Graphite is one of many allotropes of carbon, typically found in igneous and metamorphic rocks, and forms as a result of contact or regional metamorphism. - Link
NPR's Skunk Bear posted a nice concise video on why we use graphite, what it is, and why it works. The weak Van der Waals forces between sheets of carbon allows the sheets to "slide" past one another and onto a piece of paper. Graphite is one of many allotropes of carbon, typically found in igneous and metamorphic rocks, and forms as a result of contact or regional metamorphism. - Link Wint-o-Green mint Life Savers seem to be the only flavor that exhibits triboluminescence; breaking or deformation of chemical bonds causes an ionization of air and a subsequent discharge of light. It can be hard to see when you're chewing them (using a mirror and sitting in the dark), but it also works if you hit them with a hammer. In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, a plume of organic peroxides has been moving through the air and water after two explosions at a chemical plant. As the temperature and waters rise, and cooling facilities lose electrical power, toxic substances are more likely to escape into the environment. Read more here, and here.
My chemistry students know Roald Hoffmann from his quirky delivery in the World of Chemistry series of videos. Our favorite Nobel Laureate has an incredible story to tell about surviving the Holocaust. Here he is on the Moth Radio Hour, telling his tale. - Link
From Neatorama:
"The process takes merely tenths of a second. But within that tiny amount of time, there's a lot going on. The American Chemical Society used a high-speed camera operating a 4,000 frames a second to illustrate the sequence of chemical reactions that take place when a match is struck against a striker. The simple match is a marvelously complex device." Link Yesterday Google gave a well-deserved shout-out to Niels Bohr, the Danish physicist who developed the atomic model we still rely on to teach high school students the structure of the atom. Heck, I still rely on it myself to understand movement of electrons from orbit to orbit, emitting photons (or absorbing energy) in the process. A well-deserved honor, and a greatly timed coincidence: my students should be studying the evolution of atomic models as I sit here typing. - Link
How cool is this? Instead of using mass spectrometry to measure the mass of large numbers of ionized molecules, scientists at Caltech have invented a device (shown above under a scanning electron microscope) that can measure the mass of ONE MOLECULE. Directly. The "nanoelectromechanical system resonator" is only 2 microns in length, and uses vibrational frequencies to identify the mass of a molecule that lands on it. - LINK
Randall Munroe of xkcd fame has outdone himself with his new "What if?" segment. I love that he uses math to actually calculate what we all (well, at least all us science nerds) are thinking. In this particular one, he postulates what a mole of the little furry animals would look like. It gets gloriously "gruesome." - LINK On another note, what if I actually am able to keep up with this blog thing throughout the year? Since we're studying measurement in chemistry, I always show my students this old, award-winning film by Charles and Ray Eames called Powers of 10. Although it's dated, the video provides a great look at size and perspective. I particularly enjoy the alternation of matter and empty space, the notion that this alternation exists at both the macroscopic and microscopic levels.
Others have attempted to detail the power of perspective (like this one); it's amazing to me how well the Eames piece holds up. I especially like the xkcd take on it: While I drove my kids to their summer camps today, I listened to Frank Stasio's The State of Things on WUNC radio. His guest was NC State ecologist/evolutionary biologist Robert Dunn, whose book is entitled The Wild Life of Our Bodies: Predators, Parasites, and Partners That Shape Who We Are Today. Amid the discussion of bellybutton bacteria and forehead mites is an interesting look at the coevolutionary relationships we have with the ecosystems that thrive on and in the human body. I'm definitely putting it on my reading list for my AP students. - Link
A report from the OSPAR Commission indicates that while pollution in the North Atlantic may be down, acidification of the ocean is up. The ocean acidifies as it absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This makes it that much harder for creatures to build their shells. - Link
I'll bet you didn't know that human hair is purchased by chemical companies, which reduce it to an amino acid called L-cystine. L-cystine is then sold as a leavening agent in bagels, donuts, rolls, pita bread, etc. Not kosher. It can also be made from duck feathers. - Link
Wastewater treatment plants are good at what they do. In fact, they're most often better and have stricter regulations than bottled water companies. Unfortunately, they don't filter out everything. National Geographic has a piece on prozac in the water as part of their continuing coverage of global water issues. - Link
Workin' on it..APES page should be working fine with the exception of the 2010-2011 calendar (refer to the old site for that). Chemistry will be up soon :)
|
Who is Riss?
Alan Rissberger "No one warned me that life would involve science, except my science teacher. But, of course, he's going to say that. He's got a job to protect."
- Stephen Colbert, I Am America (And So Can You) Wish List
Paper towels!
Tissues! BandAids! Archives
September 2017
News/BlogsAll-Geo
Business Week Discover Magazine Ecologist.org E - The Environmental Magazine Environmental News Network Environment News Service Geek.com Green Magazine The Guardian Highly Allochthonous Information is Beautiful NASA Goddard Institute NASA News National Geographic National Science Foundation OnEarth Reuters Science Science Daily Scientific American Smithsonian Magazine WUNC NPR News WUNC The State of Things xkcd Categories
All
|