Browse

6 breaks
AllBiologyComputingEarth & SpaceEconomicsEngineeringFood ScienceHistoryLanguageMathsMindMusic & SoundPhysics
Why water drops last longer on a hotter pan: the Leidenfrost effect Flick water onto a warm pan and it sizzles away in a second. Make the pan hotter, past about 193 °C, and something odd happens: the drop pulls into a bead… Physics5 min read How one doctor's map traced a cholera outbreak to a single pump In 1854 most doctors blamed cholera on bad air. When it tore through Soho, killing hundreds in days, John Snow went door to door asking one question: where did… History5 min read Chilli isn't hot: capsaicin trips the heat alarm on your tongue A chilli is exactly as warm as the room. There is no heat in it at all. The burn comes from capsaicin, a molecule that pries open TRPV1, the gate in your… Food Science5 min read Stale bread isn't dry: its starch has quietly turned back into crystals Bread left on the counter turns hard and crumbly, and it looks like it dried out. It mostly didn't. In 1852 Jean-Baptiste Boussingault showed that bread sealed… Food Science4 min read Why popcorn pops, and why some kernels never do A popcorn kernel is a tiny, sealed pressure vessel. Its hard shell traps water inside the starchy core until heat turns that water to steam, and pressure… Food Science5 min read Why shared fish, fields and water get used up, and how some places don't When something is shared and nobody controls it, taking a bit more is always worth it for you. You keep the whole gain; the damage is split among everyone… Economics6 min read