Brrr... How do car heaters work?

Brrr.. it's cold in here, there must be some Toros in the atmosphere! That movie rocks. Anyways, it is really cold in Atlanta right now and I have been using the heck out of my car heater these last few days. I don't know where the heat comes from, but I'm glad it's there. 


So Ben, how does the car heater work?


When your car runs, the engine generates a tremendous amount of heat, due to the thousands of small gasoline explosions that occur each minute.  To keep the engine block from literally melting, there is a coolant fluid that is circulated throughout the engine and then through a radiator which allows the fluid to transfer its heat to the air before going back through the engine.  


When the engine warms up enough (usually to the point where the coolant fluid is at about 180 degrees F) then a thermostat opens up and allows the coolant fluid to also flow through a second, smaller radiator that is usually tucked in behind your dashboard.  When you turn the heat on the air blows over this smaller radiator and that's what brings the heat into the passenger cabin.  (yay!)


Some cars cant use this arrangement, like the old VW Beetle where the engine was in the back as well as "electric" cars which don't have heat-generating engines, so they rely on simple straightforward electric heaters.

How is ice cream transported?

High Road Craft Ice Cream is the best ice cream I’ve ever had in my whole life. Period. (http://highroadcraft.com) During one of their tours (they do tours with tastings) they were talking about ice cream delivery and how important it is that the ice cream stays a consistent temperature. So that got me wondering…

How do companies transport ice cream?

Ben:

They (makers of delicious creamy goodness) have big climate controlled trucks, just like the Ice Truck killer in Dexter. They basically just take a walk-in freezer and stick it on the back of a truck and then add a generator so that it doesn't have to be plugged in for power.

What's that copper wire hanging down from our light?

We recently replaced our dining room light.. it looks great, thanks for asking! During this process I noticed a wire that the designer in me wanted gone. So why is it there and what is it?

Ben, what is that copper looking wire hanging from our light?

That's the ground wire and it's there for your safety.  Lighting fixtures (as well as any appliance with a metallic chassis or housing) have three wires: one that's black, one that's white and one that's either green or bare.  The black wire is Hot, which means that it has 120VAC on it.  Don't touch that one.  The white wire is Neutral which is the return path for the circuit in question and it is at ground potential, which means there isn't any voltage on it.  The green or bare copper wire is the ground wire which is attached to the metal enclosure and is connected to ground.


Without a ground wire, if the black wire comes loose and touches the metal enclosure, then the whole enclosure is sitting at 120 volts so if you touch it you get a new hairdo.  However, if you properly connect the ground wire then if the black wire touches the (now grounded) metal enclosure, then the grounding wire creates a short circuit to ground which will trip the breaker so that there is no shock hazard.  It's not as exciting, but nobody dies so it's sort of a tradeoff.

Do cats recognize a photo of themselves?

Ok, I have two coffee mugs with our cat's faces on them. I was drinking out of one the other day and Ava kept staring at it. I would like to know if she recognized herself or was asleep with her eyes open. 


Ben, do cats recognize photos of themselves?


Let's be honest, our cats don't even recognize their own tails.  I don't think our cats recognize each other. Cats aren't self-aware so they don't recognize their own reflections or pictures of themselves. I also read an article that said that cats don't understand the concept of cause and effect. I believe this article.


(editor's note.. because this post is about cats, here is a Avocado looking confused)

Beer Bubbles

If you know Ben at all, this question was bound to happen eventually. I figured I would get our first blog week started with an easy one for Ben.

How do bubbles form in beer? 

Beer is made when malted barley is soaked in water and then yeast is added.  The yeast are single celled fungi that eat sugar, piss ethanol (this is the stuff that makes you a better singer), and fart carbon dioxide.  If you seal the container the beer is in, then the carbon dioxide that is released causes the pressure to build up until it starts to dissolve in the beer.  Then when you relive the pressure by opening the bottle or can the carbon dioxide is released and forms tiny bubbles.  However, in most beer the yeast is filtered out before the beer is bottled so they just add carbon dioxide to the beer to the same effect.

Ding Dong. How does the doorbell work?

In my efforts to help clear things up for the kids visiting the Bruckner residence on Halloween, I took the doorbell off our house. Why you ask? Because it was dead and I didn't want kids freezing to death thinking it had worked. Anyways, it's replaced now and I wanted to know how it works. So I asked Ben, and guess what? He knows: 

Traditionally, there is a small transformer located somewhere in your house that converts the 120VAC down to 24VAC, and that lower voltage is connected to a wire that runs to the front door and is attached to your doorbell button. The other side of the doorbell button is then connected to some sort of audible bell, which is then in turn connected to the other side of the doorbell transformer, completing a circuit.  Normally, the doorbell button is basically an open switch so no current is flowing and nothing is happening.  But when someone presses the doorbell button it closes a switch that completes the circuit and current flows into the bell sounding unit.  I'm not sure what they are usually comprised of, but I would guess some sort of solenoid that strikes one bell when the circuit is activated (ding), and then when the doorbell button is released, a spring pulls the striker back and hits another bell (dong).

An alternative method is to have a small battery powered wireless transmitter inside the doorbell button that communicates to a wireless receiver in side the house that is connected to a speaker. The advantage of this approach is that you don't have to run any wires. The disadvantage is that at some point the batteries die out and then the Chinese food delivery guy just stands outside your door hitting a button that does nothing and then waiting for you to notice that he's there while you starve to death inside.

Where does the phrase "long in the tooth" come from?

This conversation happened the other night as I was sniffing milk, (a typical past-time of mine). Ben said "go ahead and toss that, it's long in the tooth." My confused expression must have been enough, as he then went on, "you should know this, you used to ride horses.." 


So Ben, where does the phrase "long in the tooth" come from?


Horses' teeth grow longer as they age and so the length of their teeth is a pretty reliable way of telling how old they are.  This is also where the phrase "don't look a gift-horse in the mouth" comes from.  So, that means that if someone says that you're a bit long on the tooth, they not only saying you're old; they're also calling you a horse.  Fortunately this means that it's acceptable to kick them in the head and/or poop on their shoes.