Chem 101, Nick. A solution is a liquid into which a solid has been dissolved. A mixture does not involve dissolution. Whiskey is a mixture of water, ethyl alcohol, and various aromatic hydrocarbon volatiles. In order for them to separate, they would have to be immiscible.
Which obviously, they are not. And whiskey goes well with some mixers as well: bourbon and good Schwepps ginger ale, for example. Or bourbon and sweet red Martini & Rossi. On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 6:43 PM, Nicholas Thompson < [email protected]> wrote: > SS wrote: **** > > ** ** > > But are you surprised that your bottle of wine, beer, or hard liquor > hasn't seperated before you even get to pour it?**** > > ** ** > > NST REPLIES:**** > > ** ** > > Well I guess I am surprised by that. Whiskey (etc) is just a mixture of > alcohol and water,no? I suspect that there is some sort of distinction > lurking here between a “solution” of something and a “mixture” of > something. **** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > *From:* [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] *On > Behalf Of *Steve Smith > *Sent:* Tuesday, June 12, 2012 3:45 PM > > *To:* The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group > *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] atmospherics**** > > ** ** > > Nick - > > I think Bruce just gave a good calibration on this with his great > description not only of why or why not to breathe Uranium Hexaflouride (cuz > you will have to stand on your head to empty it from your lungs!) but also > the relative density of the gasses in question. > > Try the analogy of mixed drinks. Every good bartender knows that you put > the alcohol into the glass first so that when you add the water-based stuff > (tonic, seltzer, juice, etc.) the two mix naturally. If you pour the > alcohol *over* the watery things, you risk the alcohol "floating" rather > than mixing. We could go into the implications of low and high "proof" > alcohol, etc. > > But are you surprised that your bottle of wine, beer, or hard liquor > hasn't seperated before you even get to pour it? > > AS I think Doug mentioned, thermal energy alone is a good mixer... even > without the constant stirring of wind and convection... > > - Steve > > **** > > Sorry. Mixed up the weight of N and O. So my question should have been, > Why don’t we wake up in a layer of oxygen on still nights? **** > > **** > > Which brings us to your question about what would make me expect that a > mixture would separate out into its lighter and heavier components. You > tell me! Other things being equal, don’t heavier things tend to sink when > mixed with lighter ones? **** > > **** > > N**** > > **** > > **** > > **** > > *From:* [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]<[email protected]>] > *On Behalf Of *Douglas Roberts > *Sent:* Tuesday, June 12, 2012 2:43 PM > *To:* The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group > *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] atmospherics**** > > **** > > Let's not ignore temperature: my farts are a good 20 degrees F above > ambient (at present), and tend to rise before mixing into the unfortunate > nearby environs. And, just in case you were wondering what the composition > of a fart was:**** > > **** > > The major components of the flatus, which are odorless, by percentage are: > [4] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatulence#cite_note-3>**** > > **§ **Nitrogen <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen>: 20–90%**** > > **§ **Hydrogen <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen>: 0–50%**** > > **§ **Carbon dioxide <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide>: > 10–30%**** > > **§ **Oxygen <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen>: 0–10%**** > > **§ **Methane <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane>: 0–10%**** > > **** > > *4. ^ <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatulence#cite_ref-3>* "Human > Digestive > System"<http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-45361/human-digestive-system#294193.hook> > . *Encyclopædia Britannica*. Retrieved 2007-08-22.**** > > **** > > --Doug**** > > **** > > On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 12:33 PM, Roger Critchlow <[email protected]> wrote:**** > > Nick --**** > > **** > > N2 weighs 28 gm/mole, O2 weighs 32 gm/mole, Ar weighs 40 gm/mole, CO2 > weighs 44 gm/mole, and H2O weighs 18 gm/mole.**** > > **** > > Why would anyone expect the lighter components of a mixture to fall down > more than the heavier ones? If anything, you'd expect the heavier ones to > concentrate toward the bottom.**** > > **** > > And why would anyone expect a mixture to spontaneously separate into pure > components? That happens in real life like where?**** > > **** > > As it happens, CO2 is the heaviest normal component and it does pool in > confined spaces often enough that CO2 alarms are available in hardware > stores. Propane, C3H8, weighs 44 gm/mole and is notorious for pooling in > confined spaces and then exploding, often in the bilge of a boat and > spectacularly.**** > > **** > > -- rec --**** > > **** > > On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 10:44 AM, Nicholas Thompson < > [email protected]> wrote:**** > > So, somebody asked me, in my role as a weather nerd, how come the nitrogen > in the atmosphere doesn’t all fall to the bottom on still nights and > suffocate us all. I asked the question of > stupid-answers-to-stupid-questions-asked-by-stupid-people.com and THEY > said, well, there’s just too much going on. N molecules and the O > molecules are just too busy, what with convection and windcurrents, and > all, to separate, even on still nights. Now, that business doesn’t prevent > cold molecules of Nitrogen and Oxygen to separate from warm ones, or wet > ones (not sure what that means) to separate from dry ones. I was hoping > that somebody on FRIAM could give some sort of a clue what kind of a > mixture AIR is? It is suddenly seeming kinda special. **** > > **** > > **** > > **** > > Nicholas S. Thompson**** > > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology**** > > Clark University**** > > http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/**** > > http://www.cusf.org**** > > **** > > **** > > **** > > > > > **** > > ============================================================**** > > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv**** > > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College**** > > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org**** > > ** ** > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org > -- Doug Roberts [email protected] [email protected] http://parrot-farm.net/Second-Cousins <http://parrot-farm.net/Second-Cousins> 505-455-7333 - Office 505-670-8195 - Cell
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