Steve Scott

Two questions on “fizzing”
Q: Why does sodawater fizz?
A: Sodawater, sodapop, soda, soft drinks, tonic (if you are from the upper East coast) are all carbonated beverages. During the bottling process, carbon dioxide gas - the same gas that we breathe out - is bubbled into the flavored water.

These are just some of the headline science stories from the past two weeks:

Digital Contact Lens
A group of eye doctors and electronic engineers are working on a contact lens that can display information directly to the eye. The device is pretty crude right now, but a single LED light built into the contact lens can be turned on and off remotely.

Everyone has had the experience of eating that fabulous traditional American Thanksgiving dinner: Turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, green bean casserole, sweet tea, dinner rolls, pecan pie… Oh man, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Everyone has also had the experience of the strong urge to nap just after eating that meal. The after-dinner lethargy has been attributed to a chemical L-tryptophan, an essential amino acid that has a documented sleep inducing effect.

I’m sure you have heard some time or another that cell phones cause cancer.

Finally, we have been blessed with a good rain! I’m one of those strange individuals who loves storms. I loving hearing the rain on the roof, the sound of the water hitting the ground as it runs off. The sound of vehicles as they run through the puddles. But my favorite thing of all is the flash of lightning followed by the sound of thunder.

Last week someone asked me, “What are the Northern Lights”? So, I thought I’d take the time to talk about astronomy again.
The Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis, are a colorful light show that occurs at the Earth’s north pole. The sphere of the earth has an iron core and because of this, behaves like a giant magnet, setting up a magnetic field.

Last time, I wrote an article paying homage to the original science guys like Mr. Wizard, Bill Nye, Beekman’s World, and one who inspired me, Gonzales’ own, Mr. Jesse Smith.
Mr. Smith taught in Gonzales, at Edwards High School and Gonzales High School.
He passed away from Cancer during my senior year. Mr. Eddie Burrows, Principal of Gonzales High School wrote in the 1984 yearbook, “Master teacher Jesse Smith, who died in 1983, will be long remembered by those who knew him as a science teacher, community leader and friend.

I am by no means trying to equate myself with anyone that I am writing about today. I just wanted to honor some of my heroes, who inspired me to be the Sci Guy I am today.

When you look up to the stars on a clear night, you may just see stars. Look closer what else can you see?
The moon
At different times of the month, the moon looks different. Sometimes it is a tiny sliver of light. Sometimes it is fat and glowing brightly. Does the moon change shapes? Nope. If you look very carefully at the moon, you will see that there is a shadow of the “missing” part right alongside what you can see. So why does it look different? Its because of where the sun is at the time.

So what makes Smartphones so “smart”?
You have heard of Android, iPhones, and others. All these types of phones fall under the category of Smartphone. So What makes a smartphone so smart?