paulsutton

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

Good point, thanks

I want to make a solution of Citric Acid, for experiments, so just asking here to make sure my method is correct So to make 250ml of 1M Citric Acid and having looked up the Molecular weight of Citric Acid: I need to calculate as follows Producing 250ml – so need to weigh out ¼ of the molar mass 192.12g / 4 = 48.03g which is the same as 0.25 (ml) x 192.12g Where 192,12 is the mass of Citric Acid therefore 1 Mol As i Mol is Formula Weight in 1 Litre of water, then we only need 1/2 of this as 250 ml is 1/2 of litre Therefore just dissolve 48.03 g in 250ml water. As I don't have a lab balance, Will use 48g, This is for home Chemistry anyway. Just checking, Thanks Paul

I can try with Citric Acid, not sure if I have anything else, Sodium Hydrogen Sulfate is acidic, but i don't think Magnesium will displace the Sodium. This is the fun of home chemistry, experiments and researching this.

Thanks for this, I will have another go with the Zinc, could be that it is again older, and also tarnished / oxidised. I have attached a picture of the magnesium, as a comparison before and after cleaning a piece. The zinc reaction may just be a lot slower, or hindered by the contamination. With Mg(Ac)2, I take it the (Ac))2 is for acetate, so a shorthand form of Mg(CH3COO)2 Just asking as If I need to explain this to others, it makes it easier. Nice to know about these shorter forms of writing formulaie The zinc I have here is very grey, as they are graduals a little more challenging to scrub wit something abrasive, compared with the Magnesium.

Thanks for this, much appreciated it is a fun experiment to do. I have just given the Magnesium a rub with a sanding block, works a treat, nice and shiny as it should be. Will look up the electro chemical series too. Regards Paul

In an attempt to get back in to doing some more home chemistry and also come up with ideas for a STEM group i am running,. I recently had a go at seeing what would happen if various metallic elements were added to White Vinegar. So using 3 test tubes, Magnesium Ribbon, Copper foil and Zinc Granuals (all i have access to at the moment), I added these to the vinegar So given that the latter two don't react, I can probably re-use, but rather than simply putting back in the containers they came from, is there a easy way to clean them (not sure if that is the right term). I was thinking of just adding to a beaker of water to hopefully remove any residue of White Vinegar (Acetic Acid) so basically giving them a quick wash and dry them off. It may not be needed, however it is probably good practice to do so. Also, as the magnesium reacts, As it has been it a container for a long time before I used it, and most of the shine has gone so it is tarnished, what is the best way to clean it please. I have tried a rubber thing I use to clean vero / strip board before soldering, and also a wire brush, anything else i can try. Would be nice to have a better surface area for future attempts. What did surprise me what that within an hour the magnesium had reacted which is kinda cool really, ( I didn't use much to begin with) not quite sure what to do with what was produced, which i think is probably Magnesium Acetate, must be able to use for some other experiment somewhere. Thanks for any help / advice. Paul Sutton

I found a link to the 2022 highlights from the Journal of experimental biology on Mastodon, so just sharing here as it may be of interest to anyone here. https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/pages/highlights-2022 This is a free download. Hope this is of interest, I am not connect to them in anyway, just followed them and am sharing. Paul

Thanks for this, I did sort of build one of these up at the STEM group meeting but the people who this was aimed at didn't make it. So hopefully can do this at a future event.

Just a quick question about this, I downloaded the attached from Openclipart. I am a little confused as to why Uracil and Thymine appear identical, other than the numbers. I am not too sure what the numerical values around Uracil represent. Could someone clarity what these are please. If the molecule is wrong then I will just have a look for a better resource for this. As far as I am aware Uracil is not one of the main 4 actual nucleobase. However would be good to have a little more understanding of what I am looking at here, as I am planning an activity to build these molecules from molymods as part of a STEM Group activity. Thanks Paul

Interesting, sounds like it is something that at some point in the future will be a possibility, but it is clear generally that this would also need huge investment long term, and also assurance that people have or will be able to develop the skills needed to work at these power stations at all levels. I can't see the current government planning that far ahead or working with other parties to ensure some sort of continuity of policy to ensure long term stability of projects.

Nuclear fusion plant to be built at West Burton A power station https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-63119465 Interesting article, how viable is this method of generating power? just posting here for comments and perhaps we can collate related articles and papers etc relating to fusion technology. Paul

Cool thanks

Is it possible to add a Atomic Energy category to the Physics section please. Or perhaps advise where best to start a thread on a related topic (Fusion reactors). Thanks Paul

Sounds like a step in the right direction, we are treading on new ground experimentation -> learning and ten revision of what we can do, but also what we can't do. Even if the plants fail to grow as long as we can learn and then find a way to try different things we should eventually get to the point where we can grow things.

I meant in the context that Mark Chapman was holding a copy of the book when he shot John Lennon in 1980.

Cool thanks for this, I can't upvote this as it seems my days quota has been reached. is this still something we should be thinking about when we start building bases on the moon, making sure that we can detect and also deflect incoming objects. ?

Could be yes, I am not an expert but we know ecosystems are complex How much do we really understand about how everything fits together. We are killing off bees and other insects, they are needed to fertilize crops so there could be a combination of many factors, we ave found microplastics all over the world are they having an effect, what about for ever chemicals.?

I think this thread suggests there are problems with soil fertility etc, you would need to do a lot of work to make the desert sand suitable to grow crops, for human consumption. Why not use solar power?

I would guess that growing crops remove nutrients from the soil, but this can't simply be replaced the soil is a living organism in a way full of microbes,bacteria essential compounds, so a very find balance.

Catcher in the Rye has a different significance for Beatles' fans