Hodgson,+David

I read the “Tattoo Ink” article. It surprises me how they’re just now getting around to creating easily removed tattoo ink. It seems as though with all our advancements in science and medicine that this would have been come up with and created a long time ago with many other colors than black, white and grey. The procedure for removal is much less expensive and you don’t have to come back again and again for more treatment, which is awesome. Plus, it also seems weird to me how they would suspend the ink pigments in substances like Listerine and vodka-like alcohol. If pure forms are injected directly into your blood streams, can’t that kill you?

David, I don't think the inks get into your bloodstream - at least not in high doses. Good question though. 5 stars. MW

Crude Oil I didn’t know the process for making crude oil into useful things was that intense. The oil is heated over and over again until it forms things like kerosene, gasoline, and the beginnings of asphalt. It’s interesting how so many helpful things can come out of one little natural resource. I didn’t know Chemistry effected my daily life so much.

David, OK, but a bit short. 60 words. 4 stars. MW

Redefining The Kilogram Is it bad to say I'm somewhat confused? I get that they wanted to make a new kilogram because the old one had changed thanks to various elements affecting it, and I get that by them making a new one they would have to base it off a specific scientist's knowledge or something. But everything was was another language to me. If they were to change the kilogram the whole metric system would be thrown off, at least for measuring weight. I hope they come to a reasonable and unchanging answer to the problem.

David, You and me both! MW

Where Do Chemical Elements Come From Once again, completely lost. What I do understand is most natural elements (hydrogen, Iron, Helium, Beryillium etc.) come from exploded stars, but then how does all this get to Earth%Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 Through solar rays and stuff? Does it combine to the microscopic asteroids that are pounding the atmmosphere everyday and evaporate into the ozone layers? Or does it just kinda fall in? Anyway, I also don't quite get the last part. So there's all this dust floating in space and apparently an exploding star made everything happen so perfectly that it made planets? I don't find that logical. It seems too perfect for me. Too, if you will understand what I mean by this; random.

David, Yes. It does seem too much for the human intellect to comprehend. May wonders never cease! 5 stars!! MW

MOLE DAY!!!!!!!!!!

It's interesting how there's a whole day dedicated to a unit of counting in chemistry. Also, I thought it was interesting how they came up with an abbrieviation of "mol". I didn't realize that m, ml, mo, were all already labels and that the only feasible shortening of the word is actually just mol. It's hard to believe there was one day long ago where people didn't believe in atoms. Without Avogadro, how would science have changed? We wouldn't have the periodic table, and probably not all the amazing technologies we have today. It's all just moltastic!

Dave, Good job! Funny too. 5 stars. MW

Dust Explosion

Does this relate at all to what happened in West Virginia? There was an explosion in a coal mine and it killed about 20 or so people. I’m not sure how this happened but apparently some CO2 or something sparked and blew up. I guess this is the same concept of what happened in Georgia. It also surprises me sugar can be so deadly. It makes me want to try to light some up when I get home. How can sugar and lycopodium can be so similar?

Dave, I'm sure coal dust would be extremely flammable if mixed in the right proportions. It all has to do with stoichiometry! 5 stars! MW

Ballons of Sulfur

These two articles were quite interesting. I found the one about sulfur hexaflouride most interesting because I didn't realize the powers of this gas. To begin with I didn't know there was even a gas that could make your voice lower. Also, on a more random note, they spoke about the dangers of breathing this gas in and how when you hold your breath for 15 to 20 seconds the gasping reflex is actually caused by a build up of Carbon Dioxide in your bloodstream. Finally, I learned that a helium filled ballon will decrease in size faster than and air filled ballon because of the helium bouncing around so fast that they can leak out quicker. The article about Helium ballons gave me more information that I already knew. Such as; a helium ballon will rise in the air because it is less dense than air, as molecules bounce around, they give create pressure in all directions, and with fewer molecules colliding the collective force of the object is weaker. Both articles were interesting and gave an entertaining view on the world of helium and sulur hexaflouride.

Dave, Well done. Well written. 5 helios! MW

MOTION DETECTORS

I didn't know motion detectors worked in so many different ways. There are three different ways motion sensors can work. The first way is where the sensor uses a light source aimed at a photo sensor and when something gets in the way of the beam, it turns on. A second way is the device sends out electromagnetic pulses and when something blocks the pulse it activates. Third and finally some signals use infrared detectors to find warmth. I also learned that light doesn't always behave like a wave but some times as a particle. Also, i learned that sensors can be made out of any light. I knew many things already from this article as well. Such as the fact that the eye is a photo sensor and it uses electrons to see things. I also knew Einstein won his nobel prize in 1921 for his work in photoelectric effect work instead of his theory of reletivity. Finally I knew that snakes have pits in their eyes to help them hunt.

David, Wow! You have a great knowledge of Einstein's accomplishments. 5 Brownian Movement stars! MW