SCIENCE NEWS - JELLY BEANS #23

How Are Jelly Beans Made?

#1071 WONDER OF THE DAY

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Wonder Contributors

Today at Wonderopolis, we are celebrating our 3rd birthday! After reading today’s sweet Wonder, click here to see some cool ways we are celebrating.  

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Do you like beans? You’re probably saying, “That depends upon what kind of beans you’re talking about!” Green beans? Black beans? Pinto beans? Lima beans? There are many kinds of beans out there.

We bet there’s one kind of bean that almost all of you like, though. It’s hard on the outside and soft on the inside. And they’re usually really sweet and tasty. What are we talking about? Jelly beans, of course!

Jelly beans are a popular type of candy. They’re shaped like a bean with a solid outer shell and a soft interior. They also come in a rainbow of colors and a wide variety of flavors. Their main ingredient is sugar, but there are other ingredients that give them their unique shape and texture.

To make jelly beans, manufacturers heat liquid sugar to about 350 °F. They then mix in starch and glucose. The combined mixture is then poured into starch molds shaped like beans. They let the mixture dry in the molds for a day to give them their unique chewy texture.

After they’re removed from the molds, the jelly beans are steamed and coated with more liquid sugar and then placed into a spinning machine. As the jelly beans are spun constantly, artificial colors and flavors are added to give them their final coloring and taste.

Toward the end of the process, grains of sugar are added to the spinning machine about four times. It is this granular sugar that gives the jelly beans their hard outer shell. Finally, hot syrup and wax are added to the spinning machine at the very end to give the jelly beans their final polished, glossy look.

Once they’re finished, the jelly beans are dried and packaged. Sometimes jelly beans are packaged and sold in individual flavors. Much of the time, though, they are sold in packages of mixed flavors to give jelly bean fans a wide variety of flavors.

The history of jelly beans is a bit unclear. Some people believe their chewy insides were inspired by Turkish Delight, a Middle Eastern treat made of jelly and covered in powdered sugar. Jelly beans may have made their first appearance in the United States in 1861, when Boston confectioner William Schrafft encouraged customers to send his jelly beans to soldiers during the Civil War. Historians believe jelly beans first became linked with the Christian holiday of Easter in the 1930s.

Some of the most common jelly bean flavors include cherry, orange, lemon, lime, grape, licorice, lemonade and strawberry. Many gourmet flavors are available from specialty manufacturers, too. Examples of gourmet flavors include raspberry, coconut and popcorn.

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SCIENCE NEWS - BULLETPROOF VEST #22

How Do Bulletproof Vests Work?

#1069 WONDER OF THE DAY

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Wonder Contributors

Today’s Wonder of the Day was submitted to us by our Wonder Friend Tyler of Monroe, Ohio.  As of today, Tyler’s Wonder has received 272 votes! Way to go, Tyler! Keep WONDERing with us! 

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If you’re thinking of a future career in the military or as a police officer, there’s an article of clothing you will probably have to get used to wearing. No, we’re not talking about a uniform. Yes, there are certainly uniforms to be worn, but we’re talking about something that protects you from danger: the bulletproof vest!

If you’ve seen a television show about police, a war movie, or even the nightly news in the recent past, you’ve probably seen bulletproof vests. Worn for safety and protection, these often life-saving articles of clothing are meant to prevent death or serious injury from a wide variety of dangers, including bullets.

Those same movies and television shows have probably made it clear to you just how dangerous bullets can be. They’re meant to be deadly and they often are. For the people who protect our country and communities, though, they don’t have to be. Thanks to modern technology, even the mighty bullet can be stopped!

You’re probably WONDERing exactly HOW bulletproof vests stop bullets. After all, they have to be worn by people who often have to move around quickly. It’s not like they can wear a brick wall around themselves! No, they need “soft” body armor that is lightweight and flexible enough to allow easy movement.

To understand how these types of bulletproof vests work, it might help if you’re a soccer player. What? It’s true! Like the net on a soccer goal catches and stops a soccer ball — even one kicked by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi — bulletproof vests contain web-like nets of special fabrics that stop bullets (or shrapnel or blades).

Like a soccer goal’s net absorbs the ball’s energy and spreads it out across all the fibers in the net, effectively slowing and then stopping the ball’s forward movement, the tightly-woven, flexible synthetic fibers in a bulletproof vest do the same thing. The fibers in the vest “catch” the bullet and bring it to a stop before it can penetrate the body and cause serious injury or even death.

If you’ve ever seen a soccer ball kicked into a goal, you know that the net gives way and allows the ball to travel a little ways before it stops it and brings it to the ground. Bulletproof vests cannot give that much, however.

That’s why the fibers in a bulletproof vest must be packed together much more tightly. They’re so densely packed that you could think of them as multiple soccer goal nets overlapped and piled on top of each other — thousands and thousands of times over in a tiny space.

That’s where the modern technology of synthetic fibers comes into play. As early as 1965, chemical company DuPont manufactured a synthetic fiber known for its high strength, low weight, and resistance to chemicals, cuts, and fire. This fiber — called Kevlar — was soon used to make the first generation of flexible, concealable body armor.

Since that time, DuPont and other companies have created a wide variety of such synthetic fibers. But guess what might be the fiber of the future? Would you believe genetically-modified spider silk? Maybe!

Today’s bulletproof vests will protect against most common low-caliber handguns, but high-powered weapons, especially rifles, can still penetrate bulletproof vests. The only protection from these types of weapons is usually “hard” bulletproof armor made of rigid ceramics and metals. Unfortunately, these types of body armor are usually too bulky and heavy to wear for everyday use.

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SCIENCE NEWS - HAVERST MOON #21

SCIENCE NEWS - WINGSUIT DAREDEVIL #20

Wingsuit Daredevil Jeb Corliss Completes Another Heart-Stopping 'Flight'

By Meera Dolasia on September 30, 2013

Over his short illustrious career, base jumper Jeb Corliss has completed over 2,000 stunts including leaping off France's Eiffel Tower, zooming through a waterfall in the Swiss Alps and even, flying across the Tianmen Cave, a 100ft-wide water eroded slit, in China's Tianmen Mountain. However, the stunt he pulled recently was so dangerous that it scared the daredevil himself.

This time around the 'flying dagger' as he is now being called, decided to take on a tiny fissure between the two peaks of the 2,677 feet tall Mount Jianglang in China. Measuring about 900 feet long or the size of three football fields, the peaks twist and curve in such a way that at about the halfway point, there is just a 25 feet wide gap between the two. While this may not be a big deal in a jet-propelled flight, given that Jeb propels on his own might using just the wingsuit, even a slight windturbulence could easily derail his path and result in a crash landing.

But while that may deter most, it was not enough to scare Jeb. On Saturday, September 26th, following several delays caused by high winds, the daredevil launched off from a helicopter in his signature custom-built wingman suit and zoomed through the space at 100mph. While he made it look easy, he later admitted that it was one of the 'gnarliest' jumps he had ever done and that he had never been so scared in his life! As expected, his biggest challenge came at the narrowest point when he was forced to side slip to combat the wind turbulence. If that wasn't bad enough, he had to change his stance as soon as he emerged, so that he could propel himself with full force to make it to the predetermined landing spot.

37-year old Corliss began his career as a base-jumper. Then a few years ago, he adopted the wingsuit - a special jumpsuit that shapes the human body into anairfoil, which can create lift. Also known as birdman suits or squirrel suits, the jumpsuits have been used in some form or shape since the 1930's. But it was not until Jeff began performing these daredevil stunts that wingsuit jumping caught on as an extreme sport. It has become so popular that in 2012, energy drink manufacturer Red Bull decided to host the first world championships. Held at Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, China it was considered so dangerous that only the world's top eight wingsuit divers were allowed to enter and battle it out for theprestigious title.

While Jeb is one of the best, he too has had his share of mishaps in thisunpredictable extreme sport. In 1999, a collision with a waterfall in South Africaresulted in his chute collapsing, leaving him with a broken back. A decade later, he broke a leg after hitting a building in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and at the 2012 world championships he was forced to sit out the finals after injuring both ankles and tearing a knee during the qualifying rounds. However all these injuries do not seem to deter this 37-year old who has become for famous pushing the boundaries of the sport by performing all kinds of acrobatic maneuvers whilst free falling!

Critical Thinking Challenge: While wind turbulence is an important factor to consider during all of Jeb's 'flights' why was it of paramount importance during this one?

Resources: Discovery.com,today.com

SCIENCE NEWS - VISION RESTORED #19

August 5, 2013 – A Montreal man that was blind for 68 years can now see, thanks to a nasty fall down the stairs.

Pierre-Paul Thomas was born blind in 1945. He had a condition that damaged the optic nerves in his eyes, cataracts, and a syndrome called congenital nystagmus, which causes fast involuntary eye movements.

He'd had lots surgeries when he was younger to try and fix his vision. None of them worked and he learned to live only seeing faint shadows.

Then, in 2011 he fell down the stairs and had surgery to reconstruct his eye sockets. Several months later at a follow-up appointment, Dr. Lucie Lessard asked him, "Oh, while we're at it, do you want us to fix your eyes too?"

Thomas was thrilled and had the surgery. Now he can see, which makes him very happy but also very overwhelmed because he has to learn a lot of things that we learn when we are very young. 

He has to learn colours and has trouble figuring out what objects are based on what they look like because he has figured out what things are using his hands his whole life. "I reassure myself about what something is by checking with my fingers," he said. "I'm like a child all over again."

But even though it can be scary at times, Thomas is overjoyed to have his sight!

SCIENCE NEWS - AMPUTEE WITH LEGO LEG #18

– Amputees often feel like their lives are ruined and that people will see them as monsters. After Christina Stephens lost her left foot in an accident she came up with an idea to inspire fellow amputees and help them realize that they can rebuild their life– and she did it with Lego.

In January Stephens was changing the brake pads on her car when the car slipped off the jack and landed on her left foot. She thought it was broken but didn't think it looked that bad, but weeks later her foot turned grey and the pain had not gotten any better so she chose to have it amputated.

Stephens was joking with her friends one day about what kind of prosthetic leg she should use. One friend suggested she make her own out of Lego, and, having a Lego expert as a child, she decided to take up the challenge.

She shot a time-lapse video of the entire project, which took two hours. However the leg doesn't help her walk at all: When she puts her weight on it the foot and ankle crumble.

The video was uploaded to her YouTube account where she has over 30 videos detailing her life without her foot and talking about issues that face her and other amputees. "Part of what I want to do with my videos is de-stigmatize amputation and make it less scary," she said.

Since it was uploaded her Lego leg video has received more than 1.3 million views. "I thought my Legos video had some viral potential, but I had no idea it would explode like it did," Stephens said.

But why spend two hours building a Lego leg that doesn't work? "The video is sort of a metaphor for rebuilding your life after a disability," Stephens said. She works as an occupational therapist, who is someone who works on living and working skills with people who have physical, mental, or developmental conditions.

Now that she is also someone with a physical condition, Stephens is able to show people how they can live without limbs instead of just telling them.

SCIENCE NEWS - YOUNGEST FRESHMAN #17

Texas Christian University Welcomes Its Youngest Freshman Ever!

By Meera Dolasia on August 31, 2013

CCSS

On Monday, August 26th, over 1,500 freshman made their way to Texas Christian University's beautiful campus for the first day of a four-year journey, one from where they will all emerge as adults. The only exception? Carson Huey-You who will not even be eligible to drive when he graduates because he happens to be only eleven years old!

What's even more amazing is that the University's youngest student ever, was only ten-years old when he was accepted. And while it may surprise all of us, it doesn't seem to faze Carson or his family. His mother says she realized that she may have a unique child when the young boy started reading chapter books at the age of two. By three the then homeschooled genius had mastered basic math conceptslike addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

When he turned five, his mother decided to enroll him in a private school. But instead of heading to kindergarten he went straight to eighth grade. By the age of ten, the school as well as Carson's mother decided that that he may be ready for University. Given that the young boy was graduating from Grapevine'sAccommodated Learning Academy with a 4.0 GPA and had scored a cumulativescore of 1770 on his SAT with a 620 in math, there was very little the dean of admissions at Texas Christian University could argue about. Of course the fact that the young boy was assertive in his interview, did not hurt either.

As you have probably guessed, the young boy who dreams of becoming aquantum physicist and earn his Ph.D. before he turns 20, is not wasting this opportunity with easy classes. His roster for the first semester comprises ofcalculus, physics, history and religion. The young boy who speaks almost fluent Mandarin Chinese and is a self-taught pianist, has also joined some school clubs. And incase you think that the Carson is all work and no play, the Minecraft fan loves to hang out with his friends and play basketball and football. He also loves MythBusters and is an avid Star Wars fan!

But if you think all these achievements result in Carson getting special treatment at home, think again. His mother is quite accustomed to hanging around geniuses, because believe it or not, her younger, seven-year old son also happens to be one. Already in eighth grade, he is on the track to become a freshman in less than five years, just before he turns 13 - Pretty amazing!

SCIENCE NEWS - STANDARD TIME #16

Sanford Fleming: Standard Time 

Although you may not have heard of Sir Sanford Fleming, his Stuff of Genius influences every second of your life. Turn back the clock and take a look at the man who standardized time in this video podcast 

SCIENCE NEWS - SMALL POX #15

Edward Jenner: Smallpox Vaccine 

Although forms of vaccination had been discovered thousands of years ago in Asia and Africa, Western Europeans didn't pick up on it until Edward Jenner turned an old wives' tale into the Stuff of Genius.

SCIENCE NEWS - STARFISH #14

isten

Have you ever sat in your backyard on a warm, summer night? It can be fun just to sit back and enjoy gazing up at the stars that dot the sky. You might even see a shooting star paint a streak across the sky.

We often associate stars with the faint light they produce in the night sky. But what about starfish? Do these sea creatures light up the sea floor the way the stars do the sky?

Not quite! Although there are a few starfish that may give off some light as a result of bioluminescence. Starfish get their name from their shape. Starfish have five radial arms centered around a central disk, giving them their unique star-like shape.

Starfish actually aren’t even fish at all. Most scientists prefer to call them sea stars, since they’re technically echinoderms. Sea stars are related to other echinoderms, including sand dollars, sea urchins and sea cucumbers.

Starfish come in all sorts of colors and sizes. In fact, there are over 2,000 different species of sea stars. They all resemble a star, though! They don’t have gills, scales or fins like fish. They also don’t move like fish. Starfish have lots of tiny tube-like feet on their undersides that help propel them along the sea floor.

One of the interesting things about starfish is that they can regenerate a lost arm. Some starfish actually use this ability as a defense mechanism to protect themselves from predators. If they feel threatened by a predator, starfish can drop an arm, move away and regrow the arm later!

If a starfish loses an arm, it won’t bleed, though. Why? Starfish have no blood! Rather than blood, starfish have a vascular system that pumps sea water through their bodies.

Starfish also have a very unique way of eating. A starfish feeds on bivalves, like mussels and clams. It pries open their shells and then does something incredible. It pushes its stomach through its mouth into the bivalve’s shell. After digesting the animal, it then pulls its stomach back into its body! This strange eating process allows a starfish to eat much larger prey than it would otherwise be able to fit into its tiny mouth.

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