christopher kane, spring 2012
Happy Birthday, Max Planck!
It’s the birthday of Max Planck, who was born in 1858 in Kiel, Germany. As a student he was advised against going into physics because, said his professor, “in this field, almost everything is already discovered, and all that remains is to fill a few holes.” Decades later, he did more than fill in a hole. By applying Ludwig Boltzmann’s statistical approach to thermodynamics and assuming that radiation is emitted in discrete quanta, he could account for the entire black body spectrum
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Tea is the second most popular drink in the world, and the health benefits of this beverage have been touted since ancient times. Science has generated a body of evidence suggesting that regular consumption of green tea can help to prevent obesity and even some forms of cancer. The key molecules involved are catechins, polyphenolic compounds with tremendous antioxidant properties. Shown here is the structure of epigallocatechin gallate, which accounts for 50-80% of the catechins present in green tea. In black teas, the process of fermentation oxidizes catechins into theaflavins or theagrubins, polymerized catechins. In oolong tea, which is only partially fermented, theaseninsens are formed, dimers of catechin molecules. For a breakdown of tea chemistry, check out this review.
