Lewis Structures

In chapter 6, we're going to be covering Lewis structures for both single and multiple covalent bonds. Check out this interactive tutorial for some great practice!

The Periodic Table and Sam Kean

The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean is a great book with lots of interesting stories about the elements such as:

• Superfluid helium that defies gravity
• Antimony pentafluoride - an acid with a pH of -31 (100,000 billion billion billion times stronger than HCl)
• The cobalt-60 dirty bomb that thankfully hasn't ever been built (as far as we know)
• How Linus Pauling figured out how chemistry works. Really.
• Cadmium-tainted rice in Japan
• Prontosil - the antibiotic that predates penicillin
• Acute beryllium disease
• How cigarettes can also kill you with radioactive polonium
• Why the Washington Monument is topped with a pyramid of aluminum
• Why lithium works as an antidepressant
• How Wilhelm Rontgen went out of his way to prove to himself that he really didn't discover x-rays. Even though he did.
• Ice X
• How drinking beer lead to the development of the modern particle collider
• "Tools of Ridiculous Precision

And much more! Read it! You can go here to preview most of the first chapter for free (click on the book cover)!

Periodic Trends

Go here for a very simple interactive diagram that describes trends in the periodic table with regards to atomic radius, ionization energy, electron affinity, and metallic character.

Atomic Orbitals Animations

If you're having a little trouble visualizing atomic orbitals, this might help. It's a 3D diagram of all of the orbitals that you can manipulate. Check it out here.

Chemistry + Biology = Nobel Prize

In case you missed it, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded last week to two American scientists, Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka for their work on how cell signalling molecules work. Check out the summary of the Prize here.

War Healer

Your parents can explain who this is and why it's funny.

It might sound like an article that belongs on the bio blog, but chemist Joachim Kohn is the director of the AFIRM project out of Rutgers. He and his team are at the forefront of using biomolecules to re-engineer damaged tissue, specifically as a result of combat injuries. In what might be the understatement of the year, Dr. Kohn says of his work, "I didn’t endanger my life in anyway, and I didn’t put myself on the line to save anyone. I was just sitting in my laboratory, waving my hands around, sometimes having good ideas."
Check out the article here.

Pictures of bonds

That's right, actual photographs of actual chemical bonds! Check out the pictures and the article from the BBC here.

Starting the Year Off With a Bang!

Or at least a series of bangs anyway. Check this out - 24 reactions in 12 minutes. Or so. Check out the videos here.

Who Said Popcorn Was Not Good For You?

Here is a recent article that explains the benefits of POPCORN in your diet:

POPCORN ARTICLE

Happy New Year from the Chemistry Department !!!!
Here is a link to some info on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry from this past year.

Ancient Meteorite