Chocolate milk: does it keep longer than regular milk?

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Ah yes good point, I guess I should leave the controls, although I'm not stirring them or anything.

No sign of SP yet but some small areas of skin on all samples. I've noticed the sugar has all disolved now and that this means the tea is no longer so sugary, never mind, I was living the dream for a while of desire and science being in perfect fusion.

I shall have to get back to you all later, off line till this evening.

Dog is in a bouyant mood, obviously the experiment is getting to him too

I think I'll save the regression curve charts for the paper. Don't want to give everyone everything off the bat. Sort of a scientific version of always leave people wanting more...

EDIT: And I wanted to double up on the experiment as I did in the chocolate milk experiment, but unfortunately my lab just doesn't have 16 saucers, it's often difficult for small independent researchers to get adequate equipment or supplies. So I'm stuck with either having 8 saucers or using different sized dishes(which I considered would mean different surface areas of milk and might influence the result)

 

[Mk]

I get whole milk.

Whole milk is fo suckas! 1% and 2% are where its at.

 

[Moonbear]

EDIT: And I wanted to double up on the experiment as I did in the chocolate milk experiment, but unfortunately my lab just doesn't have 18 saucers, it's often difficult for small independent researchers to get adequate equipment or supplies. So I'm stuck with either having 8 saucers or using different sized dishes(which I considered would mean different surface areas of milk and might influenece the result)

Yes, equipment always seems to get so expensive. I can't believe you're not getting funding for such cutting edge research.

(Actually, this is quite fun, and I'm thinking that using your ongoing "lab journal entries" here would be an interesting way of teaching scientific method to younger, elementary age students. They could go through and identify the variables and controls, the hypothesis, the endpoints, and even discuss things like why you needed to start fresh with all the milk when the dog hair got into just one saucer...it would even be a way to discuss uncontrolled variables.)

P.S. Sorry to hear about your cat.

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Unknown scientist you see, it's hard to get funding even with the rumours of the last ground breaking experiments, until I have some credible papers to my name it may well be the case for a while , the scientific agencies aren't keen to fund an unknown quantity atm even with my promise, if that's not too immodest.

That's quite a complement actually, that it might help young kids to learn

Apparently according to my calculator 2*8 saucers is in fact 16 saucers, this is why you shouldn't be doing technical work at 8:30 AM

Actually I 'm cheating at the moment I'm away from the experiment because of financial considerations (pulling in the money to finance the cutting edge research) But I've decided to modify the experiment for practicle purposes, I've said stirring should happen every six hours, there are gaps but because of past experience with the time it takes milk to turn, the experiment should still prove fruitful, if I miss the first SP, then the other SP's will still provide enough valid evidence.

Sometimes in science the practical must come before the experimental, no funding means no experiment Besides I don't think my boss would look kindly on me having time off for scientific experimentation, no matter how cutting edge

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

OK interesting times, the dog has been placated with a cow femur; ah that takes me back to the first time I gave him a cow femur it was nearly as big as he is, and now there's only half the bone left remarkable gnawing ability dogs.

Anyway there is a definite funky look about the sugar free milk but as of yet no SP has occured, it's getting close though, maybe in five or six hours? Who knows?

You ever get that feeling you are just part of something bigger, something braver,something pure?

 

[Gokul43201]

SD : Maybe you should take bets on "time to SP" vs "sugar level".

The one with the lowest mean error on the best 5 out of 6 gets a cow femur !

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Good Idea

but it's too close to call.

Ok all but the 2 most sugared bowls had a yellow edge since about 6:30PM GMT.

Argghh! but 6 hours later too close to call.

Anyway dog was messing with me alot, he knew as soon as I went downstairs to experiment it was time for him to screw with my experiment, you know when dogs put their head to one side and then look at you as if they're taking the p, damn clever mut was doing it all the time, he'd wait until I'd boil the kettle sit patiently and then attack as soon as I started the experiment. a lot of washed hands an rubbing of ears and scratching of tummy but much as I enjoyed it it's not condusive to science.

Anyway, had to lock him away from the laboratory for a while. And now we have something to worry about, a positive but nul result in the third dish, it came up curdled for one time(this is the 2 tea spoon sugar dish, so I retried it and negative,and negative a third time) So I removed two test amounts of milk from the other dishes to even it up, I think I just got the skin of the milk in a large amount and ended up with a worry, rather than a real SP moment.

We are so close we can't run a sweepstake, yes it's that close, even gambelling won't be conducive to the science, maybe if we use quantum mechanics to determine who would of won after all the votes came in given the superpostion of a dog not a cat, but for me that's unknowable(ie everyone won and lost at the same time, but it was only when we measured the milk that we realized that no one had in fact played the game properly and the Copenhagen interpritation had in fact confused the issue ) not real practical experimentation atm.

Upshot of the experiment we're closer than a close thing that is so close it creates a singularity, but not close enough to create a result.

Later: to sleep perchance to dream, and in that sleep?

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

*Thus Spake Zarathustra begins playing*

We have a positive result on the non sugared bowl, three tests all turned up curdled milk, none of the other bowls have reached SP yet. The control is looking yellow but is not soured yet. 1 bowl down 5 to go, the interesting bit now is will the bowls go off in order of sugar levels, from lowest to highest, this would be the perfect result, but I'm not counting my chickens.

DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM

Yep, have to start work soon so can't give a full account.

It's looking as if we have a positive for the hypothesis, still too early to call it but time of course will tell.

Wow the dogs already demolished one end of the femur. He likes that marrowbone...

EDIT: we have contamination of what looks like an eyelash in one of the bowls and it isn't mine either. one bowl the 2 sugar ones results are somewhat unreliable because of this, will it have a huge impact on the result, doubtful, but certainly not making any conclusion based on bowl 2.

The coffee made with the sour milk was surprisingly not that bad, I drank it and I'm still alive so go figure?

Discalimer: Don't try this at home, although near boiling water destroys bacteria, I wouldn't advise drinking coffee with spoilt milk.

On a lighter note, I am surprised I haven't had recourse to my choice joke(I've been saving it since the first experiment) Damn I'm itching to use the phrase no use crying over spilt milk nm.

 

[Entropy]

I prefer skim milk, but I'll settle for 2%. Whole tastes like I'm drinking cream.

 

[dav2008]

What does cream taste like then?

 

[Entropy]

Whole milk.

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Ok 11 hours later and no change in the first sugared saucer. The sugar free saucer has about half the volume of milk of the others, and most of that is a sort of yellow mess.

What does cream taste like then?

Tastes like double cream, triple, quadruple and so on

Ok some good testing later, ah we humans are so much more clever than dogs, the bone thing is working, he got the bone, he happy.

Dish 2 has soured. Dish 3 is still without SP. The rest all unsoured including the control sugar free dish.

Dan nah, nah nah nah nah dah ha nah...

DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM.

Cool, this experiment is working as planned now to see if the second dish has followed the theory. Yes I'm tentatively using theory at this point if you'll forgive the impertinence.

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Dish 2 has seriously soured now, but this was the contaminated dish. hit a snag here, it might well be that I run out of test fluid before the final bowls sour, I think 3's on it's way out, but may have to stop at that. The result is fairly clear so far. The sugar is keeping the milk from spoling. This is why the chocolate milk appears to stay fresh longer.

How often does that happen? you make a suggestion on a forum as to what would happen and instead of their being doubt and reservation, their is the sure jack boot of science firmly planted on the doubters chests. Got to go, work beckons, no work tomorrow of course

 

[Gokul43201]

SD, what are the 3 times to SP ?

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Sorry if you read those last times they are wrong.

April 12th 6:30 AM : non sugared saucer
April 12th 9:30PM : 1st sugared bowl(1tsp)
today 6:30 AM : 2nd sugared bowl(2tsp)

As a matter of interest non sugared control about six hours after non sugared bowl.

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Have hit a snag, although it is pretty obvious that bowl 3 has curdeled - it has yellow blobs in it - it still passes the tea test, my theory is that once sugar levels approach a certain level they prevent the coagulation that results in the familiar blobs of milk in tea. Also bowl four and five have practically evaporated, which I suspect is due to the high sucrose levels; dish five for example has a sort of syrupy liquid left, and surprisingly dish four is practically gone, neither fails the tea test, but this is hardly surprising.

I am going to leave bowl three for 12 hours or so and if no SP occurs I'll proceed with the current results.

We're through the looking glass people(I have no idea what that means, but it sounds good, must be some reference to Alice, but we are not in wonderland or are we?)

Anon.

SD

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

further to that bowl four has now turned about 14 hours or so later at least visually, bowl five is the last to show signs of spoilage. I shall wait 12 or so hours again and then post the results.

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Results

The sugars SP times are: -

Bowl 1(no sugar):April 12th: 6:30 AM
Bowl2(1 tsp sugar):April 12th: 9:30 PM
Bowl3(2 tsp sugar):April 13th: 6:30 AM

At this point because of flaws in the experimental tea test, visual spoilage, which is less accurate, was used

Bowl4:(3 tsp sugar): April 13th: 8:30PM
Bowl5:(4 tsp sugar): April 14th: 6:30AM
Bowl6(5 tsp sugar): April 15th: 7:30PM

It is acknowledged that the last three results are or could be innacurate and that bowl 2 was contaminated.

Conclusions

To me even with the experimental inconsistency, it is clear that the sugared bowls keep longer than the non sugared bowls, also that the sugar levels effects how long the bowl of milk will keep.

It is acknowledged that there are some environmental and methodical limitations with the experiment, this is not a definitive conclusive test, but it definitely shows a positive result for the orginal hypothesis and supports the reasoning first introduced in the chocolate milk test, future scientific experimentation is required as always to corroborate this result. For now people, we have a result. I think it's valid enough to warrant further testing and is indicative of the preservative qualities chocolate milk exhibits.

Time to put on Thus Spake Zarathustra(the theme from 2001 a Space Oddysey to those not au fait with the classical scene, you know the bit at the start with the apes and the monolith)

It's apt I think to be humbled by such scientificaly ground breaking results, we are of course living the dream of those first apes who stood upright and stared in wonder at the sun rising into the firmament, those humble creatures who feared the nature they barely understood, we are delving into the unknowable of the past and making strides towards the accepted wisdom of the future.

I'd like of course to thank Moon Bear, in particular, for taking the time to outline where procedural innacuracies lay, and the others who took the time to wish me luck and provide the support.

A special mention goes out to my hound who's faithful guardianship kept the house cat free. He had his moments of experimental disruption, but overal we can't underestimate the morale a dog can give someone in trying experimental conditions.

Also a special mention to PF in general for the support and interest during both experiments.

Again I'd like to make special mention of my colleagues who worked to help make this experiment more than just a pipe dream, but of course it was just me.

Were do we go from here? Who knows what dreams may come?

A small cog in a big wheel, who's inexorable progress flattens the limits of ignorance.

Again thanks for the help, tomorrow is another day but a more enlightened one.

I'd like to dedicate this research to the loss of a faithful cat, who was a genuine companion, who never asked for more than his due. He died one morning out of the blue with blood on his mouth, I think due to being hit by a car. A true friend and ally.

DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM..DUM...DUM...DUM

SD