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[Mathel]

Not sure, but saccharide is actually derived from greek [σάκχαρον (sákkharon)], not latin.

It does not seem to bear out, but I vaguely remember that saccharides are presumed to have free hydroxyl groups, which is why they taste sweet--- and why complex carbohydrates (cellulose, for instance) does not taste sweet at all, while synthetic saccharides, like sodium saccharine, taste hundreds of times sweeter than sucrose.  That the hydroxyl groups are responsible for the sweetness response bears out-- but the requirement for that group to present to be considered a saccharide does not.

Yes, saccharides do have to have -OH hydroxyl groups.

So yes, you are right that it would be possible for some aldehyde or ketone to be carbohydrate (H and O in 2:1 ratio) without being a saccharide.
For example   H O           which would be aldehy-2-keto-propan. It contains 2 Oxygen and 4 Hydrogen atoms and no -OH groups.
                     | ||
                 H-C-C-C=O
                     |     |
                     H    H

That being said, starch and cellulose are indeed saccharides. Both of them are just a bunch of glucose joined together. Cellulose is poly-β-glucose, while starch is poly-α-glucose. As glucose contains the hydroxyl group, any polyglucose has to contain it as well.

[EnigmaticHat]

You can buy converters.

What appliance is it? If it's a thing with motors in it, they're likely not able to be converted.

I work retail, one time Indian woman walked up to me with a product (it was some kind of kitchen appliance, don't remember) and asked "is this 110?"  Mind you, this is for a ~100$ item.  It took... a while... for me to sort out what she was asking, because that was the first I'd heard of the different outlets.  An employee who was familiar with the concept told me that it was a pointless question because you can buy the converters in India.

Loosely related, one week we were selling a bunch of vitamins and a couple with about a dozen multivitamins in their cart asks if we have any more.  After I helped them, they told me they were about to go back to their home country and there were few/no places that sold vitamins there.  A lot of other people were doing similar, I guess that week was when the exchange students went home.

[Il Palazzo]

Still on topic of foods:

Why call sugars "carbohydrates"? Both "sugars" and "sacharids" means the same thing, so why is there a second english for them? ("Saccharids" is actually latin.)

Carbohydrate is a wider term. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate (mono- and disaccharides). Polysaccharides, e.g. cellulose, chitin, and starch, are carbohydrates but not sugars.

[Tack]

What appliance is it? If it's a thing with motors in it, they're likely not able to be converted.

It's a sous vide heater. I know it has a heating element, it possibly also has a water pump.

The main issue is that it's 1100W, which means you need a vaguely industrial grade converter, which costs as much as the thing does in the first place.

[heydude6]

I don’t suppose anyone knows a way to convert appliances from 110V to 240V using RadioShack equipment?

What appliance is it? If it's a thing with motors in it, they're likely not able to be converted.

It's a sous vide heater. I know it has a heating element, it possibly also has a water pump.

The main issue is that it's 1100W, which means you need a vaguely industrial grade converter, which costs as much as the thing does in the first place.

Ok, I think I might know how to do this. It should actually be pretty easy, but I have to ask a few questions first. My experience with circuitry comes solely from Arduinos, so I don't want to mess anything up.
 
Why exactly do you need to increase your device's voltage? Is it just so you can convert an american plug to a foreign one, or is the voltage increase necessary to improve the device (eg. you want to make the heater hotter by increasing the amount of electricity that flows through it? Could you perhaps post a picture of the device so I can understand it better? If you can tell me the make and model I might also be able to find a schematic online.

To understand why these questions are important, let me perform some sample calculations for you:

Wattage is a function of voltage and amps

W= A*V

You've told us that the device is 1100 W and 110V

1100 = A*110

A = 10

If we simply increase the voltage to 240V then:

2400 = 10*240

You'll end up increasing the wattage to 2400W. I'm assuming you don't want that, but maybe you do? I don't know right now. Even if you do want that, I doubt the device is capable of handling a wattage that high.

[wierd]

Incorrect premise.

Wattage is a measure of how much power a device uses, often combined with time. (Watt hours.)

Power is indeed defined as V * A.  this means that if you increase voltage, amperage will drop, for a given wattage.

EG, 1000W can be satisfied with 1000A at 1v, or 1000v at 1A, or even 10000v at .1A

A device needs to be able to handle the increased voltage (to cover the expected wattage), if plugged into a higher voltage power system, otherwise components will degrade, sometimes explosively/in a fiery mess.

Devices designed to be dual voltage just need a simple outlet shape adapter that is basically just some straight through conductors.
Devices that are NOT designed to be dual voltage will require a big bulky transformer to convert Amps to Volts (or vise versa) to provide the device with the expected voltage, and be beefy enough to provide the combined amp draw to satisfy the wattage requirements of both the transformer and the connected device.  Big transformers tend to be noisy and hot.

Take for instance, my fancy electronic knitting machine.  It was designed for use in Britain.  It is a 230v device, by design.  However, it is electrically capable of operating on 110v with the flip of a little switch on the back.  If I flip that little switch on the back, it will draw more amps (about twice as many), and I can plug it in with a simple travel adapter.

What the little indian woman was wanting to know, essentially is:

"If I plug this in, will it explode horribly?"

Eg, "Is this device capable of operating on 110v AC instead of [alternative mains voltage]?" OR possibly "Is this device designed to run on 110v? If so, is it dual voltage with [Much higher voltage local mains power] without exploding horribly?"

[heydude6]

Thanks weird. You can take it from here then.

What would happen if you tried to lower the voltage via resistor? Probably something very bad, but I'd like to hear the details.

[Mathel]

Depends on whether the power outlet has the correct frequency for the device. For example where I live, we have 230V / 50Hz. 230V is voltage, 50Hz is frequency.

If the frequency is correct, you need to know the resistance of the device. This may not be written on it, but either the current it takes, or the power it takes probably is.

P=power [W]
I=current [A]
U_d=device voltage [V]
R_d=device resistance [Ω]
U_o=outlet voltage [V]
R_r=resistor resistance [Ω]

As P=I*U and R=U/I, resistance of the device can be calculated from power as R=U²_d/P. Or, if current is listed, from R_r=U_d/I.

Once you know the device resistance, you just need to get a resistor with the resistance that is R_r=R_d*(U_o-U_d)/U_d

So, if device voltage is 110V and outlet voltage is 240V
R_r=R_d*(240V-110V)/110V
R_r=R_d*13/11
R_r=1.182 * R_d

Then 130V will be on the resistor and 110V will be on the device. The current will be the same as if the device alone was plugged into a 110V outlet.

Warning though. Although I am certain the calculations are correct, putting a resistor on the device will probably null any warranties and could be quite dangerous. It would be better to just get a converter or buy a device designed for the voltage available.

[TamerVirus]

You know, appearing after being MIA for many years, dropping a random post and then disappearing again is a very "WTF" thing to do

[Arx]

Well, uh, welcome back and goodbye again I guess?

[Rolan7]

The mysterious stranger left much as they arrived. Enigmatically, with a trail of unanswered questions in their wake. Accounts differ as to what happened, except that it was brief as it was confusing.
"Zoinks" said someone.

[Egan_BW]

hi bye

[overseer05-15]

The mysterious stranger left much as they arrived. Enigmatically, with a trail of unanswered questions in their wake. Accounts differ as to what happened, except that it was brief as it was confusing.
"Zoinks" said someone.

Mysterious stranger?

Spoiler: *guitar riff* (click to show/hide)

[Tack]

Heydude, Mathel and wierd you are all generous geniuses. Thank you.

Although it was purely theoretical because it’s already en route back to amazon (hopefully)

But also Mathel wouldn’t that resistor have the same heat issues as the stepdown converter?

[nenjin]

At the airport.

Long Layover in Newark, NJ.

Have to use the bathroom. Have to wait for a stall.

Big tattooed ape comes out of the stall. I look in.

The seat is covered in piss, and draped in toilet paper like he
just threw the most ghetto quincinera ever.

I fucking stare at him before closing the door to let him know exactly how much of a piece of shit I think he is.

And then he yells at me through the door “what do you want me to do man?”

Oh, gee, I don’t know. How about: CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF BETTER THAN A FUCKING 5 YEAR OLD YOU FUCKING SCUMBAG.

It’s a sad fucking day when a grown ass man isn’t capable of wiping up his own piss. You wanna know why society sucks ass? Moments like this are the start of it.