![]() | So 2010/09/05 |
| ENCYCLOPEDIA from 2009/01/26 |
How can you make Yoghurt?
Yoghurt, yogurt, yoghourt, youghurt or yogourt (see spelling below), is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Fermentation of the milk sugar (lactose) produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yoghurt its texture and its characteristic tang. Soy yogurt, a dairy yoghurt alternative, is made from soy milk.
It is nutritionally rich in protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.
Yoghurt is easily produced in the home kitchen without any special equipment, except for possibly the right type of thermometer. The basic steps in yogurt making are to heat milk to 185°F (85°C), cooling it to 110°F (43°C), stir a starter of live yogurt cultures (usually lactobacillus bulgaricus and/or streptococcus thermophilus) or a small amount of plain yoghurt (from previous batch or store-bought), ferment at 110°F (43°C) for seven hours, and then chill overnight in a refrigerator.
The heating of the milk can be accomplished via direct heat using any number of kitchen appliances, but a double boiler or water jacket provides the most consistent heat without burning. Using a cold water bath will quickly lower the milk temperature to 110°F (43°C).
Once the mixture is cooled to 110°F (43°C), the starter is added and the mixture is kept as close to 110°F (43°C) as possible for seven hours. During this period, the active cultures consume the lactose in the milk, curdling it, and creating lactic acid. Lactic acid is what gives yoghurt its distinctive tangy flavor. The longer the mixture sits, the thicker and more tangy it will become. To maintain the milk with bacteria at this warm temperature, a cooking thermometer and an oven are often used. Alternatives include the use of a thermos, special yoghurt-making machines (to make larger quantities of yogurt), microwaves, and even heating pads.
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It is nutritionally rich in protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.
Yoghurt is easily produced in the home kitchen without any special equipment, except for possibly the right type of thermometer. The basic steps in yogurt making are to heat milk to 185°F (85°C), cooling it to 110°F (43°C), stir a starter of live yogurt cultures (usually lactobacillus bulgaricus and/or streptococcus thermophilus) or a small amount of plain yoghurt (from previous batch or store-bought), ferment at 110°F (43°C) for seven hours, and then chill overnight in a refrigerator.
The heating of the milk can be accomplished via direct heat using any number of kitchen appliances, but a double boiler or water jacket provides the most consistent heat without burning. Using a cold water bath will quickly lower the milk temperature to 110°F (43°C).
Once the mixture is cooled to 110°F (43°C), the starter is added and the mixture is kept as close to 110°F (43°C) as possible for seven hours. During this period, the active cultures consume the lactose in the milk, curdling it, and creating lactic acid. Lactic acid is what gives yoghurt its distinctive tangy flavor. The longer the mixture sits, the thicker and more tangy it will become. To maintain the milk with bacteria at this warm temperature, a cooking thermometer and an oven are often used. Alternatives include the use of a thermos, special yoghurt-making machines (to make larger quantities of yogurt), microwaves, and even heating pads.
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| ENCYCLOPEDIA from 2009/01/25 |
What is the NCIS?
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is the United States Department of the Navy's primary security, counter-intelligence, counter-terrorism, and law enforcement agency and successor to the former Naval Investigative Service (NIS).
Roughly half of the NCIS 2400 employees are civilian special agents. They are trained to carry out a wide variety of assignments at locations across the globe. NCIS special agents are armed federal law enforcement investigators and frequently coordinate with other U.S. government agencies. NCIS special agents are supported by analysts and other experts skilled in disciplines such as forensics, surveillance, surveillance countermeasures, computer investigations, physical security, and polygraph examinations.
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Roughly half of the NCIS 2400 employees are civilian special agents. They are trained to carry out a wide variety of assignments at locations across the globe. NCIS special agents are armed federal law enforcement investigators and frequently coordinate with other U.S. government agencies. NCIS special agents are supported by analysts and other experts skilled in disciplines such as forensics, surveillance, surveillance countermeasures, computer investigations, physical security, and polygraph examinations.
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| ENCYCLOPEDIA from 2009/01/24 |
How many people got killed by Johann Reichhart?
Johann Reichhart was born in Wichenbach near Wörth an der Donau into a family of executioners going back eight generations to the mid-eighteenth century which included his uncle Franz Xaver and his brother Michael. His career began in 1924 and spanned the time of the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. Reichhart executed over 3,000 people, most of them during the period 1939 – 1945 when, according to his own records, 2,876 were put to death. In the latter years the executions were largely from heavy sentences handed down by the Volksgerichtshof (the People's Court) for political crimes such as treason, including Sophie and Hans Scholl of the German resistance movement White Rose. Most of these sentences were carried out by Fallbeil (meaning 'drop hatchet', also known as the Fallschwert meaning 'drop sword'), a shorter, largely metal re-designed German version of the French guillotine.
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| ENCYCLOPEDIA from 2009/01/23 |
How many nuclear weapons have been tested at the Bikini Atoll?
Bikini Atoll (also known as Pikinni Atoll) is an atoll in one of the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands. It consists of 36 islands surrounding a 229.4-square-mile (594.1 km2) lagoon. As part of the Pacific Proving Grounds it was the site of more than 20 nuclear weapons tests between 1946 and 1958.
The navigator and explorer Otto von Kotzebue named Bikini Atoll Eschscholtz Atoll after the scientist Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz.
Preceding the nuclear tests, the indigenous population was relocated to Rongerik Atoll, though during the Castle Bravo shot in particular some members of the population were exposed to nuclear fallout.
The special IAEA Bikini Advisory Group determined in 1997 that 'It is safe to walk on all of the islands ... although the residual radioactivity on islands in Bikini Atoll is still higher than on other atolls in the Marshall islands, it is not hazardous to health at the levels measured ... The main radiation risk would be from the food: eating locally grown produce, such as fruit, could add significant radioactivity to the body...Eating coconuts or breadfruit from Bikini Island occasionally would be no cause for concern. But eating many over a long period of time without having taken remedial measures might result in radiation doses higher than internationally agreed safety levels.'
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The navigator and explorer Otto von Kotzebue named Bikini Atoll Eschscholtz Atoll after the scientist Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz.
Preceding the nuclear tests, the indigenous population was relocated to Rongerik Atoll, though during the Castle Bravo shot in particular some members of the population were exposed to nuclear fallout.
The special IAEA Bikini Advisory Group determined in 1997 that 'It is safe to walk on all of the islands ... although the residual radioactivity on islands in Bikini Atoll is still higher than on other atolls in the Marshall islands, it is not hazardous to health at the levels measured ... The main radiation risk would be from the food: eating locally grown produce, such as fruit, could add significant radioactivity to the body...Eating coconuts or breadfruit from Bikini Island occasionally would be no cause for concern. But eating many over a long period of time without having taken remedial measures might result in radiation doses higher than internationally agreed safety levels.'
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| ENCYCLOPEDIA from 2009/01/22 |
Which country is a parliamentary co-principality with the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell?
Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, is a small landlocked country in western Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. Once isolated, it is currently a prosperous country mainly because of tourism and its status as a tax haven. The people of Andorra are currently listed as having the second highest human life expectancy in the world, at an average of 83 years at birth (2008 est). Andorra is the sixth smallest nation in Europe.
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| ENCYCLOPEDIA from 2009/01/21 |
How many species of ants are classified?
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related families of wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. Today, more than 12,000 species are classified with upper estimates of about 14,000 species. They are easily identified by their elbowed antennae and a distinctive node-like structure that forms a slender waist.
Ants form colonies that range in size from a few tens of predatory individuals living in small natural cavities to highly organised colonies which may occupy large territories and consist of millions of individuals that are mostly sterile females forming castes of 'workers', 'soldiers', or other specialised groups. Ant colonies also have some fertile males called 'drones' and one or more fertile females called 'queens'. The colonies are sometimes described as superorganisms because ants appear to operate as a unified entity, collectively working together to support the colony.
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Ants form colonies that range in size from a few tens of predatory individuals living in small natural cavities to highly organised colonies which may occupy large territories and consist of millions of individuals that are mostly sterile females forming castes of 'workers', 'soldiers', or other specialised groups. Ant colonies also have some fertile males called 'drones' and one or more fertile females called 'queens'. The colonies are sometimes described as superorganisms because ants appear to operate as a unified entity, collectively working together to support the colony.
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| ENCYCLOPEDIA from 2009/01/20 |
How does magnetic resonance imaging work?
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI), is primarily a medical imaging technique most commonly used in radiology to visualize the structure and function of the body. It provides detailed images of the body in any plane. MRI provides much greater contrast between the different soft tissues of the body than computed tomography (CT) does, making it especially useful in neurological (brain), musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and oncological (cancer) imaging. Unlike CT, it uses no ionizing radiation, but uses a powerful magnetic field to align the nuclear magnetization of (usually) hydrogen atoms in water in the body. Radiofrequency fields are used to systematically alter the alignment of this magnetization, causing the hydrogen nuclei to produce a rotating magnetic field detectable by the scanner. This signal can be manipulated by additional magnetic fields to build up enough information to construct an image of the body.
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| ENCYCLOPEDIA from 2009/01/19 |
How does a lie detector work?
Lie detection is the practice of determining whether someone is lying. Activities of the body not easily controlled by the conscious mind are compared under different circumstances. Usually this involves asking the subject control questions where the answers are known to the examiner and comparing them to questions where the answers are not known.
Lie detection commonly involves the polygraph. Voice stress analysis may also be commonly used because it can be applied covertly to monitor voice recordings.
The polygraph detects changes in body functions not easily controlled by the conscious mind. This includes bodily reactions like skin conductivity and heart rate.
An fMRI can be used to compare brain activity differences for truth and lie. In episode 109 of the popular science show Mythbusters, the three members of the build team attempted to fool an fMRI test. Although two of them were unsuccessful, the third was able to successfully fool the machine, suggesting that fMRI technology still requires further development.
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Lie detection commonly involves the polygraph. Voice stress analysis may also be commonly used because it can be applied covertly to monitor voice recordings.
The polygraph detects changes in body functions not easily controlled by the conscious mind. This includes bodily reactions like skin conductivity and heart rate.
An fMRI can be used to compare brain activity differences for truth and lie. In episode 109 of the popular science show Mythbusters, the three members of the build team attempted to fool an fMRI test. Although two of them were unsuccessful, the third was able to successfully fool the machine, suggesting that fMRI technology still requires further development.
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| ENCYCLOPEDIA from 2009/01/18 |
Where are meteor craters on earth?
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with larger body. In most common usage, the term is used for the approximately circular depression in the surface of a planet, moon or other solid body in the Solar System, formed by the hyper-velocity impact of a smaller body with the surface. This is in contrast to the pit crater which results from an internal collapse. Impact craters typically have raised rims, and they range from small, simple, bowl-shaped depressions to large, complex, multi-ringed impact basins. Meteor Crater is perhaps the best-known example of a small impact crater on the Earth.
Although the Earth’s active surface processes quickly destroy the impact record, about 170 terrestrial impact craters have been identified. These range in diameter from a few tens of meters up to about 300 km, and they range in age from recent times (e.g. the Sikhote-Alin craters in Russia whose creation was witnessed in 1947) to more than two billion years, though most are less than 200 million years old because geological processes tend to obliterate older craters. They are also selectively found in the stable interior regions of continents. Few under sea craters have been discovered because of the difficulty of surveying the sea floor, the rapid rate of change of the ocean bottom, and the subduction of the ocean floor into the Earth's interior by processes of plate tectonics.
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Although the Earth’s active surface processes quickly destroy the impact record, about 170 terrestrial impact craters have been identified. These range in diameter from a few tens of meters up to about 300 km, and they range in age from recent times (e.g. the Sikhote-Alin craters in Russia whose creation was witnessed in 1947) to more than two billion years, though most are less than 200 million years old because geological processes tend to obliterate older craters. They are also selectively found in the stable interior regions of continents. Few under sea craters have been discovered because of the difficulty of surveying the sea floor, the rapid rate of change of the ocean bottom, and the subduction of the ocean floor into the Earth's interior by processes of plate tectonics.
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| ENCYCLOPEDIA from 2009/01/17 |
How many people have already visited the Eiffel Tower?
The Eiffel Tower is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine River in Paris. The tower has become a global icon of France and is one of the most recognizable structures in the world.
The structure was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. Eiffel originally planned to build the tower in Barcelona, for the Universal Exposition of 1888, but those responsible at the Barcelona city hall thought it was a strange and expensive construction, which did not fit into the design of the city. After the refusal of the Consistory of Barcelona, Eiffel submitted his draft to those responsible for the Universal Exhibition in Paris, where he would build his tower a year later, in 1889. The tower was inaugurated on 31 March 1889, and opened on 6 May. Three hundred workers joined together 18,038 pieces of puddled iron (a very pure form of structural iron), using two and a half million rivets, in a structural design by Maurice Koechlin. The risk of accident was great, for unlike modern skyscrapers the tower is an open frame without any intermediate floors except the two platforms. However, because Eiffel took safety precautions, including the use of movable stagings, guard-rails and screens, only one man died.
Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in Paris. More than 200,000,000 people have visited the tower since its construction in 1889, including 6,719,200 in 2006, making it the most visited paid monument in the world. Including the 24 m (79 ft) antenna, the structure is 325 m (1,063 ft) high (since 2000), which is equivalent to about 81 levels in a conventional building.
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The structure was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. Eiffel originally planned to build the tower in Barcelona, for the Universal Exposition of 1888, but those responsible at the Barcelona city hall thought it was a strange and expensive construction, which did not fit into the design of the city. After the refusal of the Consistory of Barcelona, Eiffel submitted his draft to those responsible for the Universal Exhibition in Paris, where he would build his tower a year later, in 1889. The tower was inaugurated on 31 March 1889, and opened on 6 May. Three hundred workers joined together 18,038 pieces of puddled iron (a very pure form of structural iron), using two and a half million rivets, in a structural design by Maurice Koechlin. The risk of accident was great, for unlike modern skyscrapers the tower is an open frame without any intermediate floors except the two platforms. However, because Eiffel took safety precautions, including the use of movable stagings, guard-rails and screens, only one man died.
Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in Paris. More than 200,000,000 people have visited the tower since its construction in 1889, including 6,719,200 in 2006, making it the most visited paid monument in the world. Including the 24 m (79 ft) antenna, the structure is 325 m (1,063 ft) high (since 2000), which is equivalent to about 81 levels in a conventional building.
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