1

Chemistry / Why did my charcoal turn white in a fire?

« on: 01/06/2011 16:01:03 »

Joel Hillman  asked the Naked Scientists:
   
Dear Naked Scientists...

I've been a little bit confused about something lately, in my house, we have an enclosed fireplace, which burns very hot.

I had some charcoal for sketching, and being the empiricist that I am I put some in the hottest parts of the fire, to see what would happen.

To my surprise, instead of combusting as I had expected it to, it turned an ashy white, if you'll excuse the pun. 

It has a similar weight, texture and size, but it turned pure white. I snapped the block in half and it was white inside as well as out, so it wasn't just transfer of ash.

My first thought was some sort of allotrope or something, but I don't think carbon has any like this, so I don't think that's it... I was wondering what you think?

Why did this charcoal turn white?!

Thanks

Joel 

What do you think?

2

Cells, Microbes & Viruses / Why don't human red blood cells have nuclei?

« on: 01/11/2010 01:30:05 »

Joel Hillman  asked the Naked Scientists:
   
Hello brilliant scientists!

I know human blood cells don't have nuclei, but from memory, reptiles do - I haven't looked into it, but I figure its so more haemoglobin can be jammed in. So why do other animals have nuclei, but not people?

Thanks

-J

What do you think?

3

Cells, Microbes & Viruses / Can parasites extend their host's life?

« on: 20/10/2010 10:30:03 »

Joel Hillman  asked the Naked Scientists:
   
I was watching a great little sci-fi show a little while ago which had an eight-legged endoparasite, which once inside the body suspended the body's descent into senescence and extended the lifespan indefinitely.

While this is a little too far into the realms of fiction, I was wondering if there was any science to be found? I know there have been a few studies on helminth therapy and the like, that's not what I mean, but I was wondering - is there actually any truth in this?

It does make a vague sort of sense, if the parasite's host lives a longer life, with less disease and faster healing, better health etc surely this provides a very large benefit for the parasite? I mean if it lives off a host, and the host lives indefinitely - then this has a clear advantage.

Thanks very much

J

What do you think?

4

Physiology & Medicine / Why is sleep deprivation fatal?

« on: 22/07/2010 10:30:02 »

Joel Hillman  asked the Naked Scientists:
   
Hello Naked Scientists,

I've heard humans can last approximately 10 days without any appreciable sleep, and though symptoms set in much earlier, it is at this point one dies. The way it was described to me was that the neurons begin regenerating, thus killing the person - I interpreted this as the neurons begin to reform over the top of themselves. I'm not a doctor yet, so I was wondering if you'd be able to help me with this: How does one die from lack of sleep? My idea before this was simply that the body is run down. What would happen to neurons in a situation where no sleep was achieved?

I had one last question: I've spent some time volunteering in an orphanage in India, and while I was there, for a period of about one week, I had virtually no sleep, due to noise disturbance. At the end of that week I began to hallucinate, which was very unpleasant. So, my question is this - how and why does lack of sleep cause hallucinations? And I'm not just randomly linking symptoms with stimuli, hallucination is (as far as I can find) a symptom of sleep deprivation.

Thanks so much
-J

What do you think?

5

Physiology & Medicine / Why is the cartilage holding the trachea open C-shaped?

« on: 15/05/2010 23:30:02 »

Joel Hillman  asked the Naked Scientists:
   Why are the 'C' shaped pieces of cartilage holding the trachea open 'C' shaped? Why not just rings?

Thanks!

-J
What do you think?

6

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / six colours or seven?

« on: 18/06/2009 08:13:44 »

what do you guys think?
im an adamant believer in the six colour theory, and constantly get into discussions about whether there is six or seven.
I have been told (by more than just one) by an optical physicist, no less, that the seven-colour theory is ridiculous. it originated when the man doing the 'scientific' analysis of the rainbow was a devout catholic, and that the number 6 was the number of the devil, man, sin and the like. so therefore, there must be 7, he just couldn't see it... infallible. unfortunately, this stuck.

Before i go any furher, let me give you a simple arithmetic lesson (you may need a calculator, but we'll see how we go).
There are THREE primary (im going with scientists colours) colours, Red, Green and Blue (RGB), and THREE secondary colours, Yellow, Magenta and Cyan.
it is generally accepted (now this is the part where most people get confused, so pay close attention...)
that:

3 + 3 = 6  [:0]

well... what do you think?

apparently 3 + 3 ≈ 7... somehow...