November 19, 2024
3 read me
December 2024: History of science 50, 100 and 150 years ago
Alcohol in space; basking in the light
1974, How many aces?: “After a brief glance at this display, most people say they saw three. In reality, there are five. Because people expect the ones in a lacquer to be black, they tend to miss the atypical reds. So previous conditioning and experience affect perception.”
American scientificthe volume 231, number 6; December 1974
1974
More alcohol has been discovered in space
“Is there intelligent life in the universe? Positive evidence said that while methyl alcohol was found in interstellar space, ethyl (potable) alcohol was not. Clearly someone had consumed the items. But in October a team of (researchers) used a highly sensitive spectrometer to study a dense cloud of gas and dust called Sagittarius B2, the rich source of most of the known molecules in space. They found a faint radio emission at a wavelength of 3.3 millimeters (and) identified it as radiation from ethyl alcohol. Ethyl alcohol, consisting of nine atoms (C2H5OH), is one of the largest and most complex molecules known today in interstellar space. The substance spreads in a thin vapor throughout Sagittarius B2, which is 50 light-years in diameter. A calculation shows that if ethyl alcohol were condensed, it would reach 1028 Fifths of a liter at 80 proof. Drinkability, however, can be a problem; alcohol is highly contaminated with substances such as hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde and ammonia. The discovery brings to 32 the number of different types of molecules that have been detected in space.”
About supporting science journalism
If you like this article, please consider supporting our award-winning journalism subscribe. By purchasing a subscription, you’re helping to ensure a future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas that shape our world.
1924
“Methanol” is a safer name
“Some time ago attention was drawn to the coinage of this word to denote methyl alcohol, commonly called wood alcohol. The aim was to provide a trade name that would not include the word “alcohol” and thereby not prejudice the use of this material as a beverage. In one year in one of our largest cities there were 54 deaths from the internal use of wood alcohol. As soon as traders and users accepted the word ‘methanol’, the number of deaths in the same town dropped to less than 20 in a year. It is believed that this ingenious device has accomplished much more than any educational or law enforcement campaign could.
Chromosomes, not jelly
“With the microscopic study of the cell and its components and the rediscovery of Mendel’s law in 1900, two lines of research that were previously independent have strengthened each other. Today we know that living cells are not mere drops of gelatin; each has a complex part, one of which is the easily dyed point is the nucleus. The nucleus contains very important microscopic components called chromosomes, of which each plant or animal species has a unique number. Although the nature and behavior of these tiny chromosome particles are not fully understood, it is evident that they have much, if anything, to do with determining the great events of heredity.
1874
Paintings Bask in the Limelight
“Lady Elizabeth Butler’s famous new painting ‘Roll Call’ is now shown nightly to large audiences in London, by oxygen light or lime light, and all the colors of the picture come out with a wonderful brilliancy. , indeed, by daylight with the same perfection. It is a great idea to light the gallery with light. The yellow color of the ordinary gas reveals only a part of the colors of the paintings. but the blues and greens, and their various shades, are unfortunately distorted, and lost in artistic effect. The light lime removes such difficulties.’
Levett Ibbetson has been credited with pioneering the use of focus in photography. An oxyhydrogen fire (a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen) heated a piece of quicklime until it became white-hot, creating an incandescence.
Walls of the Sanitary Hospital
“A writer London Builder suggests that thick glass can be easily and cheaply cemented into hospital walls. It would be absorbent, perishable, easy to clean, easily repaired if damaged by accident, and unlike paper and paint, would always be as good as before. Glass can be cut or bent to any shape required. If desired, the plates can be any cheerful color. The non-absorbable quality is the most important for hospitals and prisons, and, we should think, it deserves the consideration of architects.’
