Monday, March 22, 2010

Spikes menagerie

Nice i loved the colors and intricate design . they lool like artwork especially the Micrasterias wich resembles a mandala of green and blue Fabulous!
the variety and form of so many earth species seem out of this world up close!
the Fossil diatoms from Oamaru where also quite interesting. A kind of kaliedeoscope of images.

cell structure

It is pretty awesome that cells are not only what we are all made of but, that every cell is a living organism that is complete in itself. it reminds me of that scene in the movie EvilDead III where the protaganist is shattered into sveral little versions of self that must combine to create the larger scale human self!
also facinating is the term "tensegrity" a concept and word originally coined by Buckminster Fuller.
it refers to structures that are mechanically stable because stresses are distributed and balanced throughout the entire structure, not because the individual components have great strength. from http://microscopy.fsu.edu/index.html.

Diversity

I am fortunate to be in such a rural environment as coast side San Mateo county. there are mountain lions and bobcats in the hills and valleys,seals and dolphins play in the surf as whales migrate north in waters just a few hundred yards out. red tail hawks fly over as if on cue with the sun and wind blowing through the trees all the while the surf crashes rhythmically on the sand.
house sparrows and finches, robins and the towhee all sing and dance in the morning sun as the hummingbird greets me each day! :-)

Fission

wow! that was what i thought when i viewed this animation (after many others).
It was of the Energy reaction that occurs when Fission is Created. heres the link http://ull.chemistry.uakron.edu/genobc/animations/fission.mov
I found it interesting that the molecules stayed clumped into two parts that then flew apart during the relaese of energy! Why is it they hold together even in the force of the explosion?
Anyone?

Biochemistry

My choice of definition was biochemistry is the study of the fundamental mechanisms of life at the molecular level. the reason for this is all life as we examine it in a western scientific viewpoint is broken down to molecules and finally when w look close pure energy.

i think this says that biochemistry is the combination of chemical and physical viewpoints on a subject that is fundamentally a physcisists realm.

Gene therapy

It is interesting that we have the cure for heredity based diseases like hemophilia and sickle cell anemia. Germ line gene cell therapy is a miracle of modern medicine if it works. but pf course it is not legal to start trial studies on people! what a shame just think future generations will not even have the gene in their bodies to worry about again !

Monday, March 8, 2010

Alkali Metal Barium

barium

Dictionary: bar·i·um (bâr'ē-əm, băr'-) pronunciation

barium

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:

barium

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barium

Chemical element, one of the alkaline earth metals, chemical symbol Ba, atomic number 56. It is very reactive and in compounds always has valence 2. In nature it is found chiefly as the minerals barite (barium sulfate) and witherite (barium carbonate). The element is used in metallurgy, and its compounds are used in fireworks, petroleum mining, and radiology and as pigments and reagents. All soluble barium compounds are toxic. Barium sulfate, one of the most insoluble salts known, is given in a "barium meal" as a contrast medium for X-ray examination of the gastrointestinal tract.

For more information on barium, visit Britannica.com.

Barium

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A chemical element, Ba, with atomic number 56 and atomic weight of 137.34. Barium is eighteenth in abundance in the Earth's crust, where it is found to the extent of 0.04%, making it intermediate in amount between calcium and strontium, the other alkaline-earth metals. Barium compounds are obtained from the mining and conversion of two barium minerals. Barite, barium sulfate, is the principal ore and contains 65.79% barium oxide. Witherite, sometimes called heavy spar, is barium carbonate and is 72% barium oxide. See also Periodic table.

The metal was first isolated by Sir Humphry Davy in 1808 by electrolysis. Industrially, only small amounts are prepared by aluminum reduction of barium oxide in large retorts. These are used in barium-nickel alloys for spark-plug wire (the barium increases the emissivity of the alloy) and in frary metal, which is an alloy of lead, barium, and calcium used in place of babbitt metal because it can be cast.

The metal reacts with water more readily than do strontium and calcium, but less readily than sodium; it oxidizes quickly in air to form a surface film that inhibits further reaction, but in moist air it may inflame. The metal is sufficiently active chemically to react with most nonmetals. Freshly cut pieces have a lustrous gray-white appearance, and the metal is both ductile and malleable. The physical properties of the elementary form are given in the table.

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Germanium (pronounced /dʒərˈmeɪniəm/, jər-MAY-nee-əm) is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is a lustrous, hard, grayish-white metalloid in the carbon group, chemically similar to its group neighbors tin and silicon. Germanium has five naturally occurring isotopes ranging in atomic mass number from 70 to 76. It forms a large number of organometallic compounds, including tetraethylgermane and isobutylgermane.

Because few minerals contain it in large concentration, germanium was discovered comparatively late despite the fact that it is relatively abundant in the Earth's crust. In 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev predicted its existence and some of its properties based on its position on his periodic table and called the element eka-silicon. Nearly two decades later, in 1886, Clemens Winkler found it in the mineral argyrodite. Winkler found that experimental observations agreed with Mendeleev's predictions and named the element after his country, Germany.

Germanium is an important semiconductor material used in transistors and various other electronic devices. Its major end uses are fiber-optic systems and infrared optics, but it is also used for polymerization catalysts, in electronics and in solar electric applications. Germanium is mined primarily from sphalerite, though it is also recovered from silver, lead, and copper ores. Some germanium compounds, such as germanium chloride and germane, can irritate the eyes, skin, lungs, and throat.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Spikes menagerie

cell structure

Diversity

Fission

Biochemistry

Gene therapy

Monday, March 8, 2010

Alkali Metal Barium

barium

barium

barium

Barium

General Chemistry

Brain games

Germanium

Germanium

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chemistry 1-5

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