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If you liked that, try insane science...
What can I say, except check it out:
http://www.portalofevil.com/archives/ScienceInsane.html > Gordon, Dien, and All, > Going through some old files looking for > recipes, I came upon this old email. Copy > below. > I tried several links, and they STILL are > O.K. A thunder storm forced me to shut down > early. > Be SURE TO CHECK THE PURDUE URL AT THE END > of all this. Lots of interesting links. > ENJOY. > Mary > P.S. > I found a recipe for Maple Wine and Honey > Wine. I haven't tried to make either, but if > anyone is interested, I could send you the > recipes. > Mary > ------------------- > The URL is authentic, > but you must wait for the bottom of the page > to come through > before you can access either the picture or > the video... > | ----------------------------- > | Our subject today is lighting charcoal > grills. One of > | our favorite charcoal grill lighters is a > guy named > | George Goble, a computer person in the > Purdue University > | engineering department. > | > | Each year, Goble and a bunch of other > engineers hold a > | picnic in West Lafayette, Indiana, at > which they cook > | hamburgers on a big grill. Being > engineers, they began > | looking for practical ways to speed up the > | charcoal-lighting process. > | > | "We started by blowing the charcoal > with a hair dryer," > | Goble told me in a telephone interview. > "Then we > | figured out that it would light faster if > we used a > | vacuum cleaner." > | > | If you know anything about (1) engineers > and (2) guys in > | general, you know what happened: The > purpose of the > | charcoal-lighting shifted from cooking > hamburgers to > | seeing how fast they could light the > charcoal. > | > | >From the vacuum cleaner, they > escalated to using a > | propane torch, then an acetylene torch. > Then Goble > | started using compressed pure oxygen, > which caused the > | charcoal to burn much faster, because as > you recall from > | chemistry class, fire is essentially the > rapid > | combination of oxygen with a reducing > agent (the > | charcoal). We discovered that a long time > ago, > | somewhere in the valley between the Tigris > and Euphrates > | rivers (or something along those lines). > | > | By this point, Goble was getting pretty > good times. But > | in the world of competitive > charcoal-lighting, "pretty > | good" does not cut the mustard. > | > | Thus, Goble hit upon the idea of using --- > get ready --- > | liquid oxygen. This is oxygen. In terms of > releasing > | energy, pouring liquid oxygen on charcoal > is the > | equivalent of throwing a live squirrel > into a room > | containing 50 million Labrador retrievers. > | > | On Goble's World Wide Web page (the > address is > | http://ghg.ecn.purdue.edu/ ), you can see > actual > | photographs and a video of Goble using a > bucket attached > | to a 10-foot-long wooden handle to dump 3 > gallons of > | liquid oxygen (not sold in stores) onto a > grill > | containing 60 pounds of charcoal and a lit > cigarette for > | ignition. > | > | What follows is the most impressive > charcoal-lighting I > | have ever seen, featuring a large fireball > that > | according to Goble, reached 10,000 degrees > Fahrenheit. > | The charcoal was ready for cooking in --- > this has to be > | a world record --- 3 seconds. > | > | There's also a photo of what happened when > Goble used > | the same technique on a flimsy $2.88 > discount-store > | grill. All that's left is a circle of > charcoal with a > | few shreds of metal in it. > "Basically, the grill > | vaporized," said Goble. "We were > thinking of returning > | it to the store for a refund." > | > | Looking at Goble's video and photos, I > became, as an > | American, all choked up with gratitude at > the fact that > | I do not live anywhere near the engineers' > picnic site. > | But also, I was proud of my country for > producing guys > | who can be ready to barbecue in less time > than it take > | for guys in less-advanced nations, such as > France, to > | spit. > | > | Will the 3-second barrier ever be broken? > Will > | engineers come up with a new, more > powerful > | charcoal-lighting technology? It's > something or all of > | us to ponder this summer as we sit > outside, chewing our > | hamburgers, every now and then glancing in > the direction > | of West Lafayette, Indiana, looking for a > mushroom > | cloud. > | > | Do _not_ miss the web site at > | > | http://ghg.ecn.purdue.edu/ Insane science here |
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