Carrington,+Elijah

Nucleation sites on Mentos mints are the reason for the explosive reaction that occurs when Mentos are dropped into soda. Nucleation sites are places where substances can enter and, in this case, the CO2 that comes together forms bubbles. The Mentos mint has a multitude of microscopic nucleation sites, which is most likely the reason why the explosion occurs. In the article I read it says if a Mentos mint is smoothed down with water, it will not produce as much of the ‘fountain effect’ as an untampered Mentos.

Elijah, Great post! I really like the comment you made about smoothing down the Mentos with water. 5 stars! MW

Redefining the Kilogram One thing I found interesting is that the original international prototype has lost 50µg, which is a big deal in science terms because this may alter the face of the kilogram unit itself. This is the reason why a constant must be introduced to take the place of a physical kilogram. I found that scientists worrying about this is kind of interesting because it is such a miniscule change in mass, but at the same time it is very relevant to the last physical SI unit. The last thing that was interesting and relevant to this class is that we use the System of Units in chemistry on a daily basis to record quantitative data and the only SI unit that is not defined by a set constant is the kilogram.

Eli, Good post. You found some very relevant points. 5 stars! MW

Motion Detectors Three things I found interesting and relevant to this class are: Eli, Nailed it! Good items to catalog. 5 stars. MW
 * 1) Motion detectors use three different types of sensing. Infrared radiation, pulse sensors, and warmth can all be used to set off motion sensors.
 * 2) We learned about radiation in class, including what alpha, beta, and gamma radiation do. It is interesting to see radiation being used to sense if people are near.
 * 3) Electrons make up a field surrounding the atom. We learned about them in class. They have a negative charge and have no significant mass compared to the nucleus of an atom. In the article they can be ejected from a surface if high frequency beams are shot at it.