Truax,+Kirsten

Harry Potter- Blue Fire in a jam jar January 21, 2010 I thought that it was interesting that the blue fire in the jam jar from the first Harry Potter book could be done without the magic that Hermione used to conjure it. It is a gel that chemists can make up that will burn blue. It is a chemical reaction that can be carried around in a jar like they do in Harry Potter. There is one difference though and that is that it is safer to put it in a metal can instead of a jam jar or glass beaker.

Kirsten, Well you have to take a few risks to make a good movie. :) MW

Crude Oil In order to separate the different substances in crude oil they have to use a form of distillation. I think that it’s interesting that this is all possible for this to happen using distillation. I didn’t know that it was all possible using that method until now learning about the different ways that you could separate things. Could the different gases being separated from crude oil still be mixed together after they go through distillation? How long does it take for the whole process to happen?

Kirsten, Good questions. A petroleum or chemical engineer would spend a lot of time working those things out. :) 5 stars.

Redefining the Kilogram I didn't really understand what was being said. I understood about scientists wanting a standard that doesn't change, but I don't get the whole changing the standard to Avogardo's standard. What is the difference between his standard and the standard we have now? couldn't they remake the standard so that the radioactivity in it isn't disingrating?

Kirsten, I think that's the idea... to make a constant, universal standard. Good but a little short. 56 words. 4 stars. MW

Where do Elements come from? When stars explode they release neutrons that are absorbed by other nuclei and make new elements. This is really cool but, how do scientists know that most elements came from stars? No one was there when that one star exploded. I wonder how they decided that the elements came from the stars. Is there proof that says that the elements came from the stars? It's cool to think that they did come from the stars, and that there is a whole process in order for it to take place. Would it be possible for scientists to recreate or create the phenomenon that creates the elements?

Kirsten, Scientists have recreated the process that occurs on the sun but not what happens within a supernova. You don't want to be anywhere close to that! 5 stars. MW

Mole Day Amadeo Avagadro wasn’t always a scientist he started out as a lawyer. He based his work on the findings of Joseph Gay-Lussac. He also discovered that the gasses he used had to be at the same temperature and pressure. His hypothesis wasn’t recognized until after he died. When he died his colleague showed how Avagadro’s number could be used to solve a lot of problems in the science world. How did Avagadro come up with a number like that?

Kirsten, Good question. Not sure about the exact experiment. 5 stars. MW

Dust Explosion At this factory there was an explosion because of the sugar dust. I don't get it, i know that with more surface area a particle can ignite more easily because oxygen can get to the flame easier, but is it true for every single small particle there is? Because of this every single particle of something is combustible. So it would be dangerous just to be alive because of the flammability rate of those small particles which are everywhere right? But how did the fire start? Was it static electricity or did something else catch on fire that ignited the dust particles?

Kirsten, Good questions. I don't think all dust is flammable but certainly sugar dust is! 5 stars. MW

Three things that I already knew about helium and sulfur hexafluoride are that helium makes your voice high pitched. Sulfur hexafluoride makes your voice low pitched. I also knew that helium balloons deflate over time. Three things that I learned from the article are that when you breath in helium you can suffocate yourself, because you're depriving yourself of oxygen, another thing that I learned is that in 15-20 seconds your body knows something is wrong if you just hold your breath and it doesn't know anything is wrong when you are inhaling helium or sulfur hexafluoride it thinks you are breathing in air. I also learned that sulfur hexafluoride filled balloons grow in size instead of deflate.
 * Three Things I learned and Three things I knew**

Kirsten, Looks good! 5 stars. MW

Three things i already knew about motion detectors are that motion detectors monitor infrared radiation. I also knew that elevators use motion detectors so they don't close on incoming passengers. The third thing that I knew was bats use echolocation to find their "meal" at night. Three things I learned from the article are that rattlesnakes have their own kind of "night vision goggles" that they use during the night to find food. I learned that sensors can be made for just about any kind of light. The third thing that I learned is that Einstein earned the Nobel Prize for his work on the photoelectric effect.
 * Motion Detectors**

Kirsten, OK. Cool beans! 5 stars. MW