There is a plastic ice cream scoop that has been sitting in my kitchen utensil drawer for ages. I don't like it. It does not scoop well. I just never got around to getting rid of it. In the course of my experiments, I tried using it one last time, and this time I really thought about why it does not work well. To find out, you will need:

some very cold ice cream
a variety of metal and plastic spoons
a bowl

We want the ice cream to be well frozen, so have all your materials ready before you take the ice cream out of the freezer. We will start with two spoons, one metal and the other plastic. Try to find a close match, so that they are both about the same size, shape and thickness. Place the carton of ice cream on the table. Press both spoons into the ice cream, trying to scoop out a bite. Be sure to use the same amount of force with each. Which spoon works the best? The metal one, right? Why?

The answer is heat. Both the metal and plastic spoons contain heat energy, but the metal spoon is a much better conductor of heat. That means that it can pass its heat energy to the ice cream much faster than the plastic spoon can. By passing its heat quickly, it melts its way through the ice cream faster. But, if that was the only difference, then the metal spoon would quickly lose most of its heat. At that point, the plastic spoon, which would still have much of its original heat energy, would be a better scoop. Then why does the metal spoon continue to work better?

Again, it is because the metal is a better conductor of heat. Just as it quickly lets heat energy flow from the spoon to the ice cream, it also lets heat energy flow from the surroundings (the air, your hand, etc.) into the spoon. The flow is not enough to prevent the spoon from getting cold and losing some of its speed, but it is enough to keep the metal spoon working better than the plastic one.

Now, try some of the other spoons. A thick spoon starts with more heat energy, so it can melt its way through more ice cream before it gets cold. A thin spoon can cut its way through the ice cream without much melting. Which works better? If you gather enough spoons, you might have to spend quite some time scooping ice cream. Of course, in the interest of conservation, we do not want to waste any, so once it is scooped, we will have to get rid of it properly, which means we also need some hot fudge sauces.

Have a wonder filled week.