Phosphate Thoughts
There are very few drinks with phosphoric acid in them. For a start, it looks intimidating as a chemical component of any mixture, let alone a drink consumed daily by millions around the world. Yet that's what you get when you drink Coke™.
I've always enjoyed a good Coke™. Over the last few years, in my studies on human consciousness, I keep coming across papers on how hypophosphatemia (the state of not having enough phosphate ions in your bloodstream) perturbs your consciousness. Apparently it makes you less clever and more sluggish if you haven't enough of it; one source refers to the condition with words like 'stupor' and 'comatose'.
Some people say that drinking the brown stuff helps to neutralise the Chinese Restaurant Syndrome that some people suffer after taking too much MSG. I can believe that, to some extent. I'd just like to point out the glutamate is essential for brain function too; I suppose you need to balance glucose with glutamate and phosphate and... ha, who ever said consciousness was an easy thing to discuss?
What makes Coke™ a clear winner, however, is that it's a caffeine, glucose, AND phosphate source. In the old days, it had coca extract (ahem) as well. That one factor alone made it the Red Bull™ of its day, and it still would out-bull the Red one if it was allowed to have that edge.
One last thought. Phosphate rock is the major source of phosphate in the world today. I wonder if anyone knows where the largest source of phosphate is located? Scientific American says that China has reserves of 4.1 million metric tonnes of the stuff, which is impressive as an absolute number but not so impressive considering China's land area. China is 2nd. South Africa is 3rd, with 1.5 million tonnes; the USA is 4th, with 1.2 million tonnes.
Clear and amazing winner, however, is... [drumroll] ... Morocco. The North African state seems to be a major bird migration stopover or something. Morocco has 5.7 million tonnes of the stuff! Maybe I should reconsider my investment strategy, considering that the world supply of phosphate is projected to last at most 90 years more, and that the price of phosphate rock per ton has risen from US$21.38 in 1993 to about US$40 in 2007 to a mindboggling US$113 last year.
Meet Morocco, the new Saudi Arabia of North Africa. They've got at least US$640 million in condensed bird droppings. What a way to stir the consciousness!
I've always enjoyed a good Coke™. Over the last few years, in my studies on human consciousness, I keep coming across papers on how hypophosphatemia (the state of not having enough phosphate ions in your bloodstream) perturbs your consciousness. Apparently it makes you less clever and more sluggish if you haven't enough of it; one source refers to the condition with words like 'stupor' and 'comatose'.
Some people say that drinking the brown stuff helps to neutralise the Chinese Restaurant Syndrome that some people suffer after taking too much MSG. I can believe that, to some extent. I'd just like to point out the glutamate is essential for brain function too; I suppose you need to balance glucose with glutamate and phosphate and... ha, who ever said consciousness was an easy thing to discuss?
What makes Coke™ a clear winner, however, is that it's a caffeine, glucose, AND phosphate source. In the old days, it had coca extract (ahem) as well. That one factor alone made it the Red Bull™ of its day, and it still would out-bull the Red one if it was allowed to have that edge.
One last thought. Phosphate rock is the major source of phosphate in the world today. I wonder if anyone knows where the largest source of phosphate is located? Scientific American says that China has reserves of 4.1 million metric tonnes of the stuff, which is impressive as an absolute number but not so impressive considering China's land area. China is 2nd. South Africa is 3rd, with 1.5 million tonnes; the USA is 4th, with 1.2 million tonnes.
Clear and amazing winner, however, is... [drumroll] ... Morocco. The North African state seems to be a major bird migration stopover or something. Morocco has 5.7 million tonnes of the stuff! Maybe I should reconsider my investment strategy, considering that the world supply of phosphate is projected to last at most 90 years more, and that the price of phosphate rock per ton has risen from US$21.38 in 1993 to about US$40 in 2007 to a mindboggling US$113 last year.
Meet Morocco, the new Saudi Arabia of North Africa. They've got at least US$640 million in condensed bird droppings. What a way to stir the consciousness!
Labels: Chemistry, Investment, Odd Thoughts
etched with acid at 9:07:00 am
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