Tran,+Dat

__Flaking Away__

The Flaking Away article contained bits of information that I already knew and things I did not know. For instance, I knew that rusting was a redox reaction. Only an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte solution (in most cases the prevalent rainwater) need to be present and rusting will occur. I also knew that rust is a metal oxide, such as Iron oxide. I also knew that salt (NaCl) is an ionic substance, so its presence will accelerate rusting because the electrolyte solution would thus be more conductive due to the additional ions. Cars near the salty sea and cars in colder areas that need to have its roads salted are plagued by a stronger degree of rusting. An interesting concept the article presented that I did not know was that rusting could be reversed at the cost of energy. However, the process is too expensive and most of the rusted metal would probably be eroded for it to be put into common use. I also did not know that there were "smart" paints that slow rusting by activating when the coat of paint is disrupted. Finally, I learned that galvanizing metals would also slow down rusting. With the oxidizing of metal, such as zinc, coatings of rust resistant substances are created so rust inhibitors are naturally produced!

Dat, Rust prevention is a huge and potentially profitable business! 5 stars. MW

__Pool Chemistry__

1. Does the presence of algae raise or lower the pH of the pool water? The presence algae raises the pH of pool water, making it more basic. This is because the aqueous Chlorine ions in the pool water are used to hinder and eradicate the aquatic nuisance. Since there are less free Chlorine ions, the pH rises. Chlorine should be at 3 ppm or higher to keep the waters free of algae.

2. Why does the pool water's pH shift? The pool water's pH shifts because it is used by many (dirty) people, and it would naturally change, anyway. When considering Central's saavy indoor pool, the factors that would affect the pH include: cosmetic makeup, human waste, and organic litter. The litter lowers the pH, the bodily fluids would increase the pH, and the liquid makeup could affect the pH in any direction. Other common problems that affect a pool water's pH are rain water (lowers pH), caustic soda (raises pH), and algae (raises pH).

3. How do you add the chlorine to the pool? As said, chlorine can be added to the pool in many ways. The most common method, and the one used at Central, is to use liquid Sodium hypochlorite. It is the cheapest, and the liquid can be poured along the sides of the pool, so not much work is required (the high tech pump at our school makes this process even easier). Another method is to use Calcium hypochlorite. This ionic compound is solid and can be pulverized to feed into pumps. However, the solid might not dissolve completely and leave a residue, making iProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 a less common choice. Finally, Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 third method of adding chlorine to a pool is to use gaseous chlorine. Despite the fact that it is the cheapest form of chlorine, it is seldom used. One needs special training, special equipment, and a special room to use the gaseous chlorine; it is very dangerous!

Dat, I'm not sure gaseous chlorine is the cheapest anymore. I think there are restrictions on transporting it nowadays. 10 stars! MW __Salting Roads__

After reading this article, I felt that I had a much better understanding of why salt is used on roads. My first VIP is that a salt solution has a lower freezing point than pure water. The Na+ ions in a slat solution are obstructive and makes it harder for water to form solid crystals. Highway workers use this chemistry to melt ice and prevent more ice accumulation on the roads. My second VIP is that the more concentrated a solution is, the lower the freezing point goes. MgCl2 and CaCl2 are thus more effective at lowering the freezing point than NaCl because they dissociate into //three// ions. Still, I'm curious as to why NaCl is not environmentally friendly and why it hasn't been already replaced by its superiors for common use? My third VIP is that a salt solution is made when salt is dissolved by the first flakes of snow. It's nifty that man took advantage of the first "sacrificial" snowflakes to make a big salty solution on the roads! Finally, my MVP is that although salt can damage the cars and roads, their chemical usefulness will be the saver of many lives.

Dat, NaCl is pretty cheap compared to the other salts mentioned. That's probably why it is used so much despite the drawbacks. 5 stars! MW __Polymers in the Field__

Chemistry does, really, apply to everything, but I had never thought about how the turf field is so complicated and scientific. Something I found interesting (and concerning) was how the artificial turf does not have a lot of natural decomposers. The Central Stadium is a place where sweat is dropped, blood is dripped, and spit is spat. Now, I will probably never lay down on the turf again... I learned that the vulcanized (cool word) rubber granules of the turf contain ultraviolet protection agents. However, I'm not so sure on what that actually means. Is is saying that the protection agents somehow reduces ultraviolet radiation (yay, no skin cancer?) on the athletes or that the agents cause the field to be resistant to ultraviolet light, which would help the field's lifespan? Nonetheless, when reading the article, I understood, because of class, that water helps cool down the field because of its high heat capacity and evaporation.

Dat, Nicely written post! We'll talk about vulcanization. The word comes from Vulcan in Greek mythology. 5 stars. MW

__Einstein's Miraculous Year__

The only thing I knew about Albert Einstein was the whole "e=mc^2" thing, and I didn't know what //that// even meant. It turns out that he was a super hybrid scientist of chemistry, physics, and who knows what. The article taught me a lot of things about his genius. My first valuable point is that metals have unique threshold frequency for the photoelectric effect, since the Einstein's discovery of this brought the scientific community to a whole playing field and is relevant to what we are currently studying. My second VIP is that the frequency of light, not its intensity causes the electrons to bounce of the metal because this idea is very different than what the average person would think of. My third VIP is that any additional energy over the threshold frequency is transferred to the electron because I did not know of it. Finally, my MVP was that Einstein proved atomic theory correct and explained the "unexplainables" since the man contributed so much to the world and to science!

Dat, True statements! Overall a good summary. 5 stars! MW

__Greek Influence__

Lots of words are derived from Latin and Greek, so I expected the origins of chemical nomenclature and such to be no exceptions. Looking at the charts, I recognized some root words like khroma, helios, and neos. I picked out 3 VIPs, or "very important points", that were that an understanding of the Greek language would help with the understanding of chemistry, that chemical compounds can be named according to the IUPAC system, and that the Greeks contributed much to the advancement of human knowledge. As for the MVP, or "most valuable point", I chose the concluding paragraph, which basically encompassed everything else by saying that a relatively basic knowledge of Greek can go a long way in understanding chemistry.

Dat, OK. Looks like you found "the goods". 5 stars. MW

__An Invisible Fire__

It was very striking to see how something that could be easily be accessible almost killed this man and killed many others. Upon reading, I had a feeling it was the same liquid that was shown to my class last year via a tv show. In the show, an industrial worker got a little sloppy and was then doused with hydrofluoric acid. The truck driver only had his arm affected, so it was then desolate to think of the fictional character's future. I understood why the acid was so deadly, recognizing Fluorine's monstrous electronegativity and Hydrogen's single atom. I did //not// know that a toxicologist was responsible for handling these cases (although I guess a regular doctor did all the work?) and that calcium injections would help with this chemical burn. I also did not know that calcium was so essential to the human body.

Dat,