Last Post for Mooncakes on the Moon

Some of you vaguely discussed the variety of mooncakes on the market - but did not delve deep enough into the facts.

There are two main types sold in Singapore, notably the brown skin classic with yolks or not and the ones covered with a soft skin called 'snowskin'.

The boxes both came from upmarket hotels and the styrofoam one came with 'snowskin' mooncakes. The elaborately decorated one is made of medium-thin cardboard and came with brown skin mooncakes and a sachet of dessicant.

Last question is therefore what is the purpose of the two types of insulators. There is a reason for the styrofoam which if compared to cardboard is a far more effective insulator. Part of the answer might lie in this statement made by Rachel Neo (6F) - 'Some of the boxes are airtight,while others are not'.

It will be good to think of the mooncakes and their 'skin' mentioned above when thinking of an explanation.

BBQ Char Cool 2

It is important to differentiate coal and charcoal - fossil fuel v/s just trees that have been treated. Please also read the comments from Pauline who clearly states some of the benefits of charcoal. Also Xin Yi and Renise gave some relevant information on charcoal.

Maybe some of you can elaborate and make the differentiation clearer to the confused ones.

The comment by Yu Ling on the chemical potential energy of charcoal is well connected to the current P6 topic.

Also I agree that it's so much preferable to write in your own words to show what you understand. Short, concise comments do a better job than long explanations.

Mooncakes on the Moon 2

That was a great debate on mooncakes - errr but there is severe digression. It is important to know when to control our thoughts and get back to the focus.

Great input:

1) Insulators
2) Warm or cold moncakes
3) Material

All else is detracting from the main focus which is Science here.

No one has adressed the similarity stated by many of you: Both are insulators. Then how does one insulator differentiate form the other? Is the purpose of the insulator in both cases different?

Many discussed material used - does that have an importance besides aesthetics - please move away from that point because you are missing important Science facts here!

But most importantly, did anyone ask around or think about the main types of mooncakes available in Singapore? Please note the word "MAIN". Do they affect the types of boxes used? The long discussion of eating cold or warm mooncakes should have been such a good clue.

Finally, to say that styrofoam is probably not from an expensive restaurant is a subjective comment because it is impossible to tell just by looking at a picture. I will divulge more later.

I enjoy the chatter as only through free Talk can we clarify our own thoughts. We must be willing to change our thoughts after "listening" to others when they make sense. It is not a case of "Hear me. I'm right!' Comments that make sense have been researched and are well suported by facts and examples.

Let's focus on making our chatter productive and fun at the same time.