I like pancakes 'cause they're stackable. Ooo, and waffles 'cause you can put things in the little holes if you wanted to.

Buffy ,'Potential'


Natter 65: Speed Limit Enforced by Aircraft  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, pandas, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


Lee - Jan 12, 2010 2:27:31 pm PST #1061 of 30001
The feeling you get when your brain finally lets your heart get in its pants.

Perkins is The Devil.
FCM

Lena Headey
Claudia Black
Katee Sackhoff

Matthew Gray Gubler
Joseph Gordon Levitt
Neil Patrick Harris

Is that better?


tommyrot - Jan 12, 2010 2:29:47 pm PST #1062 of 30001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.

Would it stay cold, you think, for an appreciable amount of time?

Dunno.

Would the wax staying solid impede the progress of the wick burning in any negative way?

Yes. It would burn slower. The wick serves to vaporize wax (it's the wax vapors that burn, not the molten wax). It would take more energy to melt the cold wax, so it would melt slower, thus exposing less of the wick, resulting in less molten wax being vaporized.


§ ita § - Jan 12, 2010 2:33:33 pm PST #1063 of 30001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

The outfit I wore today doesn't work. I really need a slip if I'm going to wear these tights with this dress. But this dress might be a little close for a slip. Shame. It's never going to be warm enough here to go tightsless.

C Katee (one note), F Lena Headey (what a beauty), M Claudia (who rocks).

The men are harder. I'd C NPH because he beat John Barrowman in the afterelton poll only, F JGL, M MGG because he's a fascinating bundle of weird.

I need candles.

Hey, -t, can you send tommy some candles? They should be your husband's candles for accuracy.


§ ita § - Jan 12, 2010 2:34:47 pm PST #1064 of 30001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

Malt-o-meal

It would take more energy to melt the cold wax, so it would melt slower, thus exposing less of the wick

By negative I meant perhaps mucking up the candle entirely--if the wax melts too slowly the wick can't burn and the candle goes out. But the candle might warm up before that's a factor.


-t - Jan 12, 2010 2:35:14 pm PST #1065 of 30001
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration

I feel like we did the candle burning experiment with inconclusive results, but it was a while ago. I can tell you that there is significant drippage on the ol' menorah even when all the candles have been in the freezer.

Tell you what, I will stick a Shabbos candle in the freezer right now, and light along side a non-frozen candle from the same box this Friday, see if there's any difference.


tommyrot - Jan 12, 2010 2:35:43 pm PST #1066 of 30001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.

Weird Military Innovations: 10 Crazy Weapons of War

I knew about the bats, but not the dogs.

The brutality of war can be reflected by the means with which it’s fought. Anti tank dogs were a soviet creation, and said to have taken down over 300 German tanks during World War II. Dogs were taught to find food under tanks, and then starved before a battle. They would have bombs strapped to their backs, with levers that would trigger as soon as it hit the underside of a tank. When the lever snapped back, the dogs would explode, destroying the tank. The Germans eventually fought this tactic with flamethrowers, and a couple cases of dogs running amok away from battlefields was enough to cut back the program.

...

It’s surprising a prototype of a bat bomb was ever even made, but it was. The idea was simple: place incendiary explosive devices on Mexican Free-Tailed Bats, lower their temperature inside a bomb so they hibernate in transit, and then release them over an enemy city to roost in the infrastructure below. At a specific time, all the bats would explode in a thousand fiery blazes, igniting fires across the city.

I don't think the bat bombs were ever deployed.


-t - Jan 12, 2010 2:37:30 pm PST #1067 of 30001
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration

Hey, -t, can you send tommy some candles? They should be your husband's candles for accuracy.

I've just got the one left in the freezer, is the problem with that.


tommyrot - Jan 12, 2010 2:37:47 pm PST #1068 of 30001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.

By negative I meant perhaps mucking up the candle entirely--if the wax melts too slowly the wick can't burn and the candle goes out. But the candle might warm up before that's a factor.

I think the flame would produce enough heat to still melt enough wax so it would burn.

Now I'm curious if a candle that's been immersed in liquid helium to near absolute zero would still burn. Anyone have any liquid helium in a thermos?


-t - Jan 12, 2010 2:40:23 pm PST #1069 of 30001
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration

I think you would have trouble igniting the wick near absolute zero. Below a certain temperature (and I used to know what it was, but have, of course forgotten) there's no chemistry, and therefore no oxidation of whatever wicks are made of.


tommyrot - Jan 12, 2010 2:43:16 pm PST #1070 of 30001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.

I think you would have trouble igniting the wick near absolute zero. Below a certain temperature (and I used to know what it was, but have, of course forgotten) there's no chemistry, and therefore no oxidation of whatever wicks are made of.

I disagree. The wick extends out from the candle and has a very high surface are to mass ratio (compared to the candle). It would heat up pretty quickly to a temperature where the wax impregnating it would burn. My question is, would the resulting flame be able to melt enough of the cold wax in the body of the candle to stay lit once the source of the initial flame (e.g. a match) was removed.

eta: This is once the candle is removed from the liquid helium.

But I think you'd be right if you tried to light the candle while it was immersed in liquid oxygen.