DailyDirt: Chemistry Isn't Just A Class Everyone Hated In High School....

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Thu, Mar 3rd 2011 5:00pm — Michael Ho

Chemistry is a fascinating subject, but usually it gets a bad rap. Still, chemistry affects almost every aspect of our lives -- even though most people don't think about it that much. Here are some interesting chemical discoveries that have made it into the news recently. Any reactions?

A rare form of sulfur in the Earth's mantle could explain how gold mineral deposits form and shed more light on early Earth geochemistry. Even though this discovery is about chemistry in the depths of the Earth, it could also change how we describe the composition of the Earth's ancient atmosphere. [url]
Helium might be the second most abundant element in the universe, but its supply on Earth isn't inexhaustible. And a particular isotope, helium-3, might be getting quite expensive in the near future (until nuclear chemists figure out a cheaper way to make more). [url]
When hair products say they're formaldehyde-free, someone should double check for formaldehyde precursors. When formulation chemists find ingredient loopholes, watch out! [url]
An environmental group claims that BPA-free containers can still leach out chemicals with "estrogenic activity" under normal use conditions. But there are a lot of chemicals that might exhibit "estrogenic activity" -- and be perfectly harmless at low concentrations. [url]
To discover more interesting chemistry-related articles, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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Filed Under: bpa, formaldehyde, helium, plastics, sulfur

12 Comments

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Rose M. Welch (profile), 3 Mar 2011 @ 4:49pm

I loved chem class. :/
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slacker525600 (profile), 3 Mar 2011 @ 5:22pm

as much as I think plastics are dangerous
there is a point to be made claiming that the research is biased, as the lead researcher has a large stake in a company that produces competing products that do not leech estrogenic compounds.
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Raptor85, 3 Mar 2011 @ 6:32pm

I loved chem..
Until high school when they decided fire from the burners, the oxygen nozzles, and CHEMICALS were too "dangerous" for students to be around. Once we were restricted to 100% book work my interest in chemistry fell to a minimum until I started getting into small electronics and...er..data destruction.
Any reactions?
*groan* The helium 3 problem is actually pretty interesting though, my memory is fuzzy but wouldn't that be one of the side products of a reactor capable of using what's currently being buried as nuclear waste as fuel? (not my area of expertise) If so that's THREE birds with one stone (make helium 3, generate energy, get rid of nuclear waste)
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Mar 2011 @ 6:52pm

If your not a part of the solution, your a part of the precipitate.
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Andrew D. Todd, 3 Mar 2011 @ 7:19pm

Making Chemistry Both Fun and Safe.
Well, you understand, myself, I took chemistry back in the early 1970's. I don't remember the details, but I believe someone did something dumb with carbon tetrachloride one time-- but no harm done. We used nitric acid all the time, and made bits of glassware from tubing in a bunsen burner flame...

I understand that at U. Oregon, they are doing what they call "green chemistry," meaning, for example, an experiment in which they use evaporating dry ice in a test tube to pressure-extract the essential oils from fruit peels, that kind of thing. There was an article about it in the alumni magazine. I used to know some people in the chemistry department there. There was one professor who was famous for having explosions during his demonstrations, to the point that it became standing joke. Maybe that had something to do with Oregon's early adoption of Green Chemistry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_chemistry
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Mar 2011 @ 9:22pm

Re: Making Chemistry Both Fun and Safe.
It could be also banned, someone will eventually get his tongue stuck on the dry ice.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Mar 2011 @ 9:34pm

Chemistry is something, started with cooking thousand of years ago and evolved into what we have today.

BTW, did you guys know that, Kelvin was a brewer and because he needed to maintain temperatures at exact levels he made some amazing discoveries for what he was honored for eternity by having his name be a measure of temperature? or that airplanes manufacturing in the beginning of the last century was done by furniture manufacturer's?(see Hitler's Stealth Fighter a.k.a. Horten Ho 229 and the Amerika Bomber), or that microscopes came about in the weaving industry because textile manufacturers needed a way to inspect what they produced, I don't think people realize how much transferable abilities there are in their normal lifes.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Mar 2011 @ 9:41pm

Rice was also the first clue used on postal stamps, you know that type of clue used in the back of the stamp that everyone licked, that was glue made out of cooked rice that formed a goo that sticked.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Mar 2011 @ 9:43pm

Re:
oops!

*glue not clue
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Mar 2011 @ 9:47pm

Re:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheatpaste

Chemistry also used to create glue for post signs LoL
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Jayce, 3 Mar 2011 @ 10:32pm

Heh
Chemistry is just applied physics.

"Thank you, I'll be here all week."
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ltlw0lf (profile), 4 Mar 2011 @ 7:43am

I loved Chem class in high school, and even more in college. Then again, I did some stuff in high school chemistry that would likely have gotten me expelled and the teacher fired (some on accident, others on purpose.)

My most favorite was making hydrogen, then lighting it on fire. Of course, I also accidentally mixed Silver Nitrate with Nitric Acid, and the teacher evacuated the classroom (since I didn't do it under the fume hood.) Cannot remember exactly what I was trying to do, but I had never made Nitrous Oxide (NO) before that.
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