Some Sweet Science

By Kylie

Evidence has found to suggest that honey is a source of food, which at its raw form, can be preserved indefinitely in a state that is edible. 

What makes this food so special??

Source:http://oliviajenkins.com.au/3488/5-diy-uses-for-honey/

1. Sugars are naturally low in moisture – this means that if left in a sealed container, make it very difficult for bacteria or microorganisms to survive. Hence the chance for organisms to spoil honey is reduced due to low survival rates.

2. The acidity of honey also adds to this with it scaling at around 3-4.5 on the pH scale. Again, the high acidic environment does not make it an ideal home for organisms.

http://fitlife.tv/from-the-bees-two-simple-superfoods-youve-got-to-try_original/

3. BEES. BEES. BEES. In the end, it’s down to our little yellow stingy friends. 

To make honey, bees regurgitate nectar into the combs. Enzymes in the stomachs of bees, glucose oxidase, mix with the nectar when the bees regurgitate, creating hydrogen peroxide and gluconic acid. This is another barrier – due to its thick consistency.  

Check out the links below for more info!

Source:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-science-behind-honeys-eternal-shelf-life-1218690/

http://www.sugarscience.org/the-sweet-science-behind-honey.html#.VhcEhROqqko

Turning Green

By Kylie

What if I told you the Stature of Liberty wasn’t originally green??

The outer layer of the statue is coated in a thin layer of copper plates. When it was assembled in 1886, its natural colour reflected this, being copper brown in colour. Over time, the statue has gradually turned a green colour due to a process called oxidation, where the colour change is due to exposure of oxygen and air. The green colour is actually from a layer formed over the top called copper oxide.

Exposure to acid from rain also caused the process to speed up.

 

Here’s a simple experiment you can try at home!

Materials:

      -  Copper pennies (anything made of copper will suffice)
      - White vinegar
       - Paper towel
       - Bowl

 Procedure:

1. Place the pennies on top of the paper towel in the bowl
2. Pour enough vinegar in the bowl for the towel to become saturated
3. Turn the coins regularly and pour more vinegar when towel becomes dry

4. Observe the effects over a couple of days – the longer you leave them, the greener they should become!

The vinegar acts just like the rain did on the statue, speeding up the reaction.

Sources:

http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-is-the-statue-of-liberty-green

http://buggyandbuddy.com/science-for-kids-make-a-penny-turn-green/

That Dress.

By Kylie

Yes, we’ve all seen it – The dress that sparked the icebreaker for the day “black and blue? Or white and gold?” At first, I thought it was just another day of the Internet trolling. #teamwhiteandgold

It’s blue. Turns out, the dress is really black and blue. But some people would rather rip their arm off than accept this.

So, WHY? WHAT IS HAPPENING?

It all has to do with perception of colours in daylight. More specifically –

COLOUR CONSTANCY

(Brain’s assumption under different lighting)

Let’s first look at the example below. Squares A and B are the same colour. This is because our brain sees that square B is overcast with the shadow of the cylinder, and tries to compensate for it by perceiving it as it’s “true colour”, hence it interprets the square as lighter than it appears.  There is also a second reason:

• Darker elements surround square B, hence our brain perceives it as lighter.
• Lighter elements surround square A, hence our brain perceives it as darker.

In a way, our brain it logical – it sees what it expects to see.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checker_shadow_illusion#/media/File:Grey_square_optical_illusion.PNG)

Back to the dress. Usually we would see a larger field of view, so what we see would be influenced by how surrounding objects are illuminated. The reason why it’s so confusing is because the environment is ambiguous (not much seen in the photo but the dress). This means that out brain has to make assumptions –

Very dress. Much blue.
Source: (http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2015/03/17/4197384.htm)

If you see white and gold, chances are your brain is interpreting the dress under natural light that is more blue-ish. Hence the white would look blue, but our brain interprets it as white because of COLOUR CONSTANCY. This means – your brain would ignore blue hues (try to show it’s “true colour”)

If you see black and blue, may be interpreting the dress indoors under yellow lights. The brain would interpret the gold as a reflection off the black elements, with the blue being unaffected.

Although almost maddening, this optical illusion proved to great example of how easily our eyes can be deceived. 

Source:

http://www.livescience.com/50842-dress-debate-color-perception.html

http://www.wired.com/2015/02/science-one-agrees-color-dress/

http://www.livescience.com/49980-dress-color-explainer.html?li_source=LI&li_medium=most-popular

Wear Red. Become More Attractive.

Source: (http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140827-how-the-colour-red-warps-the-mind)

 By Kylie

Social studies have found that both men and women are perceived more attractive in red attire more so than any other colour. 

This is thought to be our subconscious linking this to the perception of healthiness from glowing skin. Although, when presenting the experiment in an African region, Bukina, researchers found the same results, even though red is associated with sickness and death by the locals.

Conclusion: Just wear red.

Source: (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EM_spectrum.svg)    

HOW WE SEE THE WORLD IN COLOUR

What is colour? How do we distinguish between red and blue? What about burgundy and crimson?

But most importantly, why are roses red?

Light shone can be broken down into all the wavelengths of visible light. When light hits a rose, all the colours are absorbed by the object except for red (light with a wavelength of around 600-700 nanometres), which is reflected to our eye, making the rose appear red.

The retina contains two light receptors: Rods & Cones

We can thank our Cone cells for our reception of colours. There are three types of cones that are each sensitive for a different range of light. Humans possess more cones sensitive to red light (around 64%) – meaning that our vision is best for these warmer colours.  

Depending on the varying degree of stimulation from the object (whether the rose is red, or really, really red), cones send nerve signals to the brain’s optical cortex for processing and interpretation.

Sources:
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3029854/evidence/why-the-color-red-revs-you-up-but-lowers-your-iq 

http://www.livescience.com/32559-why-do-we-see-in-color.html