assumption that we can hop in our car and go whenever and wherever we need… whether it is down the street or across the country. And whenever our car needs to be refueled, it is as easy as pulling into any number of available gas stations and quickly filling up and getting back on our way.

Baking soda is one of those wonder substances with useful applications far beyond simple baked goods. We all know we can open a box and leave it in our fridge to combat odors. But as a result of innovative work done by Skyonic Corporation in Texas, baking soda may become one of our greatest weapons against carbon emissions and global warming as well.

Skyonic has developed a “post-combustion carbon capture and sequestration technology that works with any large-scale stationary CO2 emitter” (e.g.- coal, natural gas or oil fired power plant). The process removes heavy metals, acid gasses, and carbon dioxide from conditioned at-temperature flue gas. The carbon emissions are then stored as stable sodium bicarbonate (better-than-food-grade baking soda) for long-term storage as land or mine fill. The clean flue gas is then returned to the plants stack for release.

Christmas trees are appearing in homes throughout the country and families prepare for the holiday season. But in this age when we are all asked to be aware of the impact we are having on the environment, is the right choice to purchase an artificial tree and use it year after year, or go in search of the perfect living tree to be the centerpiece of our holiday decorating?

The answer may surprise you.

So the kids fell asleep late last night after finally crashing from their Halloween sugar high. There are smashed pumpkins out on the street, toilet paper in the trees, and still 3 to 5 pounds of candy remaining per child. The pumpkins and toilet paper can be cleaned up… but what do you do with all that candy? You can’t possibly eat it all, right?

Well go ahead and give it a your best shot. But a week from now when it’s still around and you can’t stand the sight of the stuff, you’ll be happy to know that science once again has a solution.

What could be a better combination than candy and science? (Well, except for chocolate and peanut butter, of course.) Take a handful of scientific principles, mix them liberally with a pile of leftover candy… and Whalah! Yummy, sugary, scientific goodness!

So grab a chocolate bar, and enjoy. Candy isn’t just for eating anymore.

10. Marvel in the engineering brilliance and efficiency of the shape of M&M’s.

M&M’s are one of my all-time favorite candies. Their colorful, compact, and they travel well. They’re fantastic alone: but also pretty damn good sprinkled over ice cream, baked in cookies, or folded into Rice Krispy treats.

If you can get away from the city lights this weekend, conditions are perfect to view the annual Perseid Meteor shower that is expected to peak Sunday night and into Monday morning, August 12th and 13th. Because we will be experiencing a new moon this weekend, there will be no moonlight to interfere with the spectacular show as meteors streak across the sky. And as an added bonus, Mars will be visible as a bright red spot in the northeastern sky.

The Perseid meteors produce one of the favorite shows of the year, because of their predictability in appearing each August. They get their name from the constellation Perseus because the meteors appear to originate there. However, their real source is the debris thrown off by Comet Swift-Tuttle. As the earth’s orbit crosses the path of the comet this time each year, we are treated to this fabulous show as tiny particles of debris enter our atmosphere and burn up to provide a display of “shooting stars”.

The answer is, of course... it depends. But with gas prices as high as they are these days, it’s good to know when it’s worthwhile to drive a few miles to save five cents a gallon, or when it’s just better to fill up at the station around the corner.

To determine where you should top off your tank, it’s just a matter of running the numbers. You can figure out at exactly what point traveling to the cheap gas goes from saving you money, to wasting your time.

Things you need to consider:
How many gallons of gas do you need? (G)
What is the gas mileage of your car? (MPG)
What is the cost per gallon of the closer (more expensive) gas? (Cc)
What is the cost per gallon of the further (cheaper) gas? (Cf)
How many miles out of the way is the cheaper gas? (M)

Then you just need to take a look at what the total cost is for filling up your tank with the more expensive gas, versus driving across town to fill your car up with the less expensive offering.

Total Cost of Closer (more expensive) Gas (TCc) is essentially the total number of gallons you need, multiplied by the cost per gallon of the closer gas:

Total Cost of Further (cheaper) Gas (TCf) is determined by the total number of gallons you need, multiplied by the cost per gallon of the further gas, PLUS the number of gallons you will burn while driving to the further station, multiplied by the price per gallon of the gas already in your car.

On Saturday, 07/07/07, the New 7 Wonders of the World were announced. The announcement got me thinking about other everyday “wonders” that I rely on, and am in constant appreciation of, as a mom. Those little things that have become so ingrained in my everyday routine, that I barely notice them anymore – but that would make my day so much more difficult if I didn’t have. These are the items that make my job as a mom… heck, I’ll just say it – Wonder-ful!

First let's take a look at the Newest 7 Wonders of the World. They were selected by a global poll, where 100 million votes were cast via the Internet and cell-phone text messages.

The *New* 7 Wonders of the World

The Great Wall of China

The largest man-made monument ever built, and visible from space. Yep, this one’s a keeper.

You can’t watch the news, turn on the radio, or open a newspaper these days without hearing about global warming. It seems our future is looking rather warmish, and many of our modern conveniences may be to blame.

I’m not disputing the fact, but at the same time I’ve never had it explained to me precisely and quantitatively how many of the choices I make each day are contributing to global warming. I mean, I understand the link between driving my car and carbon emissions. The family minivan spews carbon dioxide for goodness sake, so I clearly understand how running my daily errands in a gasoline-powered car can contribute to the problem.

But what about the rest of my daily routine… what impact does it have? If I roast a chicken in the crock-pot instead of my electric oven, does is make a difference? What if I grill instead? What is the impact of watering my lawn, or taking a hot shower? How do the decisions I make each and every day impact the environment in terms of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions? And what does it mean when we’re told that something produces 100 lbs of CO2 each year? Is that a lot?

I went in search of all of the facts and figures needed to quantify how the little things I do each day translate into fossil fuel usage. I love numbers, formulas, and equations… so I gathered as many as I could find. The effort was worthwhile, because it’s helped me to develop a picture of how many of my short-term decisions have long-term impacts.

If you have bad kids, it may not be your fault.

Well, it could still be your fault, because it's biology and genetics is part of biology, but you can't control genetics. At least you then you wouldn't have to feel guilty about being a lousy parent.

Either way there's a real effort on to blame everything except the actual delinquent kids and a new study in Psychological Science advances that cause. Rutgers University psychologist Daniel Hart and colleagues write that they can use a a Skin Conductance Response (SCR) test, along with some family history, to predict delinquency.

The family history point might be important, especially if you and your husband go at each other like an episode of Spy Vs. Spy.

But first I wanted to know more about this SCR test.  If it can absolve me for bad parenting, maybe it can also help me feel better if I burn the paninis or shrink clothes in the dryer.  

Hart, Eisenberg and Valiente measured the sweat in the palms of these children.  They do this because the eccrine sweat glands on the palms of the hands are responsive to emotional stimuli but don't have much to do with the body's heat regulation.  Sweaty palms are more conductive than dry ones so it's a safe guess that more sweat means a stronger emotional response.

10. Chocolate contains tryptophan, a chemical in the brain that is used to produce the neurotransmitter, serotonin. High levels of serotonin stimulate the secretion of endorphins, and produce feelings of elation.  Serotonin is found in the antidepressant Prozac, and the designer drug “ecstasy” produces its effects by increasing serotonin levels in the brain.  So… antidepressants, illegal drugs, or a Hershey’s bar.  You pick. 

How is it that I didn’t hear about this sooner?  It appears that this year Daylight Savings Time is starting earlier, and ending later, than its traditional first-of-April to end-of-October run.  It will begin this year on March 11^th, and end on November 4^th – a bonus four weeks for no additional cost.

Why did I have to know all of this? Because my field of study happened to be aeronautical engineering, and because the Wright Brothers were the first ones that tried applying Bernoulli's Principle to predict lift on an airplane wing. (As you might have heard, they were successful!) So anyway, Bernoulli and his equation quickly became one of the cornerstones of my studies.

How does Bernoulli's equation help explain how those huge 747's stay in the air? It goes something like this: