May 2010
61 posts
April 2010
86 posts
tokyomcdrift-deactivated2011012 asked: So I'm in my first Chem course and I think I've got a pretty good understanding on polar bonds but I'm confused about non-polar bonds which my Professor just barely glazed over in our lecture. What atoms might form a non-polar bond with each other and how does their bond work?
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It's Tuesday and you should recommend... →
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How do you know if Chemistry is your calling?
We get a lot of questions asking us how to know if Chemistry is indeed your calling; how to know for sure that this was what you were meant to do.
Personally, I feel that if you enjoy doing Chemistry and do not mind the hard work, go ahead. If you have passion for the subject, why not?
But this is just what I think,
and since no two people think exactly the same way…
Dear followers, why...
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lilsaddie asked: I keep getting confused when naming compounds since all the rules I find are different or too wordy. Can you just state the rules simply? I know there is a difference when naming ionic, binary and molecular compounds which is really what is throwing me off? keeping track of them all. If not, can you link me to a tutorial if you know one? THANK YOU SO MUCH (finals this week!)
What did the surprised Oxide Magnesium say?
OMg
CanvasMol: 3-D molecule visualization →
tomwphillips:
This is so clever - CanvasMol is a 3-D molecule viewer made entirely with HTML5!
Jmol is used by a lot of chemists to embed 3-D models into web pages, but it uses Java. I can’t stand it because it’s ugly, quirky, often crashes my browser (regardless of whether I’m using Firefox or Safari on a Mac or PC) and uses loads of system resources. I hope Jmol dies out and is replaced with...
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Response to Question: How can food irradiation...
Food irradiation is carried out with Gamma-emitters, meaning gamma-rays (high energy electromagnetic radiation) are emitted. These have the effect of killing bacteria and the like from the food, however, Gamma-emitters do not cause much ionisation, as they are (mainly) not particles. As such, they do not form many free radicals, and hence, make our food safe to eat, as well as give it a longer...
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While strong acids are generally assumed to be the...
Wikipedia:
The carborane superacid H(CHB11Cl11), which is one million times stronger than sulfuric acid, is entirely non-corrosive, whereas the weak acid hydrofluoric acid (HF) is extremely corrosive.
Hydrofluoric acid is best known to the public for its ability to dissolve glass by reacting with SiO2 (silicon dioxide), the major component of most glass, to form silicon tetrafluoride gas...
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Submission: I just learned why smoking in gas...
It’s because of the gasoline. Wait, don’t stop here — it seems obvious, but what makes it explode is NOT the liquid gasoline.
Liquid gasoline doesn’t even burn. Some people has already even tried a trick to put out match fires with gasoline, and it worked. What burns is the vapor off the gasoline, reacting with the oxygen in the air. That vapor is highly flammable.
When...
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Submission: Check out this cheat sheet I made for...
I’m trying to put together the definitive blog for people taking sophomore organic chemistry. Still have a lot of work/improvement to do but it’s gaining steam. This past few days I spent some serious time putting together what I think is the definitive cheat sheet for carbonyl chemistry. Everything is on it - the Aldol. Claisen, Michael, Fischer esterification… etc. It’s...
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How Geckos stick: Van der Waals forces →
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC:
Geckos, nature’s supreme climbers, can race up a polished glass wall at a meter per second and support their entire body weight from a wall with only a single toe. But the gecko’s remarkable climbing ability has remained a mystery since Artistotle first observed it in the fourth century B.C.
Working at Lewis & Clark College, the University of California at...
Facts about the "Dihydrogen Monoxide". →
Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) is a colorless and odorless chemical compound, also referred to by some as Dihydrogen Oxide, Hydrogen Hydroxide, Hydronium Hydroxide, or simply Hydric acid. Its basis is the highly reactive hydroxyl radical, a species shown to mutate DNA, denature proteins, disrupt cell membranes, and chemically alter critical neurotransmitters. The atomic components of DHMO are found...
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Submission: For all you Chemistry students
Here’s a good link to help you. He’s really good:
http://www.khanacademy.org/
He also covers other subjects :)
(Thanks bangkokparty!)
