Innholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2020 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

A Stellar Mystery The star Betelgeuse (pronounced “beetle juice”) is normally one of the brightest in the night sky. If you look at the constellation Orion, Betelgeuse is the bright star in the hunter’s shoulder. But last year, star-gazers noticed something odd. Betelgeuse seems to be getting dimmer. From September to February, it faded to less than half as bright as it used to be. In March, it brightened a tiny bit again. Astronomers are closely watching to see what it will do next. Some wonder if the star is getting ready to go supernova, explode into a huge cloud. But astronomers who have been studying Betelgeuse with a giant telescope don’t think it’s about to go boom. They say the star might look dimmer because it’s cooling off. Or…

Ice is nice, everyone agrees (in summer, anyway). But what is it, exactly? Long ago, before freezers were invented, people cut ice from frozen ponds in the winter and stored it in big pits or ice houses, so in the summer they could have cold drinks. This was how people kept things cool from ancient times until about 100 years ago. Of course, even ancient people noticed that ice came from water. Frozen ponds were water in the summer, and when ice melted, there was water again. But ice was also clearly different from water. What made it different? Maybe ice was water plus . . . something else? Maybe bits of “cold”? Or...maybe not. In 1665, Robert Boyle, chemist and all-around genius, tried to find some cold particles. He…

Did you always dream of becoming an ice cream scientist? I did not even know being an ice cream scientist was possible until I was in college. When I was growing up, I wanted to be a chemistry teacher, because I loved making things like slime. But I LOVE ice cream. And there is so much chemistry in food, especially ice cream! So I decided to follow my heart and use my chemistry to help make ice cream. How is today’s ice cream different from ice cream in the past? Modern ice cream is still made from the same ingredients: milk, cream, and sugar. The big difference is how it is frozen. In the past, ice cream had to be frozen using ice and rock salt (I sometimes still do…

ALASKA The Inuit of Alaska and Canada make a cold treat called akutaq. It is a fluffy whipped mix of fat, snow, and berries. MEXICO In Mexico, cool off with a refreshing paleta, a fruit popsicle with real chunks of fruit frozen in it. You can buy one from a paletero, a street vendor who sells ice cream from a cart or bike. ECUADOR In summer, Ecuadorians enjoy cold helados de paila, a fruit sorbet made by spinning a pan filled with fruit, sugar, and cream in a bed of ice. GERMANY Germans enjoy an amusing dessert called spaghettieis: vanilla ice cream pressed through a pasta maker and topped with strawberry sauce, so it looks like a plate of spaghetti. USA Ice cream is America’s most popular dessert. And what’s…

Crumbly Cream In 1968, NASA posted the menu of the Apollo 7 space mission. It listed a special treat with lunch: vanilla ice cream. This menu is a good reminder not to believe everything you read, because the astronaut ice cream never made it to space. Food made for space travel is often freeze-dried. To freeze-dry food, it is put into a cold vacuum chamber. That makes the water inside turn instantly to gas, which escapes into the vacuum. The result is a light, completely dry chunk of food. It doesn’t spoil or melt. When it’s time to eat, the astronauts add water back in. Freeze-drying is a great way to store fruit, chili, and other heavy foods. But can you freeze-dry ice cream? It turns out, you can. The…

Americans have always loved ice cream. President George Washington loved it so much that he owned 10 ice-cream-making pots. But back in 1776, ice cream was a rare dessert for the rich. No one had refrigerators, and sugar and ice were very expensive. So how did Washington get his ice cream? In winter, he sent out teams of workers to cut blocks of ice from frozen ponds. Big sleds hauled the ice to the ice house, a shed with a deep pit for storing ice. The ice was stacked in the underground pit and covered with straw to keep it cold all summer. If Washington wanted ice cream for dinner, he had to tell the cook before breakfast. Someone had to milk the cow and skim the cream. Someone else…

Why do I have to shake it as it freezes? Ice cream is a mixture of milk fats and proteins (from the cream), sugar slush, air bubbles, and tiny ice crystals. The key to smooth ice cream is to keep the ice crystals small. Mixing the cream while it freezes prevents ice crystals from sticking together and getting big. The sugar, fats, and tiny air bubbles also help keep ice crystals small. Sugar grabs onto some of the water in the milk, making a thick syrup that doesn’t freeze easily. Fats in the milk surround small ice crystals and stop them from sticking together. TRY IT: Pour a bit of ice cream mix into a cup. Leave it in the freezer for a bit, until it’s frozen. How is it…

Dear Marvin, Do you have any raccoon cousins or friends who are as mischievous and cunning as you are? Maybe you could invite them over to do pranks on Plush! Here’s one to try! Cut book covers out of paper cardboar CLASSIFIED fake book out of a stack of release the spring and the cream pies. Then on the cover, write “The Best Book of Rules Ever” and put it somewhere Plush will see it. Ha ha! Over and out, Adam Dear Adam, Are you sure you aren’t a raccoon? You’re welcome to come pranking with my cousins any time. Thanks for all the detailed diagrams, those were very helpful! I’ll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, I’ll just say, slime has many interesting uses. Yours in…