Knepper,+Hannah

Even before reading this article, the title jumped out at me. Trick candles are something that I have used many a times both on my own birthday and on the birthday of others. I have always found it fun to watch as my friends and family struggle to blow the flame out for good, but I never really thought that much about how they work. Reading this article gave be a new perspective on these party supplies; I never knew how much chemistry is actually involved. It is crazy to me to think about such a highly reactive metal such as magnesium is one of the main players in trick candles or that the wick is what ignites the magnesium causing it to spark which then leads to the vaporized paraffin hydrocarbons to relight the flame. It is insane to even think about how complex something so simple is. And then when I read that it was not too hard to make it made me feel like a scientist. If trick candles involve this much chemistry, I am excited to learn about the bigger things that use even more chemistry.

Hannah, Great job! You write with a lot of expression. Good relation to chemistry as well! 5 stars. MW

This article, Redefining The Kilogram, is very interesting. I think that it is very strange how they keep the official kilogram locked up in a volt. I understand the reasoning behind it but what I do not understand is why it needs so much protection. It is only a unit of measurement, why in the world would anyone every want to steal, or attempt to steal such a thing. I also find it "unique" that only 90 copies of this official kilogram exist today. I feel like the world is so big that there should be more that just 90 copies. Finally, the most interesting thing that I found in this article is that this item, this piece of metal, lost weight. How is that even possible, especially since it has been locked up in this vault. It crazy to me.

Hannah, I think it had some radioactive elements in it that decayed over time. Good post! 5 stars! MW

I never really thought about how much chemistry played a roll in motion detectors. I never knew that they relied on light's ability to initiate an electric current. That just sounds so complicated when the idea of a motion detector seems so simple. I also never knew that the level of intensity or frequency of a beam would cause electrons to be ejected or not be ejected. That's very interesting. It makes sense that the example with the garage door uses a light source aimed at a photo sensor. If that light beam does get broken, the garage door does get stopped. Now that I know the reasoning behind it, it makes sense.

Hannah, Good thoughts! Those garage door closer stoppers are a great safety feature! 5 stars. MW