Bonus: What color is grass at night? (and other questions)
Hey. I'm Melissa.
Jam:I'm Jam.
Melissa:And I'm a chemist. And I'm not. And welcome to chemistry for your life.
Jam:The podcast helps you understand the chemistry of your everyday life, bonus edition.
Melissa:That's right. Bonus edition. I love bonus editions. It's so fun. A consistent time we get to hear from our listeners, so I really love it.
Melissa:And we posted a q and r. If you have any questions, we will send them this way on our Instagram, and we got so many good questions. Renee c asked about what makes us itch. I think Someone asked about the color of bruises. Someone asked about where lightning and thunder comes from.
Melissa:All these great questions, but they're all questions that will need a full episode to answer.
Jam:Gotcha.
Melissa:So we pulled mostly from email questions that people had sent in this week. So if You're really heartbroken that I didn't answer your questions. That's because they're so good that I need more time.
Jam:Nice. Nice. Yeah. Some of the questions just are just too good. I feel like there's sometimes where we get a lot of questions that are great for q and r.
Jam:But Mhmm. Yeah. If y'all can make your question just a little less good sometimes, that might help.
Melissa:And you can also always ask us questions about Us or some some people like to ask, what's your favorite whatever. You know? We love those questions too. So
Jam:And sometimes there's been some good follow ups. So, like, yeah, A question you think of while you listen to an episode that you're like, oh, does that mean is that why this happens when this happens? And then it kinda adds a little bit of depth to a topic we already covered.
Melissa:Yes. And we did have some of those that were emailed to us, so we did get some of those.
Jam:Nice. Are you ready to jump in?
Melissa:I'm ready to jump in.
Jam:So this is okay.
Melissa:Before you start asking questions, these 2, he just gave analogies, and then we had talked about people writing those in.
Jam:Oh, yeah.
Melissa:And then the last one that's not bolded, I'm gonna ask you a question. Uh-huh. And then he did ask this one down here. So maybe I should move it up.
Jam:Okay.
Melissa:Oops. But so the last 1 I'm gonna ask, so don't read the answer. Okay.
Jam:Okay. So we've got 2, not really questions, but analogies from our friend, mister Hollis, who teaches high school chemistry. And the first one he sent in is an analogy for electrons jumping up to the next level as discussed In why do glow sticks glow episode. So he said, when our kindergarteners come up for lunch, they have to go up 4 stairs. Inevitably, after they eat, which is an input of energy, plus they're physically at a high level, they're up the stairs, They jump down the steps, and there is joy and a woo hoo.
Jam:That's the analogy I use to explain how energy slash light is emitted after energy is put in.
Melissa:That is such a great analogy. I love it. And I have asked before if you guys have analogies for things just like Jam does at the end of episodes. We wanna hear them. So this is a really good analogy for how energy is put in.
Melissa:The electrons jump to the they call it the excited state. There's a higher energy level, and then they Give off light or energy as they come back down to the relaxed state. So good job, mister Hollis. I love that.
Jam:Yeah. I like that too. And then the next one he sent in is an analogy on needing the right energy for an electron to jump up to the next level. Also discussed in why do glow sticks glow?
Melissa:Yeah. So that was just the idea that sometimes you need this exact right amount of energy For an electron to reach the next level. If it's too much or too little, it doesn't really work. Kind of like how you can't really dispense half a soda
Jam:can. Right. But he said the size of the ladder slash stair steps on the walk today, I was thinking about your discussion, the half can of soda, etcetera. And it dawned on me that I've experienced that on a trampoline. Hit to hit the trampoline just right, and it launches you, And the down is so fun.
Jam:But hit the trampoline incorrectly, and it's just a huge dud. Nothing happens. And I've definitely experienced that. I yeah. That's so so funny.
Jam:I haven't thought about that in years.
Melissa:Yeah. It was such a great analogy. It really is you need just the right conditions for you to get that lunch and then relaxing of energy.
Jam:Mhmm. Mhmm. Yeah. Interesting. And then mister Hall asked, is a forensics episode in the works?
Melissa:So the answer to this question is yes, hopefully. I reached out to a forensics expert that I know, and She was busy towards the end of the semester and said, let's circle back around in the summer. So I'm hoping that will come to you sometime this summer, and I'm very excited.
Jam:Nice.
Melissa:That'd be really fun. And I did also wanna say, so mister Hollis requested a forensics episode, so it's been in the works for a while. But, also, mister Hollis and many other teachers have reached out to us and told us that they're using the podcast as part of their end of the semester projects or, you know, he has his students go on podcast walks where they listen and then come back and describe what they've learned, and we love that. We are so Excited about that. And if you guys have any questions or if you need anything, you educators who are using our, episodes, please feel free to reach out because that is so exciting to us.
Jam:Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome.
Melissa:It's especially sweet for me because I learned about podcasts when it was assigned to me in a class. I was assigned to listen to Radiolab.
Jam:Oh, nice.
Melissa:And that changed my life. I've learned so much from podcasts. I enjoy them so much. Now I'm making a Hobby out of making podcasts, hopefully, a career one day out of it. And so that one assignment changed my life, so the idea that some students in high school right now are experiencing That same thing is really cool.
Melissa:Now I have a question for you, Jam. This was a question from mister Hollis for Jam. And that question is, What color is grass when it's dark outside?
Jam:Is this, like, a setup for a joke?
Melissa:No. That's a legitimate question.
Jam:It sounds like it could be a setup for a joke, if you want it to be. So you want me to actually think of, a yes.
Melissa:Response. Yeah. Like, what We talked about what is responsible for color and how color exists, and so I wanna know if you have any thoughts on what happens if there's no light To color.
Jam:I guess you could say technically that because color is light That at night or, say, like, a really, really dark night because in our case, like, we have lights outside in our front yard
Melissa:Yeah.
Jam:At night and stuff, but That it's kind of it doesn't have a color if it there's not light. I mean, because It it really is dependent on there being light. So imagine we did live in a pitch black world, and there was no light anywhere, and everything we do was about feeling things, the color of it really wouldn't matter, and it wouldn't necessarily even exist actually.
Melissa:The color
Jam:Yeah. Is that I
Melissa:think that that yeah. That's what I would think too. Mister Hollis said his students correctly came up with the idea that there is no color if there There's nothing adding energy to excite the electrons. So I would agree with that. I think that if If you don't have light, which is necessary to reflect color back to us or whatever, then there's no color.
Melissa:I think that that's right.
Jam:Man So Crazy. Crazy to think about.
Melissa:Yeah. Kinda cool to think about that without light, we wouldn't have color. You know?
Jam:Yeah. Seriously. Gosh. Dang. That's crazy.
Jam:I love the trippiness of questions like that.
Melissa:Me too.
Jam:Okay. Here's a question from Anthony c, and he asks, is that why more birds are attracted to freshly cut lawns?
Melissa:I think that was in relation to the quest to the episode about fresh cut grass and how it attracts bugs. Mhmm. And I would say that I did not know that that happened, but because I don't really cut lawns because I have very bad allergies. But I would guess that that is true. I would guess that birds have started to figure out that bugs are attracted to fresh cut grass, and therefore, they're coming to find bugs.
Jam:Oh, interesting. That is that makes sense.
Melissa:It's the food chain.
Jam:Yep. Those smart little birds. And then Anthony had another question. Read the conversation on why they call chocolate liqueur even though it's solid. Anthony said that the etymology of liqueur is a close relative to liquid, Which is a Latin verb meaning to be fluid.
Melissa:You can't speak Latin, Jim?
Jam:No. You know, it's just one of those things that I just got I got really rusty because I didn't have to use it very often. You know? I don't have to use it, take when I go to the supermarket and ask for directions. I don't have to use Latin anymore as much.
Melissa:Yeah. It was kinda died off a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. I think so he's talking about maybe because the paste liquefies when it's heated, that's probably why they went with liqueur.
Melissa:And I agree with that, but it's a paste. So I would call it chocolate paste if I was in charge, But it's too late now. Yeah.
Jam:Dang. That's funny. Interesting. And this next question is from Scott a, And he said, okay. So color changing markers, you said it's 2 dyes and 1 gets reduced so only 1 dye expresses.
Jam:But the markers aren't just secondary colors turning into primary colors. They're not just orange to red or whatever. For example, one of the markers,
Melissa:Okay. So that's a great question and I and a great observation. I think Scott was the person who originally wrote in with this question, and he said His kids had some color changing markers, so I think he's seen this happen.
Jam:Mhmm. I see.
Melissa:I think that sometimes that can where you can increase the conjugation or decrease the conjugation by certain reactions. So you're not just shifting the color like, Oh, we have mixed orange. We've mixed yellow and red to make orange. We're just slightly shifting it down a little bit on the color spectrum because we're adding 1 bond or removing 1 bond.
Jam:Oh, I see.
Melissa:So I wonder if there's some other reactions at play besides just Eliminating 1 of 2 colors mixed together, maybe 1 is a different reaction occurs besides just reduction.
Jam:Got it. Got it. Okay.
Melissa:That's very cool. I can't imagine how much fun those chemists have at the marker factory where they're figuring that stuff out.
Jam:Man, it's crazy.
Melissa:And Scott also asked about my research, what my current PhD work is on. And I want to do an episode about that. I actually talked with my adviser, and we think it's probably better for me to wait until my work is published, because it's Not published yet, so we don't wanna give too much away.
Jam:Right. Right.
Melissa:But I will quickly say that my research is chemistry education. So I am learning about how students learn organic chemistry, and how how they feel about organic chemistry can impact their learning process. So one day, when it's published, I will do a celebration episode of that publication and tell you all about my research and what I found out.
Jam:Nice. Okay. Cool. Well, that is all the questions I have to ask you this month, Melissa. And now I thought we could transition to a to my thinking our people, you guys who have Gone either either given a one time or have signed up to give and donate a cup of coffee to us monthly.
Melissa:Yes. Thank you guys so much for taking the time to go on our Cofi and either give us a one time donation or a monthly donation that Literally helps us keep our podcast going and helps us be able to give more time. So thanks to Fir 895, To Aspen, to the Hefners, and to Hunter R for your donations. And then for our recurring monthly members, we're so excited to have Chelsea b, Isabel and Michael, Steven b, Shay p, and Christina g to give us a monthly donation. And all of you guys, Chelsea, Isabelle, Michael, Steven, Shay, and Christina will all be receiving a handwritten thank you note from me and Jam for their monthly support And an original sticker designed by artist and friend of the show, Nikki Knoll.
Melissa:You can check her out on Thimble and Brush Co. She has amazing, beautiful artwork.
Jam:Yes. Thank you guys so much. This has been awesome to see some of y'all be generous to be able to give monthly. We know not everybody can do that, but those of you who've been able do that. We are so thankful.
Jam:You guys keep the show going.
Melissa:This episode of chemistry free life was created by Melissa Colini and Jam Robinson, and we'd like to give a special thanks to E Robinson who reviewed this episode.
