Q. How can a lobster live out of water? A. As long as the surfaces of its gills are moist and cool, a lobster can absorb the oxygen it needs from moisture in the air, according to Dr. Frederick Thurberg, a marine biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service.
''You can put them in the vegetable crisper in the bottom of your refrigerator,'' he said. ''They'll be alive in there for days if you get good healthy lobsters. It's plenty humid in a refrigerator.''
''One thing you don't want to do is put a lobster in a pail of water, even seawater,'' he continued. ''He'll very quickly use up the oxygen in the water and he'll suffocate.'' Q. What is Teflon? How is it applied? A. Teflon and other nonstick coatings are fluorocarbon resins derived from petroleum. Although most people are familiar with its use as a coating for cookware, Teflon was developed about 50 years ago by scientists working on fluorocarbons for use in refrigeration, according to Carol Montague, a spokesman for E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. ''It was quite serendipitous,'' she said. ''They found a material they were working on became a hard, white, waxy substance that was very slippery.''
In World War II, Teflon was used in aircraft engines and for handling uranium in the Manhattan Project, in which the atomic bomb was developed, she said. It did not come into wide consumer use until the 1960's.
Nonstick coatings are applied in several stages, according to Paul Britt, Du Pont's worldwide marketing manager for Teflon finishes. First, the article to be coated is roughened in a process analagous to sandblasting. Most often, Du Pont uses powdered aluminum oxide, he said. Then manufacturers apply a primer designed for the surface and the variety of coating to be used. Finally, the coating is applied and the article is baked under high heat and pressure.
Readers are invited to submit questions about science to Questions, Science Times, The New York Times, 229 West 43d Street, New York, N.Y. 10036. Questions of general interest will be answered in this column, but requests for medical advice cannot be honored and unpublished letters cannot be answered individually.Continue reading the main story