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Nobelity:Movie trailer
A stunning look at the world’s most pressing problems through the eyes of nine Nobel Laureates, Nobelity follows filmmaker Turk Pipkin’s personal journey to find enlightening answers about the kind of world our children and grandchildren will know. Filmed across the U.S., and in France, England, India, and Africa, Nobelity Combines The Insights of nine distinguished Nobelists with a first-person view of world problems and the children who are most challenged by them. A stunning look at the world’s most pressing problems through the eyes of nine Nobel Laureates, Nobelity follows filmmaker Turk Pipkin... more
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The world's lightest known solid - Aerogel
So it's a solid, it's related to glass and can shatter, but is 99.8% air. Oh, and a ten year old could make it. Discover aerogels!
(i'm surprised, with all it's amazing qualities, aerogels aren't more well-known/used) So it's a solid, it's related to glass and can shatter, but is 99.8% air. Oh, and a ten year old could make it. Discover a... more -
Designer-steroid chemist says Olympic Committee can't stop cheaters
An interview with an expert on steroid chemistry delves into different synthetic designer steroids and their uses, and the futility of current attempts to catch cheaters at the Olympics as the technology improves. Long piece but once it gets started, gets into really interesting details. Keep reading.
Also, cool logo parodying the Olympic rings! An interview with an expert on steroid chemistry delves into different synthetic designer steroids and their uses, and the futility of... more -
Hydrogen energy breakthrough replicates photosynthesis
Researchers have split water into hydrogen and oxygen by replicating how plants use photosynthesis to make carbohydrates.
The breakthrough could revolutionize the renewable energy industry by making hydrogen, touted as the clean, green fuel of the future, cheaper and easier to produce on a commercial scale.
The team of Australian and US researchers says their findings, published in the latest Angewandte Chemie International Edition could lead to a cheap and easy way of making hydrogen, which many experts believe is the green fuel of the future.
Fuel cells currently used as alternatives to gasoline-powered engines in vehicles run on hydrogen that is mostly produced from refining fossil fuels. The new process would rely on renewable sources, rather than oil or natural gas, and use no electricity, said the scientists.
Professor Leone Spiccia, of Monash University's School of Chemistry says the team has mimicked the process of photosynthesis, whereby plants convert light and atmospheric carbon dioxide into energy.
Although scientists have been able to split water into hydrogen and oxygen for years, current techniques use expensive chemicals as the catalyst which prohibits any move to a commercial product.
The new system involves an electrode coated with a proton conductor that is then impregnated with a form of manganese.
Nature's recipe
Manganese clusters are essential to a plant's ability to use water, carbon dioxide and sunlight to make carbohydrates, Spiccia says.However instead of creating carbohydrates, the team have used nature's recipe to split water into its two elements, oxygen and hydrogen.
"We have copied nature, taking the elements and mechanisms found in plant life that have evolved over three billion years and recreated one of those processes in the laboratory," he says.
The system uses manufactured copies of these manganese clusters, known as cubanes, which were developed by co-author Princetown University Professor of Chemistry Charles Dismukes.
Spiccia says they discovered when the cubanes, which are about 1.5 nanometres square, were contained within the proton conductor they became more stable and less likely to deteriorate.
"When you take water and start to oxidise it you get radical matter that is very reactive and destructive and generally kills off the catalyst," Spiccia says."We've hit on something that's stopped that side of the reaction." He says the mechanism by which the hydrogen gas is created is still being studied.
Tests have shown the catalyst assembly is still active after three days of continuous use, producing oxygen and hydrogen gas with the help of sunlight and 1.2 volts of electricity.
Spiccia says their research is different in its approach to other water splitting research because it copies nature by using similar processes and chemicals to those used in plants.
The team plans to further that connection by using chlorophyll-like molecules to harvest light rather than an electric current. Researchers have split water into hydrogen and oxygen by replicating how plants use photosynthesis to make carbohydrates. ... more -
Edible Antifreeze Keeps Ice Cream Fresh Longer
A breakthrough in food science will help keep ice cream yummy longer.
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Prep for Bio-Terrorism
A brief look at some of the equipment used to detect acts of bio-terrorism.
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Periodic table gets 2.0 makeover
I've never been too good at Chemistry, I used to find it dull. But, back in the days, all we got was Web 1.0.
Now, thanks to Professor Martyn Poliakoff, you can enjoy the Periodic table in all its Web 2.0 glory. All 118 elements are explained with YouTube videos filmed at the University of Nottingham.
You will be delighted to know that there are editor's picks (Phosphorus) and a Top 3 section. Apparently, Sodium rules.
Picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mezzoblue/2652243618/ I've never been too good at Chemistry, I used to find it dull. But, back in the days, all we got was Web 1.0. ... more -
German villagers retain 'caveman' DNA
A rare DNA pattern observed in the bones of 'cavemen': bronze age settlers which lived in Germany 3,000 years ago, is also present in locals in the same region today.
The bones of 40 Bronze age settlers, ignorantly branded 'cavemen', were discovered near the village of Nienstedt in the Harz mountains in 1994; DNA analysis later showed that they were from a single family group, and shared a distinctinve, and rare, DNA pattern.
Amazingly, when the DNA of present day locals in the same area was analysed, two people displayed the same distinctive DNA pattern; indicating that they are direct decendants of people who have not moved from the area for 3,000 years. A rare DNA pattern observed in the bones of 'cavemen': bronze age settlers which lived in Germany 3,000 years ago, is also p... more -
YouTube does the periodic table: explosive videos!
From Hydrogen to Lawrencium, all 118 chemical elements which make up the periodic table are being brought to life in a series of explosive eperiments, available on YouTube.
The clips aim to bring the periodic table, often associated with less than exciting high-school lessons, to life, with a video dedicated to each element, investigating their magical properties.
The 'periodic table of videos' is available now, with the 'sodium' video already attracting over 30,000 hits: Watch it! From Hydrogen to Lawrencium, all 118 chemical elements which make up the periodic table are being brought to life in a series of explo... more -
Peak... gallium?
"But now comes word that it isn’t just wildlife that can go extinct. The element gallium is in very short supply and the world may well run out of it in just a few years. Indium is threatened too, says Armin Reller, a materials chemist at Germany’s University of Augsburg. He estimates that our planet’s stock of indium will last no more than another decade. All the hafnium will be gone by 2017 also, and another twenty years will see the extinction of zinc. Even copper is an endangered item, since worldwide demand for it is likely to exceed available supplies by the end of the present century."
Gallium is used to make LCD's which are becoming pretty much unavoidable in electronic displays. As the author points out, "Oil is just an organic substance that was created by natural biological processes; we know that we have a lot of it, but we’re using it up very rapidly, no more is being created, and someday it’ll be gone. The disappearance of elements, though—that’s a different matter. I was taught long ago that the ninety-two elements found in nature are the essential building blocks of the universe. Take one away—or three, or six—and won’t the essential structure of things suffer a potent blow? Somehow I feel that there’s a powerful difference between running out of oil, or killing off all the dodos, and having elements go extinct."
Not only is gallium at risk but indium will be gone in a decade and hafnium gone by 2017. Oh ya, copper and zinc will be gone too. "But now comes word that it isn’t just wildlife that can go extinct. The element gallium is in very short supply and the world ma... more -
Did Hudson find the philosopher's stone?
(In the late 1970s an Arizona farmer named David Hudson noticed some very strange materials as he was doing some gold mining on his land. Hudson spent several million dollars over the following decade figuring out how to obtain and work with these strange materials.)
Since ancient Egyptian times, alchemists have worked in secret to produce something called the Philosopher's Stone, or the Elixir of Life. The materials that Hudson and other researchers have found are believed to be related to the Philosopher's Stone. (In the late 1970s an Arizona farmer named David Hudson noticed some very strange materials as he was doing some gold mining on his la... more -
Molten metal at Ground Zero reveals THERMITE combustion
After analysis of this hardened liquid "pool"-- scientists found the substance known as
THERMITE
Metallurgy provides the key evidence:
Super Thermite is explosive, and once activated, it can cut through steel like a warm knife through butter
WIKIPEDIA -- "Thermite"
THERMITE is a pyrotechnic composition of aluminium powder and a metal oxide which produces an aluminothermic reaction known as a thermite reaction. It is not explosive, but can create short bursts of extremely high temperatures focused on a very small target for a short period of time.
MILITARY uses
Thermite hand grenades are used as incendiary devices to destroy enemy equipment quickly. Additionally, thermite grenades are used by friendly forces to destroy their own items and equipment when there is imminent danger of capture. Because standard iron-thermite is difficult to ignite, burns with practically no flame and has a small radius of action, standard thermite is rarely used on its own as an incendiary composition. It is more usually employed with other ingredients added to enhance its incendiary effects. Thermate-TH3 is a mixture of thermite and pyrotechnic additives which have been found to be superior to standard thermite for incendiary purposes. Its composition by weight is generally 68.7% thermite, 29.0% barium nitrate, 2.0% sulfur and 0.3% binder (such as PBAN). Addition of barium nitrate to thermite increases its thermal effect, creates flame in burning and significantly reduces the ignition temperature. Although the primary purpose of Thermate-TH3 is as an incendiary, it will also weld metal surfaces together.
A classic military use for thermite is disabling artillery pieces and it has been used for this purpose since the Second World War. Thermite can permanently disable artillery pieces without the use of explosive charges and therefore can be used with a reasonable amount of stealth. There are several ways to do this. By far the most destructive method is to weld the weapon shut by inserting one or more armed thermite grenades into the breech and then quickly closing it. This makes the weapon impossible to load. An alternative method is to insert an armed thermite grenade down the muzzle of the artillery piece, fouling the barrel. This makes the piece very dangerous to fire. Yet another method is to use thermite to weld the traversing and elevation mechanism of the weapon, making it impossible to aim properly.
Thermite was also used in both German and Allied incendiary bombs during WWII. Incendiary bombs usually consisted of dozens of thin thermite-filled canisters (bomblets) ignited by a magnesium fuse. Incendiary bombs destroyed entire cities due to the raging fires that resulted from their use. Cities that primarily consisted of wooden buildings were especially susceptible. These incendiary bombs were utilized primarily during night time air raids. Bomb sights could not be used at night, creating the need to use munitions that could destroy targets without the need for precision placement.
THERMITE will cut through structural steel: "Like a knife through butter"
http://www.youtube.com/user/WizardofOunces
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermite
Google: "NIST Report, appendix C"
Google: "Thermite"
Google: "9/11 inside job" After analysis of this hardened liquid "pool"-- scientists found the substance known as THERMITE ... more -
Possible new element could rewrite textbooks
Scientists claim to have discovered a naturally occurring element with an atomic number (number of protons) of 122 — 30 notches on the periodic table ahead of uranium, long considered the heaviest naturally occurring element.
Students all across the world are reeling in agony over having to learn another element on the periodic table! Scientists claim to have discovered a naturally occurring element with an atomic number (number of protons) of 122 — 30 notches on the... more -
Fuel, food, pollution… and a solution
This article discusses the factors responsible for the global food crisis occurring as well as possible solutions in which individuals can partake. It should have educational value to many and sources are given throughout the story. This article discusses the factors responsible for the global food crisis occurring as well as possible solutions in which individuals... more
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American Chemistry Magazine for FREE! « Optimal Functioning
American Chemistry a peer-reviewed magazine available for free
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Molecules with silly or unusual names
The list is long.
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This is what we're really made of
Scientists have for the first time filmed an electron in motion. Electrons, along with quarks, are the smallest particles of matter.
"Each atom has a nucleus of protons and neutrons, with tiny electrons buzzing around. Both protons and neutrons contain three quarks... The electron is sometimes said be a few femtometers across (about a trillionth of a hair's width), but this is misleading. Electrons and quarks are more like puffy clouds than rigid balls.
This puffiness is the result of unavoidable quantum uncertainty: You can't precisely know a particle's motion and position at the same time. If you try to hold a quark still, you would have almost no idea where it is.
Such slipperiness makes exact size measurements meaningless." Scientists have for the first time filmed an electron in motion. Electrons, along with quarks, are the smallest particles of matter. ... more -
Things science can't explain
Gaston Bachelard famously wrote in his '34 book 'The Formation of the Scientific Mind', 'in the life of a science, problems do not arise by themselves. It is precisely this that marks out a problem as being of the true scientific spirit: all knowledge is in response to a question. If there were no questions, there would be no scientific knowledge'. Scientists, we have some questions. Gaston Bachelard famously wrote in his '34 book 'The Formation of the Scientific Mind', 'in the life of a science,... more
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Government Issues Health Warnings Over Energy-Saving Bulbs
Advice issued by ministers and health experts yesterday warned consumers to evacuate the room for 15 minutes if an energy-saving bulb smashed or cracked. This is due to the high mercury content of the devices, which health experts also warn could trigger eczema and allergic reactions.
The Daily Mail reports today: 'The Department for Environment warned shards of glass from broken bulbs should not be vacuumed up but instead swept away by someone wearing rubber gloves to protect them from the bulb's mercury content. In addition, it said care should be taken not to inhale any dust and the broken pieces should be put in a sealed plastic bag for disposal at a council dump ? not a normal household bin'. Advice issued by ministers and health experts yesterday warned consumers to evacuate the room for 15 minutes if an energy-saving bulb ... more
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