Betcha you didn’t know you had signed up for a foreign language. We need to (at least) look at classifying and naming this humongous mess of stuff we call matter. Again, we’re looking at an almost infinite number of items. To begin with, chemicals are either organic or inorganic. Generally, chemical compounds containing carbon are …
Author Archives: rfcan
Electrons. Chemistry Where It’s At
In a previous post, we took a peek at the structure of the atom. We looked at how atoms (elements) build up in weight, most of which consists of positively charged protons and uncharged neutrons, roughly equal in mass to each other. The atomic number of each element is equal to its number of protons. …
Ain’t Science Wonderful
One of the singular accomplishments in science was the assembling of chemical elements into what is known today as the Periodical Table. This was done before computers and many of the other measurement devices we take for granted nowadays. Dmitri Mendeleev, a 19th century Russian professor of chemistry, did much of the heavy lifting toward …
Peer Review
The term “Peer Review” is often used in a scientific context. It describes a process whereby a scientific paper is reviewed by other scientists. The process is designed to point out errors, non sequitors and other pitfalls. Scientists and other writers have a perfectly human weakness (and perhaps defensivness) toward criticism, even so-called “constructive” criticism. …
Expertise
I am not a lawyer. My career as a forensic chemist, however, placed me within the environment of the criminal justice system. For most of that stretch, I had the title of forensic chemist. The job involved identification of controlled substances (illegal drugs). Drug law enforcement is classified as a “victimless crime”, which is to …
Demography is Destiny
This nation was founded on the novel notion that people should select the ones who govern us, rather than kings, queens or emporers, whose sole qualification was birth in the right family. The ability to vote was originally limited to white male property owners. It took over a century for women to be granted suffrage, …
Babel Revisited
The Old Testament story (Genesis 11: 1-9) recounts a myth about why there are so many languages out there. This is not my long suit by any means (although chemistry does have languages). As a consequence of our history and geography, we Americans are much less conversant, as it were, of languages other than American …
I Just Don’t Get It
Why is there so much cruelty practiced by religious people who follow Jesus of Nazareth? The shorthand term for these folks in “Christians”. In the name of Jesus, the Son of God, one of the most (if not the most) gentle people who ever lived. Wars and many other forms of violence have been fought …
The P.S. 102 Playlist
Back in the day (1949-1952) the New York City public school I attended taught Music Appreciation in Grades 5-8. Probably about 12 or so pieces were taught per year. The teachers would play a few minutes of the selection (probably on 78 RPM records, remember them?) and we were required to learn the titles. For …
Cars
Cars. It is a guy thing, although women love ’em too. I have owned quite a few of them, since I got my licence in 1960, on my fifth try ( in those days, you had to parallel park). My first was a 1953 Mercury, bought from a friend. I have since purchased new ones: …
Rogernarc 