What is the perfect way to dunk a bisquit into coffee?
+Const x
= perfect taste
the absolute term Const x is wanted
The lecture today in soil science (specifically in Water and Material Balance in Soils) was our "Christmas lecture". According to the material covered in lecture and celebrating science we basically had the subject of "how to dunk an almond cookie, specifically a traditional German spicy Christmas cookie - "Spekulatius" or to taste also ginger bread, in coffee or tea the correct way. Yes, we practiced this with given food as well. :-)
However, we took it much further than just the Washburn equation and the article a few years ago, which was published in Nature by Len Fisher in 1999. It was quite interesting. And then we had a guest lecturer from Italy who did his PhD on cookies and how they capillary flow was calculable in a box of cookies.
Had a few neat experiments as well. Funny lecture with an interesting popular science excurs.
And now this is something I have noticed so far as well:
"Such excitement over an equation contradicts the normal publisher'sadvice to authors - that every additional equation halves the sales of a popular-science book. Why was this so? Let me suggest an answer, relevant to the sharing of more serious science. Scientists are seen by many as the inheritors of the ancient priestly power of the keys, the owners and controllers of seemingly forbidden knowledge. Equations are one key to that knowledge. The excitement of journalists in gaining control of a key was surely a major factor in their sympathetic promotion of the story. By making the Washburn equation accessible, I was able to ensure that journalists unfamiliar with science could use the key to unlock Pandora'sbox." [Len Fisher, Nature 397, 469 (11 February 1999)]