Breaking Down the Physics of Wok Tossing

A wok is a versatile round-bottomed cooking vessel, originating in China. It is one of the most common cooking utensils in China and similar pans are also found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as becoming a popular niche cookware in all the world.

The main advantage of wok is its curved concave shape. The shape produces a small, hot area at the bottom which allows some of the food to be seared by intense heat while using relatively little fuel. The large sloped sides also make it easier for chefs to employ the tossing cooking technique on solid and thick liquid food with less spillage and a greater margin of safety. Curved sides also allows a person to cook without having to "chase the food around the pan" since bite-sized or finely chopped stir-fry ingredients usually tumble back to the center of the wok when agitated.

This week, a look at breaking down the physics of wok tossing.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." - John Albert Holmes Jr. (poet and critic, 1904 – 1962) 

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The Tangled History of Weaving with Spider Silk

Spider silk is a protein fiber spun by spiders. Spiders use their silk to make webs or other structures, which function as sticky nets to catch other animals, or as nests or cocoons to protect their offspring, or to wrap up prey. Spider silk is incredibly tough and is stronger by weight than steel. Quantitatively, spider silk is five times stronger than steel of the same diameter. Scientists have found that each strand, which is 1000 times thinner than a human hair, is actually made up of thousands of nanostrands, only 20 millionths of a millimeter in diameter.

Useful, yes...but how do you get the spider to give it to you?

This week, a look at the tangled history of weaving with spider silk.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "The world belongs to the energetic." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (US essayist and poet, 1803 - 1882)

   The Tangled History of Weaving With Spider Silk by fredwine on Scribd