How does ice make things cold?

We all know that ice is cold to touch, right? As you touch a finger to a piece of ice, your finger feels cold. It’s almost as though the cold from the ice is creeping into your finger. But, in actuality, it’s the other way around. Heat from your finger goes out into the ice, melts a little of the ice and turns it to water. You can feel the water on your finger.

The same reaction happens when ice is put in juice or a drink. The ice takes some of the heat from the drink. As it takes the heat away, the ice turns into water. The piece of ice gets smaller and smaller and the juice gets cooler and cooler. Ice cools all kind of things by taking the heat out of them.

What is an herb?

The word itself is derived from the Latin term herba, meaning “green crops.” Originally, it referred to almost all cultivated and wild plants, particularly to their green, succulent parts. Today, the word is used for those plants that flavor and season food dishes, or that go into medicinal preparations. Unlike spices, which are plant buds, bark, roots, berries or seeds, herbs are the leaves.

What are star clusters?

Star clusters are groups of physically similar stars bound to one another by gravitational attraction. Clusters are thought to originate from large cosmic gas and dust clouds.

Most star clusters have short lives as stellar swarms. As they drift along, they lose some of their members, due to changes in the stars’ velocities as they pass close to each other, tidal forces, and encounters with interstellar clouds in their way.

After several hundred million years, an average star cluster has spread most of its member stars along its path. The escaped individual stars continue to move on their own.

How can I freeze egg whites?

Try freezing raw egg whites in a clean plastic ice cube tray, then remove to a plastic bag for storage. Thaw frozen egg whites in the refrigerator. When measuring: two tablespoons of thawed, liquid, egg whites are equal to 1 fresh egg white.

What does the term “dust devil” mean in weather forecasts?

Dust devil means a small transient whirlwind; a rapidly rotating column of air that swirls dust, debris and sand to great heights and superficially resembles a small tornado. It is caused by superheated air above a sun-baked ground that rises into cooler air aloft. A dust devil is sometimes also called a “whirling dervish.”

If you have a question for the Farmers’ Almanac write to Farmers’ Almanac, P.O. Box 1609, Lewiston, ME 05241 or e-mail: syndquestions@farmersalmanac.com.