subliminal colors

Another Wednesday night lab out at Armstrong, another evening with students I enjoy.
This lab is one of my favorites, featuring puzzle-solving via color changes.
Sure, pH paper was available for direct assessment of the acidity of the substances...
but that would be cheating, right?
Yes, it would!
So I was sure to hide that away from their eyes.
I prefer they use the magic decoder chart in their lab background to determine the range of pH values revealed during a series of tests using different indicators.
Future health professionals need to have sharp analytic skills, you know.

Anyway, whilst giving my pre-lab spiel, I realized something: my hands had selected markers that corresponded with the mid-range colors of the two indicators I was discussing.
How cool is that?!

The first indicator I spoke of was methyl orange.
It's quite useful for separating strong acids from weak acids and everything else.
When its color is red, that indicates a pH range of 4.4 to 0.
A yellow color corresponds to a pH range of 6.2 to 14.
When orange, then the pH is
4.4 to 6.2, or the midrange
of its extremes...
much the same as that color.

What about for litmus paper?
So glad you asked!
When that indicator is red,
we know the ph range is 4.5 to 0
for the substance tested.
For a blue response,
the indicator points to
the pH range of 8.3 to 14.
And when it's purple?
The pH range is between 4.5 and 8.3
for the substance tested.
Another midrange of pH values
to accompany the blended colors!


How fortuitous that an orange marker and a purple marker were at hand for my use!
How incredible that my subconscious mind seized upon that fact and guided my hand to those two markers, of all the colors available, to elucidate the points of my talk!
I imagine the students thought I had done that on purpose... but I did not.
My amazement was genuine.
It was just another case of my brain working faster than I give it credit for doing...
again.

i thank You, God.