paulsutton

This was posted to the Fediverse , just sharing here so we can discuss here too. ‘We are moving in the wrong direction’: New UN report highlights the scale of global climate change https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/04/21/record-heat-sea-level-rise-and-melting-ice-new-report-highlights-climate-changes-global-ad One question is, how many more reports are needed before we as a human race take things more seriously. There is only so much as individuals we can do surely. Paul

Only the move towards Electric Vehicles has created a huge demand for Lithium, which needs to be extracted from the ground, Modern technology has also created demand for other elements that are either only found in certain locations in enough quantity to make it viable to extract. People are able to upgrade their phone every 2 years with some mobile contracts, devices still seem to suffer from planned obsolescence to force us to upgrade. i agree we need to simple live with what we do have and consume much less. Paul

Is this what CRISPR does? So this can take a DNA sequence, remove a section and replace with another section of DNA.

This is sort of related to my post on Red Cabbage indicator in the Amateur Science section. https://www.scienceforums.net/topic/131382-red-cabbage-indicator/ So in terms of experiments that cause a change in pH should this be referred to as increasing and decreasing pH of a solution / substance. For example if I take Vinegar which is Acidic (so pH will be between i think 6 and 1, and add Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate, which is an Alkali (pH 8 to 14). then the acid either neutralised or becomes more alkali, so the pH has increased. pH 7 being neutral of course. I am trying to write up an experiment or an idea I have had at least, and want to make sure I use the correct terminology. Thanks Paul

Indeed, I wonder what Babbage would make of a modern computer for example, or what would Einstein make of modern cosmology?

Excellent point here, things can be made too easy so we over rely on tech to do the most basic tasks for us, then when we need to actually do a task without tech we struggle. I still prefer, what would be old fashioned paper maps, the advantage is, if inserted in a clear paper bag, will also work perfectly in all weathers, paper maps don't need batteries either. So being able to think about where places are in relation to current location is helpful. I think there are also links between delaying conditions such as dementia and keeping the brain active and therefore healthy. Hence we have brain training activities. Paul

Just made up a new batch and it is the right colour. The new batch is in the beaker on the left, the old batch is on the right. Thanks to everyone for their help with this. Paul

It may be a hard water area, I will include a link to the wikipedia page as it may be helpful to others here too https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_water I would guess you know what it is anyway, Paul

Cool, thanks will do that, yeah the infographic I have here explains the science behind it, pretty clever stuff, shows how nature seems to have an answer for all sorts of things. I would guess the washing up water goes blue as the liquid is usually alkaline. I will see what I can make this week, the other stuff still works ok, just from a science view point it should be done properly and any anomalies removed as not to either impact results of experiments or the interpretation of experiments. Paul

This could explain why I seem to be getting my results. I didn't make the indicator one of the my local library staff made some up for the STEM group we run at the library I think I have a few options Firstly determine what colour red cabbage indicator is normally, as according to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMXMlWybv8A It is more of a purple colour, so would suggest it is neutral 1. Make up a fresh batch, would using De-ionized water rather than tap water be better? 2. Repeat experiments and see if there is a change in result I will keep trying, Thank you again Regards Paul

Problem is, we can probably negotiate with states that are rational, even North Korea can be influenced by China (as suggested earlier). I agree that a bigger threat could come from rogue groups or individuals ?, Do they even need to raid silos,? they can perhaps get hold of nuclear material by other means if they wanted to,. As we saw with the recent US Dept of Defence leak, it only takes one person, and he was trying to impress his internet friends. He took a risk, got caught, how many leaks come from the inside, vs from persons on the outside. even universities have radio-isotopes of different elements. I think we need to look at where a threat may come from. Paul

I am using some Red Cabbage indicator to investigate the pH of seawater collected locally. I seem to be getting results that imply that local seawater is acidic. I have attached a photo and also attached a pH scale portion of the CompoundChem website https://www.compoundchem.com/2017/05/18/red-cabbage/ According to : https://centerforsurfresearch.org/chemical-composition-of-seawater/ "Seawater has a slightly alkaline composition, ranging between 7.5 and 8.4". Granted, seawater pH probably varies around the world. But this just seems way off. In which case the colour should surely be more towards Purple / Blue The pH indicator does work as I used so know that adding acids or alkalis produces the expected colours. Has anyone else tried this ? Could there be a reason for the acidification, granted the sea was a bit rough when this was collected so there is a chance the colour and acidity could be due to something else being mixed in with the water. I will try and collect some more seawater on a calm day see if that is any different. Just asking as it may help my investigations further. Thanks Paul "

I get lab kit from Better Equipped https://www.betterequipped.co.uk/ They are really good, send stuff out quickly and haver a really good range of items. They do data logging kit, digital thermometers etc. I know you said not lab ware but it should be fine for both lab work and home lab / hobby work too. Hope this helps Paul

I have just bought a burette, mostly so I can practice titration with water, but will hopefully move on to doing some science with this, it is a plastic 25ml. Before I start any hints / tips on keeping this in good condition, e.g make sure the tap stays working properly,. I have heard they can seize up, but not too sure. I am guessing cleaning should be a case of running water through. Thanks for any help I did search for this on the forum so will keep looking but any response should help others too. Regards Paul So from this is running a salt water solution through this better than perhaps, tap water or ideally de-ionised water. I can make up salt solutions for this easy enough too. Thanks Paul Is someone able to delete the replies to this please, It seems something got merged with my reply which I thought was a reply to my thread. I don't understand how this message merging thing works Thanks Paul

I agree. While the internet does make it easier to cite references, for example arXiv you can click a link and get the correct bibtex reference for the related article, that you just copy / paste. BUT you still have to put the effort in by reading the articles and finding the information you want to refer to. then writing the text around any citations. If people want to cheat, then I am sure at some point in the future that will catch up with them. I did read the other day that the Microsoft and Google AI bots were citing each other and actually citing misinformation in doing so. So while AI can help us write better I don't think it can, or will be able to do all the work for us. The students who put in the effort will probably always stand out over those that don't.

How would something like cooking oils (sunflower, vegetable, olive) work for this. ?

I have seen a documentary that looked at life on the deep ocean floor being supported by radioactive decay. Not sure if it is helpful here. Earth’s Underground Worlds May Run on Radioactive Decay https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/05/radioactive-decay-underground-worlds/619030/

I think adding bicarbonate of soda and vinegar in a bag (put holes in top of bag to let CO_2 out, will cause the mixture to act in a similar way to the instant freeze packs you can get. I have not tried the above yet, but thought about putting the vinegar in a syringe, so once the bag is sealed the reaction can be triggered more easily. Sounds like an interesting experiment you want to propose, perhaps using different freeze methods allow comparison of results, so freeze spray, ice, icepack, ice + salt etc Paul Could use de-ionized water, as that may have less contaminants, however if the purpose of this experiment is to test normal tap water, then maybe this could be your 'control' for a comparison point. Paul

Article in Universe Today from 5th March 2023, seems to suggest that there could be a 2nd big bang which produced Dark Matter. https://www.universetoday.com/160285/the-universe-may-have-started-with-a-dark-big-bang/ Which seems an interesting idea, to try and explain where dark matter comes from. Paul

Cool, thanks for this. I just tried this using paper from a hole punch, I have a small 35mm film pot which I had collected some of the paper from my hole punch over a period of time. they worked really well, I would guess if anyone has a cross cut shredder that may work to produce small bits of paper too, would be interesting which is better as the bigger the pieces the heavier they are (or at least heavier in relation to the static charges). Psul So does adding Magnesium Ribbon to Vinegar produce Magnesium Acetate ? Paul

Thanks You would think the BBC would do better than this eh Paul

I found the following article on the BBC news science website The Antarctic and Arctic sounds rarely heard before https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64514258 With reference to this." a seal that sounds like it is in space". Is this me, or does this just sound sloppy. As far as i am aware sounds don't travel through the vacuum of space. Also to make such a comparison we would need a proper frame of reference to compare the sound to, e,g an actual seal in space I do understand the other comparisons "Singing" ice, and a seismic airgun thundering like a bomb . As for example the latter would be on earth anyway, and ice cracks and creaks too. Or am I just misinterpreting that statement. Or should I try and avoid articles that are meant to reach non scientific people. Thanks Paul

Thanks for this, will replace them, I suspect that soaking the paper in water resulted the dyes leeching out. It is all part of the learning process eh Paul

I just wondered what was in Universal Indicator paper, I have some really old stuff here at home. It doesn't seem to work very well. however soaking some in a beaker of water, turned it blue. I tried to investigate further and see if this could actually be used as indicator, but my results seem rather inconclusive. It did turn citric acid a pale pink colour, but it didn't change colour when added to bicarbonate of soda, which given that is alkali, it would turn towards the blue / purple anyway depending on the pH. So just asking what is in this and if it has a shelf life, I think mine could be 20+ years old, so probably not much good any more.

So another question here, which may help others too, is do I really need 1 Mol concentration for simple experiments, If I wanted to make 0.5 mol but the same amount 250ml, I guess would use 24g as that is 1/2 of what is needed for 1 mol