How many names of famous people can you spell using the symbols for elements? I set myself a low bar for ‘famous’ and managed… (Mr) BiSHOP (bismuth, sulphur, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorous) & (Mr) SNoW (sulphur, nobelium and tungsten) before I thought I would be better handing it over to you. I have not Googled this yet but …
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Sodium & Water…
I am clearly too lazy to do this properly as I am just posting Periodic Videos’ latest offering. I can’t wait to see the reactions with potassium, rubidium and caesium. I talked about buying a high speed camera a few weeks ago. Now that we have our shiny new iMac it would be great to …
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Gallium…
Another offering from the brilliant Periodic Table of Videos guys, this time about gallium. Gallium is a metal element but not one that we get to play with in the lab. After watching this I want to get a sample for school as it looks like a fun substance. Questions… What other metal is named after the same place …
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More About Chemical Bonds…
I wrote a few months ago, in response to a question from Felix, about the energy changes that occur when reactions happen. Some reactions are exothermic (that means they give out heat) whilst others are endothermic (which means that they absorb heat). Exothermic reactions are hot and endothermic ones are cold. If you have a …
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More Methane…
Methane (CH4) is the simplest hydrocarbon molecule and the gas that we burn in the lab. It is produced when organic material rots or is fossilised. As natural gas it is one of our three major fossil fuels used to offer a source of energy for power stations such as Didcot B power station. Like all hydrocarbons, methane …
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Slime…
We made some slime on Sunday. In fact, the boys made rather a lot of slime, which they coloured blue with food dye. They followed a simple recipe, mixing PVA glue 50:50 with water and stirring until the mixture was an even, milky-white colour. Then they added a few drops of colouring. I had made up some saturated borax …
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Some Acid & Alkali Information…
The pH scale is used to measure how acidic or alkaline a solution is. Only chemicals that dissolve in water can have a pH. A pH of less than 7 is an acid; a pH of more than 7 is an alkali. Only a neutral substance would have a pH of exactly 7. Pure water …
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Zirconium…
Zirconium is the 40th element on the periodic table; a metal with the symbol Zr. It is similar to titanium and is used in alloys where its resistance to corrosion will be helpful. It has been in the news recently as zirconium alloys are used to hold the uranium pellets in the boiling water reactors found in the …
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Where Do Puddles Go?
This post was written by Kirill… A question often asked by small children, but not often fully understood by adults is, “Where do puddles go?” Water has two ways of escaping from the puddles. One explanation found on the internet (Answers.com) is… “The water has two ways to go after being in a puddle. One …
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Spray-On Glass…
Some of you will have read the various press pieces about German company Nanopool who have announced their production of spray-on glass. Their November press release states… “SiO2 – ultra thin layering” is the technical term for Liquid Glass. The flexible and breathable glass coating is approximately 100 nanometres thick (500 times thinner than a …
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