Internet Detox

I have decided to take a break from the internet for a week. This is because I have made a really deep addiction to constant flowing information and I need to disconnect myself from this addiction. It all stems from the last year, being stuck in bed with only one outlet to the outside world.

Any post that I make in the next week will be on my phone, as all I will limit myself to is email, and this blogger app.

Wish me luck

Antoine Lavoisier's Understanding of Caloric and the Properties of Water

The process of science is a wonderful thing, which is what drives me into trying to understand the history of science.  My recent dive into this is reading Antoine Lavoisier's Elements of Chemistry, as it is one of modern chemistry's first textbook written by one of it's fathers. Now this isn't the easiest piece of literature to read, not because of the language, it excels in that category, but the font chosen makes the s's appear as f's. Difficulties aside, here is a quote I fell in love with, showing his understanding of the cohesion of water molecules before there was an understanding of hydrogen bonds, and heat before there was an understanding of molecular kinetic energy.

It is, perhaps, more natural to suppose, that the particles of caloric have a stronger mutual attraction than those of any other substance and that these latter particles are forced asunder in consequence of this superior attraction between the particles of the caloric, which forces them between the particles of other bodies, that they may be able to reunite with each other.  We have somewhat analogous to this idea in the phenomena which occur when a dry sponge is dipt into water: The sponge swells; its particles separate from each other; and all its intervals are filled up by the water.  It is evident, that the sponge, in the act of swelling, has acquired a greater capacity for containing water than it had when dry.  But we cannot certainly maintain, that the introduction of water between the particles of the sponge has endowed them with a repulsive power, which tends to separate them from each other; on the contrary, the whole phenomena are produced by means of attractive powers; and there are, first, The gravity of the water, and the power which it exerts on every side, in common with all other fluids; 2dly, The force of attraction which takes place between the particles of the water, causing them to unite together; 3dly, The mutual attractions of the particles of the sponge with each other; and, lastly, The reciprocal attraction which exists between the particles of the sponge and those of the water.  It is easy to understand, that the explanation of this fact depends on properly appreciating the intensity of, and connection between, these several powers.  It is probable, that the separation of the particles of bodies, occasioned by caloric, depends in a similar manner upon a certain combination of different attractive powers, which, in conformity with the attractive powers, which, in conformity with the imperfection of our knowledge, we endeavour to express by saying, that caloric communicates a power of repulsion to the particles of bodies.

Just as a background fact, Caloric was Lavoisier's term for kinetic energy, and at that time was considered to be a fluid or gas that would flow through matter, making it either hot or cold.  Just as heat flows from hot to cold, Caloric would flow from a hotter material to a cooler one until it reaches an equilibrium.  All of these observations, now obvious to us, were new and exciting for the scientists at the time, and to think there was a fluid that flows dictating temperature wasn't far off from the truth considering that matter with more kinetic energy expands according to PV = nRT.

I recommend this read to anyone interested in the history of our chemical body of knowledge, or to show respect to the people who worked undyingly hard to make these pivotal discoveries.

References:
Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent. Elements of Chemistry, in a New Systematic Order, Containing All the Modern Discoveries. New York: Dover Publications, 1965. Print.

For Those Students Who Have Trouble in Drawing Tetrahedrals

Just a relay of a blog post I found on Master Organic Chemistry explaining the difficulties in viewing 2D representations of the Tetrahedral.

Find it Here.

When the Catholic Church and Science Get Along

I asked myself yesterday, while watching TV, what is used to make the papal smoke turn either white or black, and how do they make sure there is no false alarm.  In my research I found that they previously used wet straw to make the black smoke and nothing added to make the white smoke. But in an article by The Guardian, I found that they now use an electronic smoke machine, starting in 2005, where potassium perchlorate (KClO₄), anthracene (3 fused benzene rings), and sulphur is used to make the black smoke, while potassium chlorate (KClO₃), lactose and a pine resin is used to make the white smoke.

So how does this work?

Black
The anthracene (from tar) helps the burnt carbon from the paper flow upwards in the smoke instead of remaining in the ash.  The KClO₄ is used to aide the combustion of the paper to create the chunks of carbon. What carries all of this upward is the water that is generated in the chemical reaction of combustion. Just think of it as the burnt carbon as being graphite, which produces a back colour.

White
What creates the white smoke is the existence of unburnt paper, or other unburnt fuel, rising up with the heat.  The paper is thermally broken apart in a process called pyrolisis, leaving small white particles of unburnt cellulose, or from the added resin, rising up as the combustion product of H₂O rises out of the chimney. Just think of the particles of unburnt fuel being like table sugar, which gives off a white colour.

References:
Via: The Guardian

Egyptian Blue: Calcium Copper Silicate

In a recent article by Scientific American, a story is told of Calcium Copper Silicate (Egyptian Blue) being the first artificial pigment made by humans, and soon to be utilized, once again, as a nano ink for biomedical imaging.  I'm not going to go over the details of the article, but I will present some background information of this soft blue colour.

Being the first recorded synthetic pigment, you may ask how it was originally synthesized.  The first procedures, in 3000 B.C., involves the heating of sand, calcium carbonate, copper, and an alkali substance to obtain this blue pigment having a composition of CaCuSi₄O₁₀.  The reaction below is a general understanding of the reaction, where the molecules can be variable in a number of different ways.

Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂ + 8SiO₂ + 2CaCO₃ → 2CaCuSi₄O₁₀ + 3CO₂ + H₂O

The blue colour comes from the absorption of the copper, which can range from the blue, seen above, to a much darker blue, depending on how pure the mixture is. But what wasn't known at that time, was that when irradiated with visible light, the compound emits IR photons, which is the property that will conduct the imaging technologies.

References:
Via: Scientific American
Wikipedia

What is Triclosan and Why is it Being Banned?

Triclosan has been in the media recently, in it's battle with regulation in its existence in many cleansing products.  In a recent article by the C&EN News they reported that "Minnesota state agencies will be able to purchase only soaps and detergents that are free of the antibacterial ingredient triclosan. State officials say they are concerned that the chemical has been linked to endocrine disruption and the growing threat of antibiotic resistance."

What is Triclosan, and how long have we been in contact with this reportedly "harmful" chemical? 
It has been used commonly in many different products since 1972 when it first became apparent that it reduced bacterial activity.  Such products as toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, trash bags, kitchen tools, and many other areas where antibacterial products seemed appropriate for manufacturers to use for preserving their products, or making their cleaning products more affective.

Why is it being banned?
It is being banned for a number of reasons.  First of all, as mentioned by C&EN, the risk of upsetting endocrine function.  This hasn't necessarily been proven in human subjects (other than slightly affecting the immune system, which may be due to the vast number of bacteria in, and around the body ¹), but it has been reported that the North American Bullfrog's endocrine system becomes compromised under low doses of Triclosan ².  Another reason is that it has been proven that it decreases bacterial species diversity, in other words, selects for antibiotic resistance.  The third reason is that it can be harmful to the environment for the reasons stated above (i.e. disrupting aquatic bacteria), along with Triclosan's byproducts such as dioxins being harmful.

How to avoid using products with Triclosan?
If you don't wish stay free of this product, read labels, and educate yourself of what is in the products you are using. It may also be listed under trade names of UltraFresh, Amicor, or BioFresh.

References:
Via: C&EN
1. Erin M. Rees Clayton, Megan Todd, Jennifer Beam Dowd, Allison E. Aiello. "The Impact of Bisphenol A and Triclosan on Immune Parameters in the U.S. Population, NHANES 2003–2006". Environ Health Perspect 119 (3): 390–396. doi:10.1289/ehp.1002883

2. Nik Veldhoen, Rachel C. Skirrow, Heather Osachoff, Heidi Wigmore, David J. Clapson, Mark P. Gunderson, Graham Van Aggelen and Caren C. Helbing. "The bactericidal agent triclosan modulates thyroid hormone-associated gene expression and disrupts postembryonic anuran development". Aquatic Toxicology 80 (3): 217–227. doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2006.08.010

Friedel-Crafts Alkylation

The Friedel-Crafts Alkylation reaction is used to add an alkyl group to an aromatic ring in the presence of a strong lewis acid.  This reaction was developed by Charles Fiedel (France) and James Crafts (USA) in 1876, in studying reactions involving the creation of carbon-carbon bonds, some of the most valuable technology in organic chemistry.

This reaction involves taking an aromatic ring and adding an alkyl halide (Cl-R1) with a strong lewis acid (AlCl₃), where the alkyl halide can exist as a tri-substituted, all the way to a methyl.  The chemistry of this reaction involves the AlCl₃ to strip the Cl from the alkyl halide, forming a carbocation (R⁺), followed with the π electrons of the aromatic ring to grab the carbocation. The AlCl₄^- can now strip the H away from the position where the R added on the aromatic ring, reverting the catalyst back to it's original form, and the final product to be formed.

Trial of MarvinSketch, a Free ChemDraw

I've been hidden away from the world the past couple of weeks as I've been having to take care of my grandmother, and now I have found some free time so I thought I would download MarvinSketch to try it out.  I have been meaning to try it for quite sometime, as I've been interested in all the chemical drawing programs out there.  Currently, I have been using ChemSketch by ACD Labs, and has shown it's exceptional quality over the past year, and before that I had been using ChemDoodle, which has been the best program I have tried so far, but unfortunately I was forced into changing ecosystems from mac into windows, leaving it unused.  I recommend trying ChemDoodle as a cheap alternative to ChemDraw, and plus, they are creating some neat HTML5 powered technology, which I use when I need to make a quick sketch.

But I will be downloading this Java based sketcher, which does look somewhat complicated, but I will do a review post once it is up and running.

Update: I was just informed that I can receive another activation code for ChemDoodle to add to my second computer.  I recommend this product to anyone looking for a ChemDraw alternative, as it contains all of the current capabilities at a small fraction of the price.  And as seen here, they have unmatched support for their products.  Sorry for it sounding as though I am advertising, but I am truly amazed with their services.