Adams,+Kathryn

__Redefining The Kilogram__ If the kilo is changed from a physical artifact to a consistent property of nature than chemistry books will have to be remade. On the other hand than the amount is set in stone so it provides the weight without a question. In my opinion I don’t think that it is necessary to convert because you are going to have a consistent property of nature regardless. If you don’t change the unit of measurement than you don’t need to change the books. That also provides you with a way to check and see if the kilo is consistent. Why not combine the old and the new? Keep the kilo but put the new measurement of a consistent property of nature in new books being made as well.

Katie, Seems like a good solution but I think the concern is about the loss of mass in the "artifact". 5 stars. MW

__Crude oil__
 * __It’s interesting to know all of the things that you have to go through just to get oil. Like the different boiling points they have to use and the entire process. Crude Oil needs to be distilled multiple times and we spoke about distillation in class. I never thought a bout distillation being used in the large scale other than for water. I just always thought chemists used it and no one else.__**

Katie, Oh yes it is a huge industrial process. A little on the short side 72 words but OK. MW

October sky I found it interesting that the boys had to go through that much research just to launch a rocket. They had multiple trials using different substances in their mixtures for not only the initial launch but also the energy needed for it to stay in the air. They also needed to perfect the different combinations of substances and the different amounts of each substance they put into it. We also did this in class because we had to get the right amount of zinc in order to get the reaction that we wanted. It’s interesting to know that a group of boys made such a breakthrough in the scientific world without all the high-tech materials most scientist use.

Good thoughts! Edison said genius is 1 % inspiration and 99% perspiration! 5 stars. MW

__Were Do Chemical Elements Come From?__ I never gave thought to where the elements came from and it's cool to hear someone's theory. The idea of it all is a bit hard to wrap my mind around though and while reading I had a few questions. I am confused because I thought that elements were the simplest form and could not be made from other things. The article said that all the elements can be made from hydrogen. Just the fact that there could be enough pressure to cause a proton and electron to create a neutron seems so bizarre. I understand that the theory is that the elements found on earth came from an exploding star that contained 26 elements. I wonder then where did the star come from that exploded to make the elements found on earth?

Katie, When we say elements can't be broken down that is only true during chemical changes. The conditions within stars are so extreme that nuclear reactions take place. Your question on where do stars come from is a good one. I doubt science will be able to answer that! Good thinking! 5 super stars! MW

__Mole Day__
 * It’s interesting to know that Avogadro was so cut off from the main stream chemists, that only a few years after his death was his work taken seriously. I wonder what would have happened if he was taken seriously from the start. Would he have had more time to look deeper into his hypostasis? If Avogadro would have back up hypothesis would they have even taken him seriously or waited until a more respected chemist came to the same conclusion?

Katie, I guess it goes to show you that marketing is important in all walks of life! MW**

Dust Explosions
I would have never thought that a sugar company would have to worry about explosions. I knew that you could light sugar on fire but I would have never thought that it could create an explosion. It reminds me of the lab we did where the oxygen had to mix in with the powder before it would become explosive. I could imagine the demonstration very much resembles the sugar explosion. Is it the same with the sugar? Does the sugar have to get knocked into the air in order to have the right stoichiometry so an explosion can occur?

Katie, Good thoughts. Maybe we should try sugar dust in a demo? A little late. 4 stars. MW

__Helium balloons Sulfur hexafluoride__ I knew that breathing in helium could be bad for your health but I was never told that it was because of possible suffocation or imperfections. I also did not know that you couldn’t feel yourself suffocate because your body feels like you are breathing in air. I knew that helium made your voice higher in pitch but I did not know that other gases could have the opposite effect. I also knew the reasons why helium balloons floated.

Motion Detectors I always thought that motion detectors work exactly the way their name implies but I was surprised to find that waves actually come into play. It is odd to know that they ether sent out or detect waves. I knew that they human eye could only detect cetin waves between frequencies and that’s how we see colors and that there are also waves that the human eye cant see such as uv rays. Heinrich Hertz’s theory was something that we discussed in class. So naturally I knew that the length between waves was called a wave frequency and could be measured in hertz. The ping-pong ball vs. the steel ball example was also given in class. I did not know that rattlesnakes could see infrared light. I did not know that light sometimes behaves like particles and others like a wave.

Katie, Looks good. I guess you can't really say that rattlesnakes "see" IR light but the can sense it with their pits. 5 stars. MW