Chemistry
jstemwedel | March 9, 2007What list of basic concepts would be complete without a primer on polar and non-polar molecules?
You'll recall that chemists live in a world made up of atoms and various assemblies and modifications thereof, which are, in turn, made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons (which have positive charge and some mass) and neutrons (which are just a squosh more massive than protons) hang out together in the nucleus of your atom, while electrons can be thought of as zipping around the nucleus.
When multiple atoms are part of an assembly in which they are bonded to each other, you have a…
jstemwedel | February 26, 2007My humble haiku,
Clobbered in the poll -- Unless
You vote, intervene.
Voting closes February 26, 11:59 PM EST -- so act now!
(If you want to be sure you're voting for mine, I reproduce them below the fold.)
The one of my two entries with the most votes so far:
A mature science
has no need for causal talk?
Chemists shout, " 'Fraid not!"
"Underlying Stories: The Structure of Causal Talk in Chemistry and in Everyday Life"
The other haiku I submitted, which is not doing well at all:
Chlorite, iodide.
What makes such oscillations?
Perturb, gauge response.
"Experiments and theory toward the…
jstemwedel | February 24, 2007Jim Gibbon has opened voting on his academic haiku contest. I urge you to check out all the 17-syllable distillations of scholarly works, but especially those in the physical sciences category.
Two of those haikus are mine. (Technically, one of them ought to be in the humanities category, but I can see how an exploration of philosophical issues in chemistry might look like it belongs in the physical sciences.) Here's your chance to make me a winner!
terrasig | February 13, 2007Such was the tagline of a review of Amy Stewart's new book, "Flower Confidential," as written by George Anders in last weekend's Wall Street Journal.
Ms. Stewart, however, is a danger-seeker. In "Flower Confidential" she tests her love by grabbing her reporter's notebook and her passport and traveling to Latin American farms and Dutch markets to explore the commercial flower business.
The result is a quirky but entertaining book. Each chapter becomes a test of wills. Can our happy narrator keep her faith as she learns the ugly truths of an industry with $40 billion a year in global sales? Or…
jstemwedel | February 11, 2007I figured it was time I weighed in on a basic concept from chemistry, so let's talk about what defines an element.
As far as chemists are concerned, the world is made up of atoms and various assemblies and modifications thereof. Those atoms and modifications of atoms are, in turn, made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons have a +1 charge and a mass of 1.0073 amu [1]. Neutrons have zero charge and a mass of 1.0087 amu. And electrons have a -1 charge and a mass of 5.49 x 10-4 amu. Various combinations of these three will give you atoms, radicals, and ions. Protons and neutrons…
jstemwedel | February 8, 2007As part of my graduate coursework in chemistry, I took a biophysical chemistry course from Professor Wray Huestis -- not because my research was in biophysical chemistry, but because I was curious. Possibly my best move ever in choosing my classes, since she gave us one of the smartest and most useful writing assignments I've ever encountered.
The task was to write a proposal for a novel piece of research in biophysical chemistry.
To start, you had to read around to figure out what the outstanding problems were. You also had to read around to get a sense of what kinds of experimental…
terrasig | February 1, 2007Between the news offices for New England Journal of Medicine and NIH's National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), you have no doubt already heard the report that topical application of lavender and tea tree oil-containing products has been linked with gynecomastia in three boys.
Yes, imagine being a private practice pediatrician whose 10-year-old male patient presents with "firm, tender breast buds measuring 3.5 cm by 4.0 cm in length and width and 3.5 cm in depth, with stretching of the areolae." In fact, imagine being the parent...or the boy himself.
In all three cases,…
jstemwedel | January 31, 2007I simply cannot accept the final judgment in Bravo's Top Chef (season 2). Marcel should have won.
Sure, I didn't actually taste the two meals. But simply on the basis of innovation (especially given that the panel of judges seemed to have really good things to say about the flavors of both meals), Marcel should have had the edge. And that's before we even get into which of the two finalists showed himself to be more ethical and mature (a category Marcel also won on the merits).
I am now officially interested as heck in learning all about molecular gastronomy. It's chemistry that non-…
terrasig | January 31, 2007Pharmaceutical chemist, Derek Lowe, at Corante's In the Pipeline notes that yesterday was the end of his employment at the Wonder Drug Factory due to a site closure. I've admired Dr Lowe since I began reading blogs because he puts a human face on the travails of a bench-level pharmaceutical industry researcher. His thoughtful discussions of chemistry, the industry, and careers for young scientists has put Derek at the top of my reading list most mornings.
Despite the missteps often attributed to pharma execs or marketers, Derek shows that the average pharma scientist is just like the rest…
jstemwedel | January 24, 2007ACS LiveWire is hosting a "blogversation" (don't shoot me, I didn't coin it!) about nanoscience and nanotechnology. Here are the panelists:
Rudy Baum is the Editor-in-Chief of Chemical & Engineering News.
David M. Berube is author of Nano-Hype: The Truth Behind the Nanotechnology Buzz and the Nano-Hype blog . He is a Professor of Speech Communication Studies and Government-Industry Coordinator of Nanoscience and Technology Studies at the University of South Carolina.
Richard A. L. Jones is author of Soft Machines: Nanotechnology and Life and the Soft Machines blog . He is Professor of…
jstemwedel | January 12, 2007Chad and Tara have spilled the beans on a highly classified backchannel discussion we ScienceBloggers have been having. Since the cat is already out of the bag (presumably a bag of beans), I suppose I'll chime in.
What basic concepts would you like me to explain here?
The idea, of course, would be for me to take a basic concept from my area of expertise and explain it in such a way that an intelligent non-expert would be able to grasp the important bits. As well, I'd want to explain why it matters to get clear on the concept, what it's good for, etc.
I'd be happy to entertain requests…
sarahdasher | January 5, 2007Since moving to New York, I've been having trouble breathing. Is city air pollution to blame?
Source: European Space Agency.
The above image shows atmospheric nitrogen dioxide concentrations worldwide. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a mainly man-made gas, produced by the usual suspects: power plants, transportation, industry, and biomass burning. Lightning in the air, and microbes in soil, also create nitrogen dioxide.
The map clearly exposes some of the world's known worst offenders--the East Coast megalopolis, London, Beijing--as well as some surprising pockets near Johannesberg and Eastern…
jstemwedel | December 1, 2006The most recent Ask A ScienceBlogger question is:
What's the funniest lab accident you've ever had?
Those who know me can tell you I like to laugh, but I'm having trouble coming up with a lab accident that I'd call funny.
During my doctoral research in chemistry, lab accidents were anything but funny. The time the waste-trap didn't work right? We had to call a HAZMAT team to clean it up. The time my glass reaction vessel went smashy-smashy? I had to hie myself to a glass-blowing shop with the detailed internal dimensions (which, luckily, I had measured and recorded mere weeks before) and…
jstemwedel | November 29, 2006It turns out I've been a member of the Americal Chemical Society for three years now. How do I know?
They sent me a new mug.
While I enjoy my weekly issue of Chemical & Engineering News -- which, I imagine, most ACS members see as the most tangible benefit of their membership -- I must confess that I really love the mugs.
Last year, for my second anniversary of membership, they sent me a mug with helium (element 2) on it. This year, the third anniversary, it's lithium (element 3). On the first anniversary, there wasn't a hydrogen mug, but rather a pop-up card featuring hydrogen.
So,…
retrospectacle | November 29, 2006According to CNN, the guards who roughed up a Florida teenager at a military-style bootcamp, who later died, will be charged in his death. This incident, which took place around Pensacola, was a huge scandal for Florida which resulted in the resignation of Florida's top law officer and the end of state-run bootcamp.
Apparently what happened was Martin Lee Anderson, 14 years old, felt ill and refused to continue exercising. After being roughed up by the guards (which was caught on videotape) for over 30 minutes, he passed out. To try to revive him, they used ammonia capsules (aka smelling…
jstemwedel | November 22, 2006The New York Times has taken notice of the history and philosophy of chemistry in a small piece about a new book, The Periodic Table: Its Story and Significance by Eric R. Scerri. In particular, the Times piece notes the issue of whether Dimitri Ivanovich Mendeleev was "borrowing" from the work of others (without acknowledging that he had done so) when he put forward his version of the periodic table of the elements:
The first [of six scientists who formulated periodic tables before Mendeleev] was a French geologist named Alexandre Emile Béguyer de Chancourtois, but his publisher was…
retrospectacle | November 1, 2006A Nature podcast today details new fascinating research about a pill that may extend lifespan by up to 20%. Resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, is the only compound that has lengthened the life of every organism its been given to: yeast, worms, flies, and now mice. And, most recently, David Sinclair of Harvard University has results that show that this compound can also combat the ill health effects of a high-fat ("McDonald's") diet in mammals. Mice that were given a high-fat diet as well as Resveratrol lived as long as mice that were fed a healthy balanced diet. Even more interesting…
jstemwedel | October 26, 2006We're just past the midpoint of National Chemistry Week, so I thought I'd share a "classic" post (from last year's National Chemistry Week) about how studying chemistry can nourish one's human yearnings.
What's so great about chemistry? Of course, if you're a kid, chemistry has the allure of magic -- something might explode! (For those averse to permanent damage, there are plenty of cool chemistry activities that are much safer than whatever my brother did with his store-bought chemistry set to scorch the hell out of our parents' card table.) But I suspect it's real charm for students, at…
jstemwedel | October 23, 2006Hey, it's National Chemistry Week (and it has been since yesterday). Also, from 6:02 AM until 6:02 PM today, it was Mole Day.
I had hoped to have lots of time to wallow in the festivities, crack Mole Day jokes, and so on, but as it turns out I have 6.02 x 10^23 things on my to-do list today, so y'all will have to celebrate without me.
jstemwedel | October 20, 2006It's the time of year when the mailbox starts filling up with catalogues. At the Free-Ride house, many of these are catalogues featuring "educational" toys and games. Now, some of these toys and games are actually pretty cool. Others, to my mind, are worse than mere wastes of money.
For your consideration, three "science" kits targeted at girls:
Archimedes got scientific insight from a bathtub, but he wasn't required to wear eye-makeup to do it.
Spa Science
The kit offers itself as a way "to cultivate a girl's interest in science" through the making of "beauty products like an oatmeal…