What is Science?

1 Syllabus

See web site for complete syllabus.

Key Points

* Top 5 of 6 quizzes.

* Post-lecture ättendance" quizzes

* Three "papers".

* Final (worth same as a quiz).

* Web site should be useful.

* Textbook: Required, but not sole source of information.

2 Course Goals

* Relevant

Would like to cover topics you are interested in.

* Discussion-based

I have my opinions. You have yours. This class will be more useful if you have some input to discussion of topics.

3 Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide

* See Overhead for discussion of Real risks of this compound.

* Dihydrogen Monoxide is H₂O - Water

* By carefully choosing which sub-set of facts to present, it is possible to produce a compelling argument for an unreasonable position.

4 MSDS

* MSDS = Material Safety Data Sheet

* Source of information of hazards associated with chemicals.

* Assumes ,,worst-case scenario''

* Requires considerable expertise to read.

5 Natural Products

Tom's of Maine - Natural Toothpaste

Ingredients

Sodium monofluorophosphate, Calcium carbonate, Glycerin, Water, Xylitol, Sodium lauryl sulfate, Carrageenan, Spearmint & Peppermint Oils.

6 Definition of Natural

Tom's definition

How do we define natural?

"By natural we mean that the product contains no artifical preservatives, artificial dyes, or artificial sweeteners (like saccharin) and is created with minimally processed ingredients originally sourced from nature."

7 Purpose of Chemicals

Tom's toothpaste

* Sodium monofluorophosphate - Decay prevention
From Fluorspar (calcium fluoride), an ore

* Calcium carbonate - Mild abrasive
Purified calcium from the earth

* Glycerin - Moistener
By-product of vegetable oil soap

* Xylitol - Flavor
Birch trees

* Sodium lauryl sulfate - Disperse the calcium
Derived from coconut oil

* Carrageenan - Thickener
Seaweed

8 Is distilled water bad?

Dr. Rona has written an article on the web entitled: Early Death Comes From Drinking Distilled Water

In this article he claims drinking distilled water:

* Can cause rapid loss of electrolytes.

* Increases body's acidity.

9 Loss of electrolytes

"Fasting using distilled water can be dangerous because of the rapid loss of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride) and trace minerals like magnesium ... Cooking food in distilled water pulls the minerals out of them and lowers their nutrient value."

Some truth. Electrolytes and minerals naturally flow from regions of high concentration to regions of low concentration. Hard water contains more Calcium and Magnesium than blood. Soft water contains less. (See Merck and Health sites).

10 Missing Facts

We are thirsty after eating salty food because the body needs to get rid of excess salt. Sodium concentrations in the blood are higher than in hard or soft water, so water can lower concentrations of these ions. Fasting without replacing electrolytes is always dangerous.

Ion	Hard Water	Blood
Ca⁺²	10-20mg/dL	9-10mg/dL
Mg⁺²	0-5mg/dL	2mg/dL
Na⁺	0-20mg/dL?	320mg/dL

11 Acidity of Water

"... carbon dioxide from the air is rapidly absorbed, making the water acidic and even more aggressive."

Again, some truth, but probably not enough to worry about. Addition of CO₂ to water can lower the pH from about 7 (neutral) to » 5.8 (slightly acidic). But the water we drink goes into our stomach, which is about 100,000 times more acidic than this (pH < 1). Our body produces (and eliminates) CO₂ all the time.

12 Unreasonable Support

"The most toxic commercial beverages that people consume (i.e. cola beverages and other soft drinks) are made from distilled water. Studies have consistently shown that heavy consumers of soft drinks (with or without sugar) spill huge amounts of calcium, magnesium and other trace minerals into the urine."

1. Is Coke really made from distilled water?

2. Coke is not the same as distilled water.

13 Scientific Method

Question

Hypothesis

Experiment

Observation

Start anywhere. Repeat as often as necessary.

14 Phlogiston

Theory: Combustion produced substance called phlogiston.

* When something burns, it goes away. I.e. - it turns into phlogiston.

* Burning stops in closed container because it fills up.

* Object that don't burn must not contain any phlogiston.

15 Phlogiston debunked

When metals "burn", their mass actually increases.

* Theory cannot explain experimental observation.

* Theory must be wrong.

16 Limitations

Scientific method can be applied to any system that experiments can be performed on.

Cases where Scientific Method cannot be used

* Creation of Universe

* Extinction of Dinosaurs

* Why I love my wife

17 Popcorn

The Scientific Method can be applied to a wide variety of "problems".

Ex. Why does popcorn pop?

File translated from T_EX by T_TH, version 3.02.
On 16 Jan 2002, 12:04.