Iodine clock reaction

This blog has chemistry in its name, and I didn’t show any chemistry being done yet. Time to rectify that! Today, I’m going to show you one experiment which you can try for yourselves, because the components you need can be easily obtainable in your nearest apothecary and grocery store. It’s really easy, really cool, and completely safe.

What you will need:

-     

•             Water (I’m using a filtered tap water, but unfiltered is fine, too)
•           Starch (I used potato starch)
•           Vitamin C
•           Iodine
•           Hydrogen peroxide 3%
•           Glasses, spoons and if you have, gloves (iodine solution stains)

Just a bit of starch...

First, you need to dissolve about 0,5 gram of starch in half of glass of hot water. It doesn’t need to be precise amounts, you just need  starch solution. Starch is dissolving with some difficulty, so if your solution is cloudy, that’s perfectly fine. Let it sit to cool.

And ascorbic acid...

 

Then, dissolve about 0,5-1 gram of vit. C in half of glass of cold or warm water, but not too hot or vitamin C will decompose. It’s best to crush it first to dissolve it faster, but if you are using small tablets, like I did, you don’t need to worry about crushing.

I'm using some test tubes I had lying around, but they are not vital to the experiment. They simply have a modifier +2 to Professionalism.

Okay, now it’s time to combine our liquids. I decided to filter my vitamin C solution to get a nice-looking, clear liquid. In one glass, combine about two tea spoons of starch solution with about 5 teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide and dilute it with water to about 1/3^rd of a glass. Label it accordingly or, if you want to be mysterious, Solution A. 

Nitrile gloves add +5 to Professionalism. Also, protect from iodine stains.

In another glass, combine about one teaspoon of vitamin C solution with one tablespoon of iodine and add water to about 1/3^rd of glass. You can label it Solution B.

Brown iodine turns colorless when mixed with vitamin C. This is meant to happen, because ascorbic acid reduces iodine to iodide ions.

Finally, pour about equal amounts of both solutions into another glass, mix it, and wait for the show.

Magic! I mean, chemistry!

The dark blue solution turns brown after a while, if too much iodine is released.

So, what is happening here? Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) is reacting with elemental iodine, causing it to turn into its ion form.

Then, as the vitamin C gets used up, the elemental iodine is created in a reaction with hydrogen peroxide.

H₂O₂ + 2I⁻ + 2H⁺ → I₂ + 2H₂O

We can observe that thanks to the starch solution added to the mixture, which acts as indicator for iodine. This type of reaction is known as a chemical clock or clock reaction, because, depending on the reagents used, the reaction can repeat itself several times. The reaction above can be reversed by adding more vitamin C.

After the experiment you can get rid of the waste simply by pouring it into sink with a lot of water.

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened

Recently, I finished playing Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened. This game was released in 2006, almost ten years ago and, well, it did not age well. It has some flaws, the story is so convoluted it literally lost all sense somewhere halfway through. Also, the game has quite a lot gory scenes, so it’s definitely not for weak of heart. Minor spoilers ahead.

Things I liked:

Cthulhu! The Great Old One himself plays a major role in this game and it was really fun to discover all kinds of references to the mythos. Though it made me wonder, are mythos copyrighted as such? Cthulhu was never called by name, and the book describing the rituals was never called Necronomicon, yet, at the same time, the game depicts the five-pointed star with eye inside.

Hello, Cthulhu, my old friend.

Next, since it was a Sherlock Holmes game, it was nice to be in the shoes of the famous detective again. But I had a bit of a problem with him. Alright, he’s supposed to solve everything using logic and and not have the very best social skills, but… Sherlock Holmes using puns? Puns about dead people, to add?

"Excuse me, ma'am, I'm only passing here, but I'm sure you found Mr Arneson a man of good taste."

Locations are quite pretty, I must say. Of course, when they are not meant to be foreboding and creepy. There’s also some local accent thrown in. However, for a reason unknown, the creators decided to choose Japanese hiragana as the writing of the cult of the eldritch abomination.

What ever the poor Japanese people ever did to the developers?

What I disliked about this game… It may be a list even longer than the “likes.” Let’s begin with the game mechanics. Quite a few times I became stuck, because game would not allow me to move elsewhere, since I didn’t do everything I have to in this one area. Sometimes, it needed me to look in this one place and trigger this one line of dialogue. Or it needed me to pick up flowers, even if there was nowhere even a hint of a clue I would need some. Or it wanted me to pick up a slightly darker object among equally grey surroundings, which turned out to be oh-so-vital hip flask. Or… The list goes on. Nobody likes pixel hunting, and in game like this, shouldn’t even need one.

His behind, Sherlock.

…This. Every now and then, you need to trigger the next game part by guessing correctly a word. And good luck doing this if you’re unfamiliar, for example, with districts of London. Or virtually everything else this kind of puzzle asks you for. In their latest installment Frogware got rid of these kinds of puzzles for which I’m grateful.

A story too complicated for its own good. I know, Holmes is a genius, he can make sense of even the most bizarre facts, but that doesn’t mean the player will, as well. The explanation for the whole thing sorta made sense, but there is just so many things happening, the player is unlikely to follow Holmes’ train of thought all the time. At the same time, all these people we met (but one) and who told us somebody they care about went missing, they never receive any kind of explanation what happened to the people who went AWOL, and that makes me feel bad for them.

Creepy Watson. It’s not a bug, it’s feature. Or so they say. Whenever you go, whatever you do, he’s always there. Right behind you. Always watching… O_o

It was a dark and stormy night…

GAH! Personal space, man!

He is more creepy than cultists, Cthulhu and gory scenes combined. At some point I couldn’t help but suspect he gets to be the main villain and will need to be defeated in some way or another.

Clichés. If there is a remotely located hospital, it will be an asylum and the person in charge will be twisted and evil. If you see a sheriff, he will be corrupted and hostile toward you. A servant will be either dead, missing, not right in the head or foreign. Or combination of those.

Last but not least, some parts of the game are inconsequent. Walk into a nurse in the asylum, game over. Run around while two people shoot at each other, you’re perfectly fine. Most of even remotely dangerous situations (unless they are happening in the asylum) are solved via cutscene. The only danger this game provides is if you start feeling bad because of all the blood and gore.

Overall, it’s not a bad game. It can get frustrating at times, but that is also part of the experience. It’s a mystery game, after all, and if the biggest mystery is how to operate the game mechanics? Well, maybe it’s what developers wanted us to do. Or maybe the engine is responsible for part of the bad stuff. If one likes Cthulhu mythos and Sherlock Holmes, it’s worth giving a try.

Pathfinder's party

Today is Sunday, which means it’s Pathfinder night! Since I imagine there will be quite a bit about our game and the epic adventures of our ragtag party here, might as well start by introducing its members. And systematize what I know about them, anyway. The order of people appearing is random.

Mio Thaalliss – Half-elf Ranger. Main reason for the whole campaign. One of the few survivors from the previous campaign, which almost ended in TPK and now he’s under a geas to complete that mission, for which he needed a new team. Our sort of leader, thanks to being the only recognizable person in the area and being the only one to understand the whole situation.

Fae Redwall – Rogue. Deceased by pissing off the DM. Also a survivor of the previous campaign. Tagged along with the party for her own reasons, sometimes vanishing completely then running into us in another city, usually needing to be saved from another trouble she got herself in. One such trouble was volunteering to be locked in Hells, because reasons. That ended in her dying there.

Cora – Half-elf Druid. A shapeshifter. Sometimes saves the day by helping drowning party members, sometimes spies in prisons or mansions full of cultists, sometimes simply acts anti-social. So, pretty busy. Not much is known about her past, beside that she must have spent a lot of time among animals. Prefers to keep to herself.

Thennir – Aasimar Monk. Overpowered. Capable of taking on hordes of mobs, sometimes even at the same time. Doom of all kinds of bosses and the main cause of DM’s chagrin who needs to constantly roll new bosses. Recently converted to the cult of Sarenrae after a pretty violent past, which sometimes causes him to struggle. Self-proclaimed bodyguard of the party’s cleric. Defeated only by bodies of water and doors.

Pommerio Pommes – Halfling Rogue. Steals everything not screwed to the floor, and his favorite battle cry is “Loot!” Capable of pulling out all kinds of weird acrobatic stunts, usually used to move in the direction as far away from combat as possible, or throwing himself right into the arms of the enemies, otherwise known as his version of stealth. 

Nanya – Human Cleric. Wandering priestess of Sarenrae’s cult, proficient in healing arts. Somewhat capable with a scimitar, her goddess’ favorite weapon, much better in combat spells. Can’t perform more acrobatic feats than walking, which almost ended in half of the party dying at one point. Tries her best to avoid harming other creatures, but sometimes is left without a choice.

Last but not least, The DM. The one to rule them all. One of the most twisted yet benevolent creatures there is. Fills dungeons with hordes of deadly creatures yet at the same time sends us a friendly NPC even more OP than our monk, whenever he thinks we won’t be able to make it. The main cause behind all deus-ex-machina life-saving situations, but can be ruthless when angered.

Chocolate mousse

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. Now, I could hate it like so many others, because I have no boyfriend and the day is full of love, and pink, and all kinds of annoying stuff. Also, it’s not like people are supposed to show affection toward each other only one day in year, but what do I know, I’m single. I have books, so I’m good.

Small digression. In Japan, on Valentine’s Day, traditionally girls give boys chocolates, not the other way around. Said chocolates can be hand-made or store-bought, but the most proper way is making the chocolates by yourself. It adds a special meaning and so on.

Today, I’m going to show you a recipe for a chocolate mousse, which makes for an excellent chocolate ice-cream, if frozen. Word of warning, it comes out rock-solid then. This recipe is my modification of one found on YouTube, link below. After all, I’m not a pro chef, I’m a poor student so I don’t have a ready access to chocolate premium or fancy alcohols.

With respect to Cooking With Dog. I love their recipes, even if I won’t ever be able to make most of them. Here’s my take on their chocolate mousse.

WARNING: The following recipe contains raw eggs, chocolate and cream. Not suitable for allergics. Make sure your eggs are fresh and of good quality.

Ingredients (for about 6 portions):

100g dark chocolate (about 60% cocoa), milk chocolate works as well;

2 eggs;

20g of sugar;

100 ml of heavy cream (at least 30%);

Cocoa powder, whipped cream, fruits – as toppings.

The smaller pieces of chocolate, the better. So, if you have enough time and patience (I don’t), shred it on a shredder, if not, separating into individual pieces should be enough. Separate the egg yolks and whites. Put a bowl with heavy cream into the freezer or into a bowl filled with ice water to chill it.

Now, melt the chocolate on steam, but make sure the water doesn’t come in contact with chocolate. Chocolate’s melting point is very low, lower than human body temperature, so if you have a sensitive kitchen thermometer (I don’t) be sure to use it. Don’t let your chocolate’s temperature exceed 42 degrees. Also, mix the chocolate as it melts so the temperature is as even as possible. In the meantime (it pays off to have some help, but it’s doable by yourself) beat the egg whites with a mixer until it reaches stiff peak stage. While doing so, gradually add the sugar to it and continue beating until it dissolves completely. Then, beat the chilled heavy cream until it reaches a soft peak stage. No need to completely clean the whisks if you beat the two in exactly this order. Otherwise, the whites may not be able to reach the stiff peak stage.

It’s time to combine it all. Remove the bowl with chocolate from the steam bath and add egg  yolks into it, then mix it well. If the chocolate is too hot, the egg yolks may coagulate, but worry not, this should not happen. Now, chocolate hardens pretty fast, so you should add about one third of the meringue into it as quickly as possible and mix it well. This will make the mixture “lighter.” Then, add another one third of the meringue into the mix and gently fold it in. After that, the rest of the meringue should be mixed in, exactly the same way. Finally, add the beaten heavy cream into the mix and fold it in, using as little moves as possible.

Almost ready. All that is left now is distributing the mousse into ramekins or bowls, garnish with whatever suits your fancy and either chill or freeze it. Perfect to enjoy with a special someone or all by yourself. More chocolate for you. :P

Until next time!