# On a variant of rhodonea curves

Rhodonea curves or rose curves are plots of a polar equation of the form
$$r = \cos(k \theta)$$.

If we specialise to equations with

$$k= \frac{n}{d}$$

for n and d integers (>0), then we have plots of the form below. In the table n runs across and d down

Now, just for fun I considered a slight variant of this given by

$$r = \cos( k \theta) – k$$

The plots are as follows

For another variant I considered

$$r = \cos( k \theta) – k^{-1}$$

I am not sure there is anything mathematically deep here, I just like the images and classify this as some basic mathematical art.

# On the physics of chocolate

 Researchers at Technische Universität München, Germany, have reported that molecular dynamics can be used to gain new insights into the chocolate conching [1].

Chocolate conching is the stage of manufacturing where aromatic sensation, texture and mouthfeel are developed.

This work seems to be the first to attempt to properly understand the role of lecithins in chocolate production.

Physics, helping to build a tasty more palatable world.

Reference
[1] M Kindlein, M Greiner, E Elts and H Briesen, Interactions between phospholipid head groups and a sucrose crystal surface at the cocoa butter interface, 2015 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 48 384002.

Chocolate physics: how modelling could improve mouthfeel, IOP website.

# An interview with Prof. Christopher Lintott

 Prof. Christopher Lintott of Oxford University, winner of this years Kelvin Medal and Prize from the Institute of Physics and regular on the BBC’s Sky at Night agreed to answer a few questions.

Science and Popularisation

1. What first got you involved in science, and in particular astronomy?

I was a small kid who loved looking through telescopes – first of all a neighbour’s small reflector, then a larger telescope at school. I loved the idea that we could understand what’s happening in space despite being stuck on the surface of a small insignificant planet – and that there was lots left for us still to find out.

2. What was your first telescope?

The same one I have now, a 6” reflector. It’s nothing fancy – it doesn’t even have a motor – but it allows me to explore the sky. I’m a great fan of astrophotography, but I spend too much time looking at my computer as it is. When I’m observing I want the photons to be hitting my eyeballs!

3. How did you get involved in the BBC’s Sky at Night?

I’d been doing some science writing and got invited to be a guest on the show. From there, I was lucky enough to be part of the team and I gradually did more and more. I think Sky at Night’s a wonderful show, with the chance to explore so many fascinating aspects of our relationship with the Universe.

4. What is ‘Citizen Science’?

It’s a modern term for an old idea, which is that anyone can participate in the scientific process. These days, we use the term to cover the kind of projects we build on Zooniverse.org – projects which allows professional astronomers and volunteers together to comb through the vast stores of data which modern surveys produce.

5. Which medium do you think is the most effective at popularising science?

It depends what you’re trying to do, but one of the things that I think we need to remember is that we can’t rely on people choosing to seek out scientific content. A large proportion of the public have been put off science through experiences at school, or through a lack of confidence, and we need to find ways to reach them. In the old days, that meant big budget TV shows, but now that audience is fragmenting we need to find new ways for people to stumble across science. As an example, the Adler Planetarium in Chicago runs a Telescopes in the City program in which they take scopes (and astronomers) to random locations, surprising people with the sky. I think that kind of experience can be life-changing.

6. What, in your opinion, should be the ultimate goal of science popularisation?

I’m not sure it’s an ultimate goal, but there are lots of people who I believe would enjoy following science as it happens, and maybe even participating. I want that crowd to feel like they’re part of the journey, rather than just consumers of pre-packaged scientific results. We just reported on the New Horizons encounter with Pluto, which threw up all sorts of wonderful surprises. Someone said to me that they hadn’t realised that scientists smile when they say they don’t know something – I’d like more people to participate in the joy of not knowing.

Research