Osborn,+Ethan

=Matter Charts=

I think that of all three charts, the first image is the best of the three. Instead of just showing you the breakdown of matter, it shows you how to identify and classify it, with pictures that show which is which. If I'm looking at something to decide how I should classify it, the first graph is going to come in handy more than the other two. The second and third charts are very similar, and don't help you classify it into any category, but still show you how matter is broken down into the different categories. The third graph would also come in handy to help someone grasp the concept by giving examples. The second chart doesn't have much to give that the first and third don't thought. That's why it's probably the worst of the three.

=Separation of mixtures=

Before this lesson on separation of mixtures, I never knew how distillation worked. I knew that you always hear about distilled water, and distilled vinegar, so I just figured it meant it was condensed and more potent. I guess I was partially right. I think it's an interesting process, and it's even more interesting in how many ways it's used. From water to alcohol to vinegar to oil, it makes me wonder why I didn't know how it worked.

With the chromatography, however, I never knew about the difference between lakes and dyes. Actually, I didn't know lakes existed, but it was good to know.

Ethan, Good observation about distilled vinegar! MW

=Why Measurement is Important to me=

Measurement is important to me as a customer. When I go to McDonald's and order my Angus 1/3 pounder with mushroom and swiss, I want to be sure that that burger weighs 1/3 of a pound, because I'm gonna be pretty unhappy if it doesn't. If somewhere in the factory, they messed up weighing that burger, then that could cause a lot of unhappy customers when they go home and weigh their entire burger (bun and all) and realize THAT'S not even 1/3 of a pound. Then guess how many free burgers McDonald's is going to be giving away?%Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 Too many. Also, if I'm going to Subway, and I want a $5 footlong, I want to make sure that bread is 12 inches long. If something got messed up and I only have 11 inches of bread, I'm not paying $5 for it! That's certainly not a foot long! If companies like that screw up they'll have a lot of unhappy customers that go home and measure their sub to find that it's not even a footlong! So not only does that impact me, but it in turn impacts the company that may have messed up.

Good Call Ethan! I too want value and an honest burger for my $! MW

=Redefining the Kilogram=

I found this article very interesting, but one thing in particular stood out. Why do they go through so much trouble to protect the kilogram? It seems to say, as Mr. Williams did, that it's so that people won't tamper with it's weight. But here's my question- How does this in any way benefit the vandal? I mean if someone messes with this kilogram, this is the same kilogram THEY use. They're not exempt from any issues with the kilogram. This screws them over just as much. So why on earth would anyone tamper with it?

Ethan, Very thoughtful post (although a bit late). You pose an interesting question. Why does a computer hacker release a virus? Some people have no regard for humanity - even if it destroys themselves. Sad. Good post! MW

=Airline Security=

It was a bit unnerving to read so much about how easy it is to make bombs out of household materials and how more and more people are finding more and more ways to make these explosives easily. But it also poses a question. Should those in the chemistry community praise these resourceful ways to get around the problem of restrictions on chemicals or should they dislike these people for they are using chemistry in a bad way. Does it matter if someone on the street, or someone in a lab figures it out? Should the man on the street not be given the same credit for his discovery? It becomes a question of morals more than chemistry. But I did find it interesting the way the detectors selected the materials and objects to scan based on their density from a series of readings from the machine.

=Mole Day=

I find it interesting that the mole day website believes that I am a sophmole (10th grader taking chemistry). The people who make the website must realize how dry the topic is, and they try to spice it up with their witticisms and Mole Dictionary (including words like Sophmore). Looking through their past themes, I can see how corny the entire idea is, but it's totally worth it if you want to go all out on it. Mole Day is the single most important day in history, and this website doesn't do it justice. Power to the peopmole.

Ethan, Amusing and well written as always but your post is decidedly lacking in scientific references. 4 stars. MW

= Dust Explosions and Stoichiometry =

It's crazy that any dust can become an explosive, if small enough. It makes you wonder just how hazardous factories like that are. I believe it said that any dust under 40 micrometers is considered highly explosive. Considering that it's dust, I'd think it safe to assume that most dust is highly explosive. Maybe if I got a dust collector in my house, and gathered up all the dust that's sitting on furniture (it's a lot, too), I could make a huge explosion. Maybe not a good idea though. Using stoichiometry to determine how big of a problem this dust is, however, is a very good idea. Oxygen speeds up a combustion reaction, so if some dust catches on fire, it could quickly spread. Oxygen will almost always be in excess, too, so we probably won't be able to prevent it by preventing oxygen, but it means we should have stricter rules on factory dust, in my opinion. Safety needs to be a number one concern, even with flaming pumpkins of Giehenna. No, wait, ESPECIALLY with Flaming Pumpkins of Giehenna. Don't want

Ethan, Great and funny post! MW

=Sulfur Hexaflouride=

I thought this post had worked when I posted it a week ago... guess not. Well anyway, I think that SF6 is one of the more interesting gases out there. I figured that Xenon was the only gas that would mess with your vocal cords in the opposite way of Helium (aka makes your voice deep), but SF6 does as well, and its effects are, dare I say, even cooler than helium. The dangers of inhaling it are ever-present though. Since warning signs of oxygen deprivation come from a CO2 buildup in the lungs, you will never get said warning signs when inhaling SF6. So if you're to use it, please inhale responsibly. SF6 is not only fun, but it's a very unique gas in the fact that it's perfectly symmetrical. That's enough science for one post! Back to the part about inhaling it, I really doubt that anyone's died from inhaling SF6. Let's try to keep it that way!

Ethan, Late but still a good post! Amusing and scientific - a great combination! 4 stars.

=Motion Detectors=

I found the motion detectors article to be quite interesting, although, as I believe Grant mentioned, it's quite the accusation to believe I am sneaking around at night! However I did find it interesting that I could have one of three different detectors at my house. I didn't know there were multiple ways to detect, and it makes me wonder which one I have... Hmm. But if I learned anything from this article, it would be that light is crazy! It can act as a particle and a wave, which in and of itself is enough to blow minds, but it can also initiate electric current?! Light is a ridiculous thing, and I'm glad someone has already figured all of this stuff out, so that I don't have to, not that I would be able to regardless. The last point I found very interesting was that it is the energy of the object and not the mass, that effects damage, as they highlighted in the ping pong ball vs steel ball analogy. I never really though about it, but it makes perfect sense that more energy is what matters, not more mass. I apologize for turning this in so late, I was just too insulted by the accusation of my "sneaking around" to even think about the article.

Ethan, Funny! Late but funny and spot on. 3 stars.