Archimedes method how to#

Working in reverse (if we don't have a scale), we just pour in salt until the target level is reached. If we mix in a solid cube of salt, or the equivalent weight of salt in any shape or size, the water will always rise to the same level. But large or small, no matter what the shape or the density, the water level is unaffected: If we grind into large flakes like Kosher salt, there are large gaps between each crystal. Now repeat this experiment over and over, grinding up the salt cube. If we put 1 cc of salt in the water, it displaces 1 cc of water, which exactly fits back into the 1 cc hole. Now imagine removing a little piece of salt from the block, and placing it in the water, and filling the hole with water. By Archimedes's Law, the water will be displaced and the water will rise to the '2 cup' level: And you place it in a flask containing one cup of water. Microscopically, consider a solid block of pure salt (yellow cube) which occupies exactly one cup in volume. And if you know the density of solid salt, and its volume, you know its weight. If you poured in a third of a cup of water, then 2/3rds of the volume of dry salt was air. Now, slowly dribble in water until the liquid level is just at the original salt level of one cup. Why does this method work? Imagine you have one cup of dry salt. Even a mixture of salts, scavenged from nearly empty containers, is fine.Д«lend this concentrated salt slurry into a gallon of water, and you will have a 6% (by weight 2) brine, which is suited for most meats.

If you pour in Kosher salt, you will have to keep pouring and pouring- it seems like you're pouring into a black hole. Any salt will do, and keep on adding salt until the brine level is at 1 1/2 cups. I suggest the following method to formulate a gallon of brine:ДЇirst, take one cup of warm water in measuring cup. Imagine you want to brine a Thanksgiving Turkey (click here for more on the effectiveness of salt brines). To understand the method, we don't even have to go into the kitchen- just perform what scientists call a Gedankenexperiment (German for 'thought experiment'). But there is a solution based on Archimedes's insight. Unfortunately, too few people own accurate kitchen scales. One ounce of salt is one ounce of salt atoms, no matter how many tablespoons it takes to measure out that ounce. Of course, if recipes used weight instead of volume measures, there wouldn't be a problem. Pretty important if a recipe calls for 'one tablespoon of salt'- dinner might be over salted with fine sea particles, and under salted with Kosher flakes. If you measure out a 'cup' of salt, each brand might differ in weight by more than a factor of two! The ratio of salt to air depends on how tightly these oddly shaped particles can be packed 1. Every brand is slightly different, even if they are sold under the same name: These photos of three different kinds of salt illustrate their variety, running from flaky to cubic to granular. Why is Archimedes's discovery relevant to salt brining? Well, we may not own an ornate crown like Hiero, but salt particles are even more beautiful and complex than wrought gold under a microscope. Crying EUREKA ('I have found it' in ancient Greek) he ran excitedly down the street naked- proclaiming not only the law of displaced volume, but reinforcing a millenia-old caricature of the absent minded professor. When Archimedes stepped into his bath, he noticed the water level rose, and realized the volume of displaced water was equal to the volume of his submerged body.

Archimedes method how to#

If he knew the volume of the crown, and its weight, he could easily calculate the resulting density, and see if it matched pure gold- but how to measure the volume of an ornate headpiece?

And its cheaper too, so the jeweler risked death if caught defrauding the king.Д«ut Archimedes did not have access to an identical crown.

Gold is denser (and more expensive) than silver, so a pure gold crown weighs more than an identical crown diluted with silver. According to an apocryphal story, he was trying to figure out if a gold crown belonging to King Hiero of Syracuse had been adulterated with silver. Over 2000 years ago Archimedes discovered the law of displaced volume while taking a bath.