DAY 81: Carbon Copy

Gran checked the oven, setting the timer for six minutes.  Down the hall, she heard Beatrice shout from the kitchen, "Granny!  Granny!"

Beatrice had a chair against the burners, watching the water boil.  Gran pulled her down in an instant.  "Young lady, that is too dangerous!  You leave the chairs with the table where they belong!"

"But Gran, I want to see what's happening!"

"Cooking takes time, and you don't make it any faster by watching.  Where are your strings?"

Beatrice pointed to a foot-long ruler, with several strings tied along it.  Gran spaced them 

evenly, nodding her approval.  

"Okay, Beatrice, I'll add some more sugar, you give us the countdown."  Beatrice turned her attention to the microwave, yelling along with the final seconds.  "5... 4... 3... 2... 1...Beep Beep!"  She shouted her beeps even after the sound ended.  

Gran poured the mixture into several Mason jars, lining them in one of her refrigerator shelves.  Beatrice held tightly to the ruler, insisting to dunk the strings.  Gran brought a chair up to the shelf , and Beatrice dropped each string with such pride.

"And now we wait," Gran said.

"How long?"

"Those strings will be ready in 5 to 7 days."

"Aww!  I wanted candy now!"

Gran reached into a cookie jar.  "Well, I guess you'll have to have one of these," and she presented Beatrice with a finished rock candy medallion.  

Gran ushered her granddaughter outside, and returned to the workshop.  She wiped the fog off of the oven window; the microchip was almost done.  "Perfect."



inspired by Discover Magazine article, "Meet the World's First Carbon Nanotube Computer"