Feldmann,+Gregory

I read the article answering a question on lead poisoning. The question was about candy companies having high contents of lead in their candies because it was a way to give an unusually sweet “kick” to the candy. To me this is incredibly irresponsible and the Mexican candy companies that are doing this (the United States Food and Drug Administration checks regularly for high traces if lead) ought to stop before major health issues arise.

Greg, The companies aren't intentionally putting lead in the candies! Lead gets in from chiles and paints. 3 stars. MW

I learned that in distilling crude oil, you need to separate the oil based on how high the temperature was when you heated the oil. They placed samples from the same source of oil into different beakers based upon the maximum heat the oil was heated at, but the oil then cooled down while going through a spiral tube. The video almost made the process of distillation look easy, though when looking farther in depth the process was much more complicated than it seemed.

Greg, OK. Better! 5 stars. MW

In reading the article about the kilogram, the kilogram prototype that is kept at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) headquarters in Gaithersburg, Maryland has been losing weight, causing scientists across the globe call for a redefining of the kilogram. This affects people in everyday life, including our science class. Although it would come down to the smallest decimal, the weight of objects we measure could change. They also mention Avogardo’s method, which involves the use of the mole, which we will learn about later in the school year.

Greg, Right! 5 stars. MW

After reading the article on "Where elements come from", some of the statistics that the scientists from the University of California at Santa Cruz mentioned really blew my mind. New elements are created in space when stars explode and release elements and ions into outer space.

Greg, OK. Very short though. 2 stars. MW

Mr. Williams, Is it okay if I write a little bit more? I wasn't finished and was hoping I could work on it some this weekend.

After reading the article on "Where elements come from", some of the statistics that the scientists from the University of California at Santa Cruz mentioned really blew my mind. New elements are created in space when stars explode and release elements and ions into outer space. I also learned that these explosions can also create elements that are heavier than iron by an iron nucleus capturing more neutrons and can become either stable or radioactive.

Greg, OK. 5 stars now. MW

Mr. Williams, Which article is the next post on? I couldn't find the "Mole Day" article on the "Articles" page on your website.

Greg, It's not an article its a website. MoleDay.org

I found it very intriguing that Avogadro recieved credit for his discovery of the mole after his death. Also, another fact I learned was about Avogadro's colleague Stanislao Cannizzaro helped prove the mole theory to be true two years after his death. It really made me recount how strict scientists were back then in proving a theory to be correct (i.e. Galileo). This isn't a bad thing, after all the most minor mistake in chemistry can be very critical. The site also made me appreciate why we use the mole and how useful it really is.

Greg, Solid post. 5 stars! MW

In reading the article on the dust explosion in Georgia, I found it very terrible that the combustible dust found in the Imperial Sugar Plant resulted in a fireball that killed nine people at the plant. The explanations given by scientists that the fires occur in waves really make sense to me. The dust in the many rooms of the plant resulted in the fire reigniting and exploding again and again, resulting in a terrible catastrophe. Rest in peace to those killed.

Greg, Yes a terrible tragedy! Scary how a chain reaction can take place. How does this relate to stoichiometry? 4 stars. MW

After reading the sulfur hexafluoride article, I was still left with one question. How does it make your voice go lower? They explained everything including why breathing in sulfur hexaflouride can be more dangerous than breathing in helium. With both gases, the danger really is not getting enough oxygen in your system. You don't realize your suffocating because you're still releasing carbon dioxide, which rids away the "build up" feeling when you hold your breath. Also, connecting with what we're learning with pressure and volume, the balloon filled with sulfur hexaflouride expands as it is filled with the gas.

Greg, Basically since the gas is heavier the molecules are moving slower so the cause your voice box to vibrate at a lower frequency. Good question. MW I found the article on motion detectors very intriguing because of they’re ability to detect infrared patterns. I did not know this previously and I really had no idea on how they work. The photo sensors must be really high-tech, but they seem that they have been around for a while. Who came up with the idea of creating a sensor that picks up infrared light from our bodies?

Greg, You should have listed three things you knew and three things you learned and done it a few weeks ago! 3 stars. MW

