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Chemistry in the news and updates
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April 2019Philatelic Table of Elements
What would a periodic table made of postage stamps look like? Well, Larry French from St Lawrence University, Canton, New York has taken on this challenge to produce this Philatelic Table of Elements. It was first presented at the spring 2016 American Chemical Society Meeting to mark the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT 2019).
Category: Feature Chemistry News and updates Series -
May 2018Gasoline and diesel fuel: Carbon pricing and heating values
Shortly after New Year’s Day 2017 a radio news item noted that the Province of Ontario’s newly introduced cap and
Category: Feature Chemistry News and updates -
March 2018Part 3. Building a nanoparticle
In the previous parts of this series, we presented an overview of what nanoparticles are and what they can do. We emphasized the importance of surface atoms as the only ones that can facilitate catalytic reactions.
Category: Feature Chemistry News and updates -
February 2018Part 2. Estimating the amazing surface areas of the incredibly tiny
In Part 1 of this series we described nanoparticles, what they are, how they are made and how they compare to other forms of metal. We also described how metal surfaces serve as catalysts facilitating reactions such as the hydrogenation of an alkene.
Category: Feature Chemistry News and updates -
December 2017 - January 2018Part 1: Function and importance of nanoparticles in catalysis
As a science teacher, if you were asked for an example of a catalyst, your car’s catalytic converter may come to mind. Most informed citizens would do the same. What may come as a surprise is that catalytic converters have dramatically changed in the past decade and now use only a small fraction of the precious metals that older models used.
Category: Feature Chemistry News and updates -
November 2017Quantum dots: Harnessing the nanoscopic rainbow
I co-instruct and coordinate an undergraduate materials and nanoscience (MNS) lab at the University of Waterloo. One experiment in 2nd year consistently stands out as my students’ favourite, and it involves the synthesis and characterization of “capped” cadmium selenide (CdSe) “quantum dots” (QDs).
Category: Feature Chemistry News and updates From our readers Covers -
November 2017
Active ingredient content in tablet (a follow up)
In the December 2016/January 2017 issue of Chem 13 News, I explored the regulation of active ingredient content in pharmaceutical tablets. Recently, purchasing a bottle of Jamieson 400 IU1 (10 g) Vitamin D tablets, I was surprised to see “Improved Smaller Tablets” boldly printed on the label in a blue rosette.1 Why make the small tablets even smaller?
Category: Feature Chemistry News and updates -
October 2017Who knew?
'Black tongue and Pepto-Bismol” ... quite a little scare. Soon after waking from a night’s sleep, I clear my throat and spit into the bathroom sink...
Category: Chemistry News and updates Pedagogy, opinion and advice Article -
April 2017Photochromic dyes for plastic lenses: Part 1
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines photochromic(1) as: “capable of changing color on exposure to radiant energy (as light), e.g., photochromic glass”. Photochromic eyeglass lenses were introduced in 1966, and photochromic plastic lenses....
Category: Chemistry News and updates -
April 2017
Borax advisory update Health Canada
Health Canada issued an advisory this past summer, suggesting that exposure to boron substances be reduced as much as possible from all sources.
Category: Chemistry News and updates -
April 2017
Starch in place of borax
One can use starch instead of borax to make gak/goo/slime. We published making gak/goo/slime using a saturated borax solution in the October 2016 issue of Chem 13 News.
Category: Activities Outreach Chemistry News and updates -
March 2017Sources of helium – Some uplifting news
When students are introduced to the periodic table, generally they already recognize a few elements. Even the least scientifically inclined students will have a few names pique their attention.
Category: Feature Chemistry News and updates -
November 2015The ASA tablet bottle quiz and challenge
Those who take a daily, low-dose, 81-mg ASA tablet (acetylsalicylic acid) and other pharmaceuticals may be familiar with a small polymer canister in each tablet bottle (Photos right and below). A canister from an Aspirin bottle is shown. Aspirin® is a trademark in Canada, but a generic term for ASA in the US.
Category: Chemistry News and updates -
October 2013What to do if your dog gets skunked
In a great 2-minute video, Sally Mitchell, a chemistry teacher at East Syracuse Minoa High School, Syracuse, NY explains the chemistry behind the solution to this stinky problem.
Category: Feature Chemistry News and updates -
September 2013New trends and developments of solid phase microextraction (SPME)
Solid phase microextraction (SPME) is a fast, environmentally friendly, field-compatible method of sample preparation for chemical analysis. In 2001, Chem 13 News published an introductory article about the newly developed technique, and since then its popularity has grown, expanding to scientists in many disciplines.
Category: Feature Chemistry News and updates -
May 2013Organic molecules of everyday life: 10. Hexenal
This is the 10th article in the series, which considers some common organic molecules encountered in our everyday lives. Described will be some general chemical information about the organic molecule, how it is useful to us, and other interesting facts.
Category: Feature Chemistry News and updates -
May 2013
Concentration of urine in a pool
During the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, US swimmer Michael Phelps admitted to peeing in the pool during training sessions. Does it matter?
Category: Feature Chemistry News and updates -
May 2013
Skeletal formulae revisited
It was interesting to read a recent “pet peeve” from Darrel Beach about skeletal organic formulae. For many years he has required his students to explicitly show all four bonds from each carbon atom in every organic molecule they drew.
Category: Feature Chemistry News and updates -
April 2013Chemistry in the news: Doping
Doping is in the news again due to the Lance Armstrong scandal. However, the use of performance enhancing drugs is nothing new. Philostratus “The Athenian” warned about doctors helping the athletes in ancient Greece by cooking bread with opium derivatives from the poppy plant.
Category: Feature Chemistry News and updates -
April 2013
Does solid lithium hydrogen carbonate exist?
By the 21st Century, one would think that the chemistry of common inorganic compounds would be firmly established. Not necessarily so! A good example is the existence — or non-existence — of lithium hydrogen carbonate.
Category: Feature Chemistry News and updates -
December 2012 - January 2013Fertilizing the ocean
Recently, Russ George, an American businessman, performed what many believe to be a questionable experiment. Mr. George “fertilized” the ocean by dumping 100 tonnes of an iron-enriched, dirt-like material into the Pacific, several hundred kilometers off the coast of northern British Columbia.
Category: Feature Chemistry News and updates -
October 2012The 2012 Olympic Games... in Washington DC!
In July 2012, the 44th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) was held in Washington DC. The competition included both practical and written examinations and had 280 students representing 72 countries worldwide.
Category: Chemistry News and updates -
March 2012Is magnesium nitride formed in the combustion of magnesium?
Sometimes errors appear in textbooks and are propagated like memes. It is unfortunately common for textbook writers to assume that previous texts are correct and that the facts no longer need to be checked. In the case of the combustion of magnesium ribbon in air, the “fact” that a mixture of magnesium oxide and magnesium nitride is formed has become “common knowledge” and appears never to be questioned.
Category: Chemistry News and updates Feature