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March 8, 2011

Exploding trousers

Filed under: Chemistry — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — David @ 9:49 am

In the 1930′s, the New Zealand government declared to farmers that they had discovered the best ragwort killer. Ragwort, is a weed and the scourge of farmers.

Image kindly reporduced according to the licence at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Illustration_Senecio_vulgaris0.jpg

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February 3, 2011

Electrolysis saves the day

Filed under: Chemistry — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — David @ 12:38 pm

The Cutty Sark is a 19th Century Clipper ship. Built in 1869 to transport tea, the ship was built at a time when iron hulled ships were beginning to replace wooden ships. The Cutty Sark has a wooden hull fixed to a metal frame.

For the past 50 years of so, the Cutty Sark has been kept alongside the River Thames in London in dry dock. However, every time it rains, the integrity of the ship was threatened (and believe me, there is plenty of rain in London!)

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January 21, 2011

Killer Salt

Filed under: Chemistry — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — David @ 10:33 am

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It has been a bad winter here is the UK (and most of Europe).

Bizzarly, we may see a reduction in the number of frogs during the spring and summer of 2011 as a consequence of this bad weather. However, this will not be caused by the extreme cold, it is more of a man made problem to do with the cold weather.

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October 11, 2010

Toxic Sludge

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What have Iron Oxide, Aluminium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide and Sodium Oxide all got in common?

Well, they were the substances found in the highest concentrations in the recent toxic sludge spill in Hungary.

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May 7, 2010

Alternative rates labs

Filed under: Chemistry — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — David @ 8:53 pm

Many of us are familiar with the ‘lost cross’ lab. Sodium thiosulfate and Hydrochloric acid are mixed, a yellow / white precipitate forms and the time it takes to obscure a cross is measured.

In terms of an investigation, the lab works best for changing the concentration of the Sodium Thiosulfate but it can also be used to investigate the effect of temperature.

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May 2, 2010

Kitchen Chemistry

Filed under: Chemistry — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — David @ 8:30 pm

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Can anyone explain the Chemistry behind this?







Coins placed in vinegar can be ‘cleaned’ but the process takes a relatively long time (you need to leave the coins overnight) but

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