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On This Day in Science History - November 20 - Karl von Frisch and BeesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 20th is Karl von Frisch's birthday. Frisch was an Austrian biologist who investigated the behavior and senses of bees. He found bees can see in the ultraviolet spectrum of light and are sensitive to polarized light. He also determined the meaning of the 'wiggle dance' that bees perform to inform other bees the distance and direction to sources of pollen and nectar. His investigations into bee life would earn him part of the 1973 Nobel Prize in Medicine. This Prize was the first to deal with the interactive study of humans and animals and help gain recognition of social behavior as a biological science. Find out wh...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 20, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Why Is Your Turkey Dry?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
While watching the History Channel, I learned why I haven't made a dry turkey. The secret of my success? Impatience. My family circles the roasting turkey, ready to pounce the instant it hits the minimum cooking temperature, which in my house is 170°F. Depending on what you read, the safe/optimum cooking temperature is 160°F to 180°F. The minimum temperature is supposed to protect you from bacteria (mainly Salmonella) and parasites (eww). If you shoot for the lower temperature then the dark meat of the turkey (the legs and thigh) will be tough and underdone. If you aim at the upper end of the temperature ran...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 20, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 18 - Third Law of ThermodynamicsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 18th marks the passing of Walther Nernst. Nernst was the German physical chemist who introduced the third law of thermodynamics. The laws of thermodynamics describe the transport of energy and work in systems and are fundamental to all science disciplines. The third law says that it is impossible for a system to reach a temperature of absolute zero. It states that as a system approaches absolute zero, all processes cease and the entropy of the system approaches a minimum value. Nernst made many contributions to electrochemistry, solid state chemistry and photochemistry in addition to his work in thermodynamics. Fi...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 18, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 19 - John VaneEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 19th marks the passing of John Vane. Vane was a British biochemist who spent his career studying prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are compounds that regulate many different functions in the body. Vane developed a test called teh dynamic bioassay that identified and measured the substances that make up blood and other fluids of the body. Using this test, he discovered prostaglandins are produced by several tissues and organs and their effect was short ranged, typically affecting the area near where they were produced. One of the experiments he performed found that aspirin inhibited the production of prostaglandin tha...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 18, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Wordless Wednesday - Make a Fake Neon SignEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Do you long for a neon sign with a customized message? You can make a fake neon sign inexpensively using easy-to-find materials. This is a great crafty science project!Wordless Wednesday - Make a Fake Neon Sign originally appeared on About.com Chemistry on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 07:23:51.Permalink | Comment | Email this (Source: About.com Chemistry)
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 18, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Substituting Baking Powder and Baking SodaEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Holiday baking can be more of a challenge if you discover all your baking soda got used up for baking soda volcanoes and invisible ink. If you have baking powder, it will save you a trip to the store. If your problem is being out of baking powder, you can make your own using baking soda and cream of tartar. Here's how to make the substitutions: Using Baking Powder Instead of Baking Soda You need to use 2-3 times more baking powder than baking soda. The extra ingredients in the baking powder will have an effect on the taste of whatever you are making, but this isn't necessarily bad. Ideally, triple the amount of baking sod...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 17, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Lithium FactsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
I've noticed a lot of readers have been looking for quick facts about various elements. Here are some facts about lithium. You can get more detailed information from the Periodic Table entry for lithium. If you have additional facts to share, you're welcome to post a response. Lithium is the third element in the periodic table, with 3 protons and the element symbol Li. Lithium is an alkali metal. Lithium metal burns white, though it imparts a crimson color to a flame. Lithium does not occur free in nature, though it is found in nearly all igneous rocks and in mineral springs. Pure lithium metal is extremely corrosive and ...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 16, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 17 - Hans ZinsserEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 17th is Hans Zinsser's birthday. Zinsser was an American virologist who built his career on the typhus fever. He traveled the world with the Red Cross investigating outbreaks of typhus and studying the head and body louse. From his studies, he developed the vaccine to combat the disease. He is also known for the book he wrote on the subject called Rats, Lice and History that was basically a biography of typhus and its effects on events in history. He explained how typhus impacted the Byzantine and Holy Roman Empires and ended wars. He showed how the body louse was an issue for all people, from kings to peasants. O...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 16, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Flame Test Photo GalleryEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
You can use the flame test to help identify metal ions based on their emission spectra. All you need to do is to place a small amount of a metal salt into a burner flame and observe the change in the flame color. Here's a photo gallery of flame colors from various metal salts.Flame Test Photo Gallery originally appeared on About.com Chemistry on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 14:55:33.Permalink | Comment | Email this (Source: About.com Chemistry)
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 15, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 16 - Carl von LindeEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 16th marks the passing of Carl von Linde. Linde was the German engineer who developed the mechanical refrigeration unit. He originally designed his industrial refrigerators for the German brewing industry. It requires cold temperatures to properly brew lagers and production was mostly limited to winter months or deep cellars and expensive ice blocks. Linde's refrigerators made brewing a year round process. Linde was enough of an entrepreneur to recognize his process could be applied to other industries such as slaughterhouses and other food industries. His fortunes greatly increased when he improved his machines t...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 15, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 14 - Nicolas-Louis VauquelinEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 14th marks the passing of Nicolas-Louis Vauquelin. Vauquelin was a French chemist and apothecary who is credited with the discovery of the elements beryllium and chromium. He was working with the mineral crocolite when he isolated a new element that had salts of many different colors that he named chromium. Later that same year, he isolated beryllium from the mineral beryl (also known as emerald). He originally named this element glucinum because of the compounds tasted sweet, but the name beryllium was later adopted. He also isolated the first amino acid from asparagine while working with asparagus. He discovered...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 14, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 15 - Elmer McCollumEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 15th marks the passing of Elmer McCollum. McCollum was an American biochemist who introduced the letter designations for vitamins. He was working on a project to investigate why animals fed only wheat, oats or corn would not develop normally. He collected several wild rats to aid in this search and established the first lab rat colony in the United States. The wild rats did not work out as well as he had hoped, but purchased several white rats to continue the project. He initially believed the rats weren't eating enough of the grains to maintain their health so he investigated the addition of flavors to enhance th...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 14, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Quick Emulsifier Chemistry DemonstrationEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Soap is good at cleaning because it acts as an emulsifier, enabling one liquid to disperse into another immiscible liquid. While oil (which attracts dirt) doesn't naturally mix with water, soap can suspend oil/dirt in such a way that it can be removed.It's easy to demonstrate the action of an emulsifer. All you need are two immiscible liquids and a little dishwashing detergent or soap. Emulsifier Demo Materials water kerosene or oil dishwashing detergent or soap flask or clear glass Perform the Demonstration Add some kerosene or oil together with some water in a flask. Swirl the contents around to try to mix them. What ha...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 14, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 13 - Vitamin KEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 13th is Edward Doisy's birthday. Doisy was an American biochemist who shared the 1943 Nobel Prize in Medicine with Henrik Dam for their work concerning vitamin K. Dam discovered the vitamin and Doisy identified, isolated, determined the structures, and synthesized of two different forms of vitamin K. Vitamin K is actually a group of vitamins named after "Koagulations-Vitamin" in German because they are required for processes of blood coagulation. They are also involved in the process of binding calcium during bone metabolism. Deficiency is rare in adults, but newborns have a higher risk, and an injection of vitami...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 13, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Sulfur Pentafluoride: The Color of Love... and DeathEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Here's a cute cartoon to brighten your day. Sulfur pentafluoride presumably binds with itself to make disulfur decafluoride, a chemical warfare pulmonary agent similar to your good old friend phosgene. Fun stuff. Disulfur decafluoride eventually decomposes into sulfur hexafluoride (which can be used as a sort of anti-helium in gas density demonstrations) and sulfur tetrafluoride (which reacts with moisture in the air to form sulfurous acid and hydrofluoric acid). Incidentally, while I have no idea about the color of sulfur pentafluoride, I can tell you disulfur decafluoride is colorless and one breath can kill you in a day...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 13, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 12 - Why is the sky blue?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 12th is the birthday of the man who answered the question: "Why is the sky blue?" John William Strutt, or Lord Rayleigh determined that the gas molecules in the air scatter the sunlight as it passes through the atmosphere. This scattering effect is called Rayleigh scattering in his honor. The light we see depends on the angle between the light source and you. When the sun is low on the horizon at sunrise or sunset, the longer wavelengths of light are scattered more and you see reds and oranges. As the sun rises higher into the sky, the wavelength that is scattered is shorter and we see blue. Find out more about Lo...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 12, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Make an Acid-Base Rainbow WandEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Here's an easy and colorful chemistry demonstration for you. Take a long glass tube and fill it with Universal Indicator solution. Add a few drops of 0.02M HCl to one end of the tube and seal it with a stopper. Add a couple of drops of 0.02M NaOH to the other end of the tube and seal it. The Universal Indicator will respond to the pH gradient by providing you with a lovely rainbow. You can invert the tube a few times to speed things up. You can get a similar result using home chemistry. Fill a clear straw with red cabbage juice. Add a little lemon juice or vinegar to one end of the straw. Add a few drops of baking soda or ...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 12, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 11 - Artturi Ilmari VirtanenEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 11th marks the passing of Artturi Ilmari Virtanen. Virtanen was a Finnish biochemist who invented the AIV (his initials) fodder technique to prevent spoilage in stored green silage. Storing green plant fodder during long winters was always difficult since by the end of winter, it would ferment and be rendered inedible and possibly result in starvation. Virtanen noticed the process of fermentation would cease when a particular acidity was reached. He prepared a solution of dilute hydrochloric or sulfuric acid and added it to the stored fodder. The fodder remained fresh and did not affect its nutritive value. This d...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 11, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Wordless Wednesday - Plasma BallEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A plasma ball is one of the cool items that made my Top Science Toys list.Wordless Wednesday - Plasma Ball originally appeared on About.com Chemistry on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 11:11:01.Permalink | Comment | Email this (Source: About.com Chemistry)
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 11, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Antimatter in LightningEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
You probably think of antimatter as the stuff of science fiction or as something being created in particle accelerators. However, antimatter might be closer and more common than you think. The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope scans the heavens for gamma rays, but it has also detected gamma ray flashes from terrestrial storms. Two of these events carried the signature associated with the decay of positrons, one form of antimatter.The terrestrial gamma ray flashes were detected before, during, and after lightning strikes so the positron signature is believed to indicate a reversal of the normal orientation of an electric fiel...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 10, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 10 - VanadiumEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 10th is Andrés Manuel Del Rio's birthday. Del Rio was a Spanish mineralogist who discovered the element vanadium -- the first time. He isolated several salts from a mineral known as "brown lead" (called vanadite today) that appeared to be a new element. He noted his salts had similar colors to the salts of chromium, so he named his element panchromium. He renamed it erythronium after he discovered the salts all turned red when heated. He sent samples of his salts back to Europe but his claim was disputed by French chemist, Collett-Desotils who claimed the element was an impure chromium sample. Del Rio decided he ...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 10, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Chemistry Gift IdeasEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Three of my children have birthdays in November, so I've already got a jump on holiday shopping ideas. I have a few different gift lists that I use to jog my memory when I need ideas. Top Science Toys is an all-inclusive collection of fun and educational science toys and gadgets. I also have a list of gifts you can make by applying your command of chemistry. This year I've added a new list to the collection: Chemistry Gift Ideas. These are gifts someone with a love of chemistry would especially enjoy. With the possible exception of a chemical volcano, chemistry gifts are a little harder to find in stores than other gifts. ...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 10, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 9 - DarmstadtiumEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 9th is the element darmstadtium's birthday. German scientists at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany created four atoms of element 110, darmstadtium. This element does not exist naturally and it takes extraordinary steps to create it. First, ions of nickel-62 were accellerated to 5% of the speed of light and smashed into a target of lead-208.The collision caused the reaction: 208Pb + 62Ni → 269Ds + 1n This isotope of darmstadtium decays by alpha decay in 1/20 of a millisecond into an isotope of hassium. In order to determine if the atom of darmstadtium was created, the deca...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 9, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

How to Make Ink - Easy Ink RecipesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
One of my self-improvement projects has been to try to learn how to write legibly. It would be easy to blame my handwriting on being left-handed, but it probably has a lot more to do with trying to write quickly rather than neatly. So, I got a pen and some ink and have been practicing.Ink is one of the practical contributions of chemistry. You can make invisible inks and tattoo inks in addition to writing and drawing inks. Although ink recipes may be closely-guarded secrets, the basic principles of preparing ink are simple. You want to mix a pigment with a carrier (usually water). It helps to include a chemical which will ...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 9, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 7 - Tacoma Narrows BridgeEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
On November 7, 1940, the bridge spanning Puget Sound across the Tacoma Narrows in Washington state dramatically collapsed. The bridge opened on July 1, 1940 as the third longest suspension bridge in the world. Almost immediately, the bridge was nicknamed "Gallopin' Gertie" because of its sway due to the wind. The state hired an engineer to propose methods to settle Gertie's galloping tendencies. They concluded their study on November 2, 1940 and recommended a couple of options to fix the problem. Unfortunately, the bridge didn't wait for the repairs. On the morning of November 7, the winds were pretty strong and the bridge...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 7, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 8 - Rorschach Ink BlotsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
What do you see in this picture? Tests show most people will say "A bat". Looks more like a fox face to me. Supposedly, there is no wrong answer. November 8th is Hermann Rorschach's birthday. Rorschach used this inkblot and nine other inkblots to aid with his psychiatric practice. The Rorschach Test was intended to give insight to the workings of the patient's thought processes. While the test is still popular, controversy exists among psychologists as to whether or not the test actually shows anything at all. Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.On This Day in Science History - November 8 - Rorschach...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 7, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

High-Tech Spit BallsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Here's an interesting application of what I am guessing is sodium polyacrylate, the polymer used in disposable diapers, polymer gel balls and fake snow. According to a post over at OhGizmo!, Edmund Scientific is offering a version of these polymer balls for use as spit balls. Edmund Scientific says their spit balls with "Slip, Slide, Bounce & Explode" -- all essential qualities for a good spit ball. Whether students will trade in the traditional chewed tissue spit balls for the clear polymer balls remains to be seen. It's time for some experimentation, don't you think?High-Tech Spit Balls originally appeared on About....
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 7, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

New Periodic Table QuizEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
While I was organizing element quizzes I noticed I had never offered a periodic table quiz. If you're taking a chemistry class you're practically guaranteed to be tested on this information, so I made up a quick periodic table self-test. This 10-question multiple choice quiz focuses on how well you understand the organization of the periodic table and how it can be used to predict trends in element properties. Can you get a perfect score? Take the quiz...New Periodic Table Quiz originally appeared on About.com Chemistry on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 11:58:37.Permalink | Comment | Email this (Source: About.com Chemistry)
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 6, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 6 - Yeast FermentationEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 7th marks the passing of Swedish biochemist, Hans von Euler-Chelpin. He was awarded the 1929 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Arthur Harden for their investigations into the process of fermentation and yeast enzymes. Brewers use yeast to convert glucose (sugar) into carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol. People have been using yeast for centuries for fermentation but the process was not fully understood. Eduard Buchner identified the yeast enzyme called zymase when he removed all cells from the yeast and still managed to produce fermentation. He would win the 1907 Nobel Prize for this discovery. Harden later showed zymase...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 6, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Element QuizzesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
You do a lot more problem-solving than memorizing in chemistry, but learning the element symbols and the names of the first several elements is common test fodder (because it's so useful). It's also important to know how the periodic table is set up and how you can use periodicity to predict element properties. One way to make sure you're on track regarding the elements is to quiz yourself. With this in mind, I've collected the most popular/useful element quizzes in one place. You can review the concepts and then test yourself (without actually getting a grade). Take a quiz...Element Quizzes originally appeared on About.co...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 6, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

This Day in Science Fiction History - Invention of the Flux CapacitorEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
You know how every day I've been posting a collection of factoids about significant events in science history? Of note today is an event which hasn't actually occurred (though feel free to remedy this). November 5, 1955 was the date that Doctor Emmet Lathrop Brown slipped from standing on the toilet to hang a wall clock, hit his head on the bathroom sink, and had a vision of how he could design a flux capacitor, which (as we all know) made time travel possible. Quiz time... what movie is this from?This Day in Science Fiction History - Invention of the Flux Capacitor originally appeared on About.com Chemistry on Thursday, N...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 5, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Silver Polish without PolishingEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
I wanted to take a before/after photo of what you can expect when you use electrochemistry to polish silver, but... all I had in the house that was silver were some chains and one big silver bowl that has been black since the 1980s. I went with the bowl, which produced a picture that needs some explanation. What you see in this photo is the bottom of the bowl (silver again) and the sides/top (black). I filled the bowl halfway with hot water, sprinked in some salt and baking soda, and added a piece of aluminum foil. If you have silver cutlery, candlesticks, holloware, etc. that needs cleaned (even if it's totally darkened w...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 5, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 5 - Léon Teisserenc de BortEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 5th is Léon Teisserenc de Bort's birthday. He was a French meteorologist best known for the discovery of the layer in the atmosphere known as the stratosphere. He was a pioneer of the unmanned weather balloons carrying instruments to collect and record data such as temperature, pressure and wind speed. Typically, as you increase altitude, the temperature falls rather quickly. He discovered a boundry layer of the atmosphere approximately 7 miles up where the temperature would stop decreasing and would remain constant as the altitude increased. He concluded there were two regions of the atmosphere. The first 7 mile...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 5, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Periodic Table Tie and Caffeine Silk TieEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A while back I posted about a periodic table sweater and got an overwhelming e-mail response asking where the sweater was available for sale. The sweater is one-of-a-kind, but I've been keeping an eye out for fashionable chemistry apparel that you can get. I'm not a guy, so I don't have much use for ties, but if I did wear them I'd add a periodic table tie or caffeine molecule tie to my wardrobe.Do you know about other chemistry-related clothing or accessories available online? If so, you're welcome to post a reply.Periodic Table Tie and Caffeine Silk Tie originally appeared on About.com Chemistry on Thursday, November 5th...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 5, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 4 - X-10 ReactorEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
On November 4, 1943, the X-10 nuclear reactor began operations. This reactor was the first reactor built to produce plutonium for the Manhattan Project. The reactor consisted of a 24 foot cube of graphite slabs surrounded by a thick concrete radiation shield. There were 1,248 horizontal holes drilled into the graphite to hold slugs of uranium fuel. These slugs would remain in the reactor to emit and absorb neutrons to convert uranium-238 into plutonium-239. After a period of time, operators would push an new uranium slug into the hole and shove the plutonium rich slug out the back for processing. The plutonium would be ext...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 4, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Wordless Wednesday - Make pH Test StripsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
I've got a new video showing you how to make your own pH paper test strips. It's very quick and easy. Try it...Wordless Wednesday - Make pH Test Strips originally appeared on About.com Chemistry on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 09:47:06.Permalink | Comment | Email this (Source: About.com Chemistry)
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 4, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 3 - Daniel RutherfordEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 3rd is Daniel Rutherford's birthday. Rutherford was the Scottish chemist who first isolated and discovered nitrogen gas. He started with a container of air and took steps to remove all the known "airs" to see what was left. He started by keeping a mouse in the container until it died, burned a candle until it was extinguished and finally burned phosphorus until it would not burn anymore. He passed the remaining gas through an alkaline solution to remove any carbon dioxide. Rutherford called the remaining gas "noxious air" or "phlogisticated air" because it would not support life or combustion. We know this gas as ...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 3, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Periodic Table Picnic TableEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Have you ever wondered what the periodic table of the elements would look like as an actual table? Make.com has a photo of a periodic table picnic table. Very cool! One reader posts that this table may be at the Wake Forest University campus. Can anyone confirm this?Periodic Table Picnic Table originally appeared on About.com Chemistry on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 11:03:41.Permalink | Comment | Email this (Source: About.com Chemistry)
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 3, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

The Truth About Colored SnowEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
You may have heard that snow can be found in other colors besides white. It's true! Red snow, green snow, and brown snow are relatively common. Really, snow can occur in just about any color. Here's a look at some common causes of colored snow. Watermelon Snow or Snow AlgaeThe most common cause of colored snow is the growth of algae. One type of algae, Chlamydomonas nivalis, is associated with a red or green snow that may be called watermelon snow. Watermelon snow is common in the alpine regions worldwide, in the polar regions or at altitudes of 10,000 to 12,000 feet (3,000-3,600 m). This snow may be green or red and has a...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 2, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 2 - Thomas MidgleyEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 2nd marks the passing of Thomas Midgley, Jr. Midgley was the American mechanical engineer and chemist who had a profound effects on our environment when he invented tetraethyllead and dichlorodifluoromethane, known by their trademarks Ethyl and Freon. Ethyl was a gasoline additive created to reduce engine knock. It was less expensive than rival additives like ethanol, but contained the toxic element lead. Leaded gasoline was a standard for vehicles from the 1920s to the 1980s dumping lead into the environment the entire time. The other chemical he discovered was Freon. Freon is actually a collection of chlorofluor...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 2, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 2 -Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 2nd marks the passing of Thomas Midgley, Jr. Midgley was the American mechanical engineer and chemist who had a profound effects on our environment when he invented tetraethyllead and dichlorodifluoromethane, known by their trademarks Ethyl and Freon. Ethyl was a gasoline additive created to reduce engine knock. It was less expensive than rival additives like ethanol, but contained the toxic element lead. Leaded gasoline was a standard for vehicles from the 1920s to the 1980s dumping lead into the environment the entire time. The other chemical he discovered was Freon. Freon is actually a collection of chlorofluor...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 2, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Re-Use the Turkey ThermometerEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Did you know you could re-use the thermometer that comes with many frozen turkeys? It makes sense, when you think about it. Those thermometers contain a ball of metal and a spring. The thermometer is designed such that the metal will melt at the safe temperature for turkey meat (~180°F), releasing the spring and popping up the button. To reset the thermometer all you have to do is dip the tip of the thermometer in hot water (near-boiling will definitely work) to melt the metal. Push the button back down and remove the thermometer from the water, keeping the button depressed. Wait about a minute for the metal to cool, ...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 2, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - November 1 - BetatronEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
November 1st is Donald Kerst's birthday. Kerst was an American physicist who invented the betatron. The betatron is a type of cyclotron that takes electrons from a transformer and accelerates them within a vacuum tube using a large, alternating magnetic field. The name betatron is a reference to the beta particle which is a fast moving electron given off by beta decay radiation. The betatron's electrons can build up enough energy to cause nuclear transformations or strike a metal target to create x-rays and gamma rays. Betatrons are found in many applications of particle physics, radiation medicine and industry. Find out w...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 1, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Cool Science Fair Project IdeasEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
A while back I posted a collection of easy science fair projects. Those ideas have become very popular, so I got to thinking... what other kinds of projects would readers like to see? I've started a list of cool science fair project ideas with a section for you to submit your own cool ideas. This is a select collection of science fair projects that can really get you thinking. Some are quick and easy; others will take some time. I think all of them are interesting and unusual. Enjoy!Cool Science Fair Project Ideas originally appeared on About.com Chemistry on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 08:55:21.Permalink | Comment | Ema...
Source: About.com Chemistry - November 1, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - October 31 - Joseph SwanEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Who invented the incandescent light bulb? If you believe the advertising campaign put out by Thomas Edison, he did. Thomas Edison brought the United States the incandescent bulb using a patent issued in Great Britain by Joseph Wilson Swan. Swan invented an electric light bulb using a partial vacuum and carbonized thread as a filament. Carbon requires a lot of current to glow and the bulbs would soot over and not last very long. Edison created a bulb using a better vacuum and thinner metal filaments that required less power and glowed much brighter. October 31st is Joseph Swan's birthday. Find out what else occurred on this...
Source: About.com Chemistry - October 31, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Happy Halloween - Make a Jack-o-LanternEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Happy Halloween! Do you have a Halloween jack-o-lantern yet? If not, it's not too late to pick up a pumpkin and do something fun with it. Or, if you have a jack-o-lantern, you can use chemistry to kick it up a notch. Here are some ideas: Jack-o-Lantern with Dry Ice Fog - Dry ice fog wafts from the carvings in this jack-o-lantern. You can get a great display in the day as well as the night. Glow in the Dark Pumpkin - It's up to you whether you carve this jack-o-lantern. The pumpkin is phosphorescent, so when you turn out the lights it will glow on its own. Green Fire Jack-o-Lantern - This jack-o-lantern is filled with gree...
Source: About.com Chemistry - October 31, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - October 30 - Herman KoppEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
October 30th is the birthday of no less than five Nobel Prize in Medicine winners. It is also the birthday of Hermann Kopp. Kopp was a German chemist who showed the physical properties of compounds such as boiling point, specific heat, specific gravity and thermal expansion differ from each other according to the degree which their structure differs. What he is most known for was his prolific writings on the history of chemistry. He published a four volume "History of Chemistry". He added three supplements to this work, wrote "The Development of Chemistry in Recent Times" and the two volume "Alchemy in Ancient and Modern T...
Source: About.com Chemistry - October 30, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Countdown to Halloween - Spooky Halloween Fog EffectsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Fog increases the spookiness factor of any Halloween display. There are a few different ways to create creepy Halloween fog. Dry ice fog is nice because it's non-toxic, doesn't have a weird chemical smell, and billows out tons of fog that naturally sinks to the floor.Liquid nitrogen fog is nice because nothing extra is needed to produce fog. Liquid nitrogen works by evaporating and by cooling the air, causing water to condense into real fog. Nitrogen is the primary component of air and is non-toxic.Atomized glycols are used to make Halloween smoke or fog. This is the 'fog juice' that you find for commercial fog machines. T...
Source: About.com Chemistry - October 30, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

Ares I-X Launch PhotoEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Did you make and launch a solid fuel rocket the other day? Here's the real deal in action. This the launch of the Ares I-X for its test flight on October 28, 2009. This photo was taken from the top of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the largest one story building in the world at 525 feet tall. The Ares rocket burned very brightly. There was a sonic boom and the launch rattled the entire VAB. This was a test flight of a new launch vehicle, which means there is a ton of research being performed. If you are a scientist or engineer looking for a challenge and a chance to innovate, this is one of the programs that offers a...
Source: About.com Chemistry - October 29, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer

On This Day in Science History - October 29 - Baruj BenacerrafEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
October 29th is Baruj Benacerraf's birthday. Benacerraf is a Venezuelan immunologist who discovered immune response genes. He was researching immune response from immunization on guinea pigs when he discovered some of the guinea pigs' immune systems would respond to the foreign substance and others would not. When he bred the one group with the other, he isolated the gene that appeared to control the immune response in the guinea pigs. He called this the Ir gene for immune response. He also discovered it was part of the recently discovered major histocompatibility complex (MHC) which is a larger gene located in a particula...
Source: About.com Chemistry - October 29, 2009 Category: Chemistry Source Type: consumer