If there is one thing that we are not normally very aware of, it is that we are not Lucky Luke, the gunman who was faster than his shadow. Because what these drawings by the Belgian Morris show us is the reaction time … of the shadow.
What we demonstrate with this experiment is that from the moment we receive the information through our senses until we react to it, a few tenths of a second pass , just enough for the brain to process the information from the outside, send the pertinent orders to our extremities and they act accordingly. consequence. The first scientist to describe this concept was the Persian Al-Biruni (973-1048) and also the first to realize that when our attention is divided, the reaction time goes up dramatically . What happens to our assistant Yolanda.
The other experiment has more to do with chemical magic: lighting a bill without burning . To do this, simply mix water with alcohol and soak the bill well with said cocktail. If we also add some compound, as in our case copper (II) chloride, which gives a violet flame, the effect is more attractive. What happens is that, when smearing the banknote (which behaves more like a cloth than a paper, that is why it does not spoil if we wet it), the alcohol remains on the surface and the water on the banknote . The burning alcohol decomposes into water and carbon dioxide, and the temperature it reaches is not enough to make the water boil, so the banknote is safe .
