Homely Scientist

Have you ever wondered what actually makes popcorn pop?  It’s really simple … water!  Well, actually pressure makes it pop, but the pressure comes from steam (water).
Here’s the deal.  Inside each kernel of popcorn is a little bit of water.  As you heat the popcorn, the water turns to steam.  The steam has nowhere to go and once the pressure gets great enough it explodes (pops) the kernel.  The process of heating cooks the kernel as well so it’s tasty.  Now, not all corn can pop, at least pop up light, fluffy and crunchy.  Varieties of corn are bred to …read more

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Yeah we know the rest of the song.  So what gives beans that wonderful side-effect?  Incomplete digestion, fermentation, and bacteria.  Lovely, eh?  Here’s what happens.  When you soak beans prior to cooking, they soften (which is good) and start to ferment a bit.  When the cooked beans are cooked, bacteria in your intestine find these partially fermented (and undigested) bit, consume them and expel … methane gas.  So you fart because bacteria are farting (a gross simplification).
Okay, so what can be done?  Researchers at Simon Bolivar University in Venezuela found that adding Lactobacillus casei and L. plantarum to the soaking …read more

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The next question I’m going to answer is about the composition of the Earth and the fundamental force we all know an love … gravity.
So the question comes from Deb, a fellow b5 blogger at the Tangled Thread:

My son’s class is studying about various forces right now. His question at dinner last night was a two-parter: As you get closer to the center of the Earth, does it get hotter? and Does gravity pull harder the further underground you go?

First part … does it get hotter as you get closer to the centre of the Earth?  You bet!  The Earth’s …read more

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The question was posed here to my Questions post:

OK, here’s one. Any truth to the email forward that says putting plastic (e.g. rubbermaid) in your microwave is unusually hazardous? I think the email mentions something about melting the plastic and digesting dioxins.

In my initial post I didn’t have the answers, or at least the answers I wanted, that is something cite-able.  Undaunted I e-mailed my friend Guy Dauncey and asked him because I knew he had written about the subject.
So, here is the deal.  Plastics only release dioxins when they are burned, like in a fire.  So first off burning …read more

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My first question to answer is one that tends to make the e-mail rounds frequently … don’t use plastics in the microwave because they release dioxins into your food.
I’ve been Googling this for a bit and finding some pretty contradictory answers.  There are a lot of sites dunking this as an urban legend and myth, there are others that hold it up as solid truth.
From my memory about reading on this topic a few years ago I’m sure it’s been studied and while it might not be dioxins that leach into your food, other chemicals might.  Case closed?  Nope.  That’s …read more

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One of my primary goals of this blog is science education.  I want to share my love of science with everyone and answer people’s nagging questions about science, the environment, and the world around them.
So … it’s your turn.  Gimme your questions!  Once this blog gets going I’ll do this once a week, but in these early days I want to answer as many as I can.  Leave a comment in to this post with your science question and I’ll try to answer as many as I can.  Those I don’t know the answer to or can’t find … I’m …read more

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