Cold Fusion - In Theory and In Practice

In Theory
On this day in 1989 – Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann announce their discovery of
cold fusion at the University of Utah.  What is cold fusion you ask?  Well, that’s when you
have nuclear fusion reaction taking place at a relatively low temperature, let’s say room
temperature.   “What does this mean to me?” you ask.  Absolutely nothing.

As a cheap and abundant source of energy, Cold Fusion would have solved the world’s
energy problems in a heartbeat, were it possible.  By April 30, of the same year, cold fusion
was declared dead by the New York Times. called a “circus” by The Times and trashed by
the Boston Herald.  By late 1989 most of the claims of the possibility of Cold Fusion were dead.
No one had been able to duplicate the results that Pons and Fleischmann (truly renowned in
their field) stated in their original paper.

Per Wiki: Steven E. Koonin of Caltech called the Utah report a result of
"the incompetence and delusion of Pons and Fleischmann" which was met
with a standing ovation.^[47] Douglas R. O. Morrison, a physicist representing
CERN, was the first to call the episode an example of pathological science.^{[6][48]
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_fusion)}  

In Practice
The alcohol in your standard cocktail, freezes solid at -114 C (for some of you small-batch Bourbon drinkers it’s much lower ;)  High-quality freezers are typically set at -18 C, which is why you can keep that vodka bottle in the freezer and still pour a thick, cold one into a glass.   Even dry ice (the stuff they use to ship your Omaha steaks and will give you a nasty ice burn if you handle it), is only -79 C, so it will still leave your alcohol a liquid if you use it for ice cubes.
If you want to freeze your drink solid, the only choice is LN2 (Liquid Nitrogen) that boils at a cool -196 C.  Mixed into a drink, this puppy will freeze it solid then vaporize leaving behind only the sweet droplets of the nectar of the gods.  Cold Fusion achieved.


 
     The Historical Inebriant:  Cold Fusion
     http://www.rserving.com/web/index.php?siteid=251&pageid=1961

Ingredients:

• 3/4oz Stoli Vodka 
• 3/4oz Midori
• 1/2oz Rose’s Lime Juice 
• 1/2oz Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1/2oz Sweet and Sour

Once again there are no directions on preparation, so I assume mix together in a shaker with crushed ice, pour in a lowball glass and garnish with lime wedge.
Oh, and to make sure the glass is really chilled first:

__________________________________________________

For true Cold Fusion:

Or maybe something hard on the top, soft on the bottom?

Happy Science Friday! 
As always, have a great and safe weekend!

On the Ice…

A themed montage of history today...
As always, "You can't make this sh*t up", although I admit, the comet is kinda pushing it!


On this day in 1894 – The first Stanley Cup Final is played.
The Governor General of Canada, Lord Stanley, arrived in Canada
from England 1888 and witnessed his first hockey game the following
year.  Becoming enamored with the game he decided to offer a trophy
to the best hockey team and so the Stanley Cup was born.

DYK:  There is only one Stanley Cup and each year the names of
winning players, coaches, management, and club staff are engraved
on it and it stays with the winning team until the next Stanley Cup. 
Each player on the winning team gets to have it in his posses-
sion for 24 hours.  The original cup was 7.28 inches in height,
with the addition of all the names the cup’s height now stands at over 32 inches.

Code civil des Français

On this day in 1804 –  The Napoleonic Code (originally, the Code civil des Français) become French law.

When Napoleon became dictator of France in 1799 one of his first challenges was to revamp France’s outdated, confusing and very partial laws concerning property, the family, and individual rights.  Prior to the code, French law consisted mainly of local customs, assembled in customals (or coutumes).  These customals differed from region to region and invariably contained exemptions and privileges to individuals granted by previous kings or feudal lords. 

Napoleon wanted a singular law to reflect the ideas of The French Revolution.  In 1800, a commission of four eminent jurists was appointed.  Chaired by Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès, and sometimes by Napoleon himself, the process of bringing the law in line with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was begun.  When completed, the last vestiges of feudalistic France would be gone.

There would no longer be any “Secret Laws” (laws enacted without any knowledge of the populous), or any ex post faco laws (laws that apply to events that occurred prior to their enactment) or laws written in any language other than French.  The code that addressed these and so many other issues has undergone many revisions but is still in use today.  It was also a powerful document influencing the governments of emerging nations during and after the Napoleonic Wars as well as being the basis of law for the State of Louisiana.

 

     The Historical Inebriant:  The Napoleon
     http://cocktails.about.com/od/cocktailrecipes/r/npleon_cktl.htm

 

Ingredients:

• 2oz Gin
• 1/2oz Grand Mariner
• 1/2oz Dubonnet Rouge

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice, shake well, strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

 

A revolution is an idea which has found its bayonets.
Napoleon Bonaparte

I love rock n’ roll…

On this day in 1982 Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ cover of “I Love Rock n’ Roll” reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the first of seven consecutive weeks.

Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin) was a founding member of The Runaways before starting her own band, the Blackhearts.  Their first album together included the songs “I Love Rock n’ Roll”, “Crimson and Clover” and “Little Drummer Boy”

I can’t even count the number of times I played this song on the jukebox, but then again,
that's what the song is all about.


 
     The Historical Inebriant:  Rock and Roll
     http://www.idrink.com/v.html?id=51672

Ingredients:

• Cola 
• Peppermint Schnapps 
• Rum 
• Vodka

I have no idea of the proportions on this drink since the directions are screwed up…
Isn’t that half the fun of drinking anyway?  You start with some crazy ass
ingredients and try to make it work but, usually by the time you think it starts
to taste good you’re completely shot anyways so who knows!

Commons vs. Lords

On this day in 1649 the House of Commons of England passed an act abolishing the House of Lords describing it as "useless and dangerous to the people of England".  Before anyone gets any ideas, the House of Lords was restored in 1660 and continues to this day, albeit in a much diminished capacity.


 
     The Historical Inebriant:  House of Lords Scotch Whisky
    

 

He blew his mind out in a car
He didn't notice that the lights had changed
A crowd of people stood and stared
They'd seen his face before
Nobody was really sure
if he was from the House of Lords.”A Day in the Life” by The Beatles

Brain Injury Awareness Month

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month and tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day.  Am I the only one seeing a disconnect here? 

St. Patrick’s Day is one of the High Holy Days for inebriants (In fact, I think it’s the only one).
Not only is “binge till blotto” assumed on that day, it’s widely encouraged.  I can’t think of another day when you can see someone in a green (or any color) shirt staggering down the street, wasted, at 10:00am and think “Oh, it must be St. Patrick’s Day!”   Even on New Year’s Eve, we generally wait till dinnertime.

Not that I’m against this last vestige of the bacchanalia, I’m only commenting on Brain Injury Awareness Month.

Overheard at the Bar
Concerned Inebriant: Do you know how many brain cells you lose when you get wasted?
Wasted Inebriant:  Do you know how many brain cells you have???  Kagillions!!!

Tomorrow, when you find yourself desperately trying to figure out how many commas there are in a kagillion, put down that jaeger-bomb and walk away to fight another day, or…

If you think you know how many commas there are in a kagillion, try this simple test:

Things That Are Difficult to Say When Drunk:
Apiary
Proliferation
Transconductance

Things That Are Very Difficult to Say When Drunk:
Specificity
Loquacious
Distributive

Things That Are Downright IMPOSSIBLE to Say When Drunk:
Quite the lovely evening for a drive isn't it Officer.
I suppose we could…but I think that would be wrong.
I’m sorry, but I promised myself I wouldn’t take anyone home tonight.

Give yourself a point for each statement correctly made to an attractive member of the

opposite (or same) sex and be honest in your scoring.

Less than 3 points:  Take the next cab home before you hurt yourself

3-6 points:  Hand over your keys and your drink, but stay to sing the cool drinking songs.

6-9 points:  Start drinking again, you're obviously doing something wrong!  

 
     Have a great, and safe, St. Patrick’s Day!


http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/03/16/148745383/drunk-on-biology-for-st-patricks-day

Beware the Ides of March???

Back in the day, say about 1st century BC, the Ides of March were simply another reason to celebrate.  It would roughly equate to Wednesday, half the week is done, half the week till the weekend.

In the lunar Roman calendar month there were three important dates:

• Kalends  - originally thought to be associated with the new moon, it was the first day of the month and was then, as it is now, the day the bills fall due.  At the beginning of the year Kalends is New Years Day.
• Nones – the seventh day of the month and associated with the half moon.  Also the day the month’s Feriae, or free festival days, were announced.
• Ides -  mid-month generally the 15th day, associated with the full moon.  The Ides of March were a festive occasion with parades to honor Mars, the Roman God of War.

Confusingly, the other days of the month were referred to by their relation to the closest forward of these three dates and counting backwards from it.  The 30th of October would be called III Kalends November.  Funny how this never caught on past the Middle Ages.

 

     The Historical Inebriant:  Bloody Caesar
     http://cocktails.about.com/od/vodkadrinkrecipes/r/bloody_caesar.htm

 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz vodka
• 4 oz clamato juice
• 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
• dash of Tabasco sauce
• celery salt
• lime wedge
• pepper to taste
• celery salt
• celery stalk for garnish

Rim a highball glass with juice from a lime wedge and a combination of celery salt and salt.
Add the vodka and clamato juice.
Season with pepper, Worcestershire and Tabasco sauces to taste.
Stir well.

Et tu, Brute?

Trouble ahead, trouble behind…

1863 – John Luther “Casey” Jones was born on this day in Jackson, Tennessee.   The legendary railroad engineer who was always known for bringing his train in on time, lost his life bravely trying to save the lives of his passengers.

On a rainy and foggy April 29, 1900, Casey brought his train the “Cannonball” into Memphis from Canton dead on time. Normally he would overnight in Memphis to make the return trip the next day but Casey learned the engineer scheduled to make that night’s return trip was ill and Casey volunteered to make the trip. He pulled the train out of the station about an hour and thirty-five minutes late but intended to make up the time by increasing his speed on the run.

Casey had nearly made up nearly all the time on the run by about 4 a.m. and was traveling about 75 miles per hour as the train rounded a left hand a corner near Vaughin, Mississippi.  Suddenly, Simeon Webb, the trains fireman saw the lights of a stopped freight train on the track ahead.  "Oh my Lord, there's something on the main line!" he yelled to Jones. Knowing there was not enough track to stop the train, Jones quickly yelled back "Jump Sim, jump!" The fireman jumped to safety about 300 feet before impact.  Jones stayed on his train, reversing his engines and putting on the brake while continually blowing the whistle to alert people in the stopped train in front of them. 

Jones engine car quickly plowed through the wooden caboose and three other cars of the stopped train before leaving the tracks but he had slowed the train enough that none of his passengers and no one on the stopped train had serious injuries.  Jones himself was the only fatality that day, the story goes that when his body was pulled from the wreckage his hands still clutched the whistle cord and the brake.
 
 

The Planets

On this day in 1781 William Herschel discovered Uranus, the 7th planet from the sun and the first planet to be discovered in modern times.  Hershel, an astronomer and composer, discovered the planet (named for the primeval Greek god of the sky) while searching for double stars.
 
Herschel was also a very accomplished telescope maker.  Later in life, while testing different filters to observe sun spots, Herschel found heat being produced when red filters were used.   He had inadvertently discovered infrared radiation in sunlight by passing it through a prism.  The Herschel telescope named for him located in the Canary Islands uses this technology to explore deep space.

The German-born British astronomer also composed 24 symphonies.

As an interesting side note on this day in 1930, word of the discovery of the planet
Pluto was telegraphed to the Harvard College Observatory.

As an aside to an aside, the English composer of German descent Gustav Holst
wrote a seven movement orchestral suite entitled “The Planets”