Prometheus the Light Bearer

Do you love spicy food? I do! But sometimes, I end up eating something that is way too hot for me and my eyes start watering like crazy. Have you ever wondered why that happens? Well, let me tell you! It's all because of a nerve called the trigeminal nerve . This nerve is responsible for sensing things on our tongue, our face and our eyes. It helps us feel pain, temperature, touch and pressure . Schematic illustration of the trigeminal nerve and the organs (or structures) it  supplies. When we eat spicy food, we are actually eating chemicals called capsaicinoids . These chemicals irritate the nerve endings on our tongue and send a signal to the brain that something is wrong. The brain then thinks that there is a problem in all the areas that the trigeminal nerve covers , not just the tongue. Capsaicin So, the brain activates a reflex to protect us from the irritation. This reflex makes us produce more tears in our eyes, more saliva in our mouth and more sweat on our face . These ...

 If you love tea with milk, you might wonder how this delicious drink affects the nutritional value of milk. Milk is a rich source of many vitamins and minerals, especially calcium, but does heating it up for tea destroy these nutrients? Let's find out! Milk undergoes a process called pasteurization at the dairy, which kills any harmful bacteria without affecting its quality. Pasteurization involves heating the milk to a temperature of about 72°C for 15 seconds and then cooling it rapidly . This is different from boiling the milk at home, which involves reaching a temperature of 100°C and keeping it there for a longer time. Pasteurization Process Boiling the milk can cause some changes in its constituents, especially the water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C and some of the B vitamins. These vitamins are sensitive to heat and can be destroyed by prolonged exposure to high temperatures. Milk is not a major source of vitamin C, but it does contain some vitamin B12 and folic acid, w...

 How does a transistor radio work? Radio waves are electromagnetic (EM) waves generated by a radiating element (called Transmitting (Tx) antenna) and absorbed by Receiving (Rx) antenna. An antenna is a conductor with a specified shape and geometry. Every free electron in the conductor is surrounded by an associated electric field. Whenever an alternating current flows through these passive devices, a varying magnetic field around the conductor is produced (Faraday's Law) and also the displaced electrons' shifts/ varies the associated electric field. On the whole, due to the flow of alternating current, an EM field is created around the Antenna. This field of disturbance propagates through the media. The direction of propagation depends on the physical layout of the Tx antenna. For broadcasting purposes, Omni-directional antennas are most suitable. The field strength of this EM wave (expressed in dBm/ dBW) depends on the amplitude of the current flow and varies inversely with th...

Have you ever wondered why your eyes water when you have a cold? It's a common and annoying symptom that can make you feel miserable. But there's actually a scientific explanation behind it. In this blog post, I'll tell you why your eyes water when you have a cold and what you can do to relieve it. Tears are not just for crying. They are constantly produced by the tear glands in your eyes to keep them moist and healthy. Tears also help you see clearly by washing away dust and dirt from the surface of your eyes. Normally, the excess tears drain out through small openings in the inner corners of your eyelids and into your nose through a tube called the nasolacrimal duct. But when you have a cold, things change. Your nose becomes congested and inflamed due to the viral infection. This causes the nasolacrimal duct to swell up and block the flow of tears from your eyes to your nose. As a result, the tears have nowhere to go, and they start to overflow from your eyes. This is why...

 Have you ever wondered why your mouth feels itchy after eating too much pineapple? Pineapple is a delicious and nutritious fruit that can be enjoyed in many ways. But it also has some hidden secrets that can make your mouth uncomfortable. In this blog post, I will explain why pineapple causes an itching sensation in your mouth and what you can do to prevent it. Pineapple is not a single fruit, but a collection of many individual fruits that grow together on a tropical plant called Ananas comosus . Each fruit has a near-hexagonal shape and a spiny skin that covers a juicy and sweet pulp. Pineapple is rich in vitamin C, vitamin B complex, calcium, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and other minerals that are good for your health. A jar of Durkee meat tenderizer containing bromelain But pineapple also contains a special enzyme called bromelain , which is mostly found in the inedible stalk of the fruit. Bromelain is a proteolytic enzyme , which means it can break down prote...

 Hi everyone! Welcome to my blog where I share my passion for science and nature. Today I want to talk about a fascinating topic:  Why and how is water transparent? Water is one of the most common and essential substances on Earth. It covers about 71% of the surface of our planet and makes up about 60% of our body weight. We use it for drinking, cooking, cleaning, bathing, and many other purposes. But have you ever wondered why water is transparent? Why can we see through it and what makes it different from other liquids or solids? To answer this question, we need to understand some basic concepts about light and how it interacts with matter. Light is a form of an electromagnetic energy with a wide range of wavelengths. However, the range that a human eye can 'see' is very tiny segment, ranging from about 400 nanometres to about 800 nanometres. This narrow range of wavelengths which a human eye is sensible to, is known as 'the visible region' of the electromagnetic ra...

 Hello and welcome to my blog! Today I'm going to share with you a simple and effective home remedy for throat pain: gargling with salt in hot water. You might have heard of this before, but do you know why it works? In this post, I'll explain the science behind this natural treatment and how it can help you feel better in no time. Saltwater Gargling Why do we feel relief when we gargle with salt in hot water when suffering from throat pain? Soreness in the throat can cause throat pain. Soreness of throat is generally due to the infection of the bacterium called Streptococcus. So, it is called strep throat. A strep throat is usually inflamed due to bacteria making widespread damage on our soft tissues or mucosa. Streptococcus These inflammations (known as Edemas ) are usually filled with water. When we gargle with warm salt water that is saltier than our body fluids (hypertonic solution), through osmosis the salt draws out the Edema fluid.  The principle behind it is that if ...