Jump to content

Tetrahedrite

Senior Members
  • Posts

    592
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Tetrahedrite

  1. To start with, you wouldn't be here to ask this question. The earth would most probably be dry and desolate. the boiling point of water would probably be similar to that of CO2 (around -80 deg C, also a linear molecule) and life would therefore be impossible.
  2. It is quite interesting considering that Saddam had absolutely nothing to do with the 11/9 attacks, and very little (at best) to do with al Qaeda. The government propaganda machine has done its job well, Joseph Goebbels would be impressed.
  3. Interestingly, the infamous drug Thalidomide is a chiral compound and was originally sold as a racemic mixture (the results of which are now well known). However, only one of the enantiomers has the horrible effects, and the non-"toxic" enantiomer is now being used again to treat a variety of diseases. The Thalidomide experience actually changed the testing regime for new drugs. For chiral drugs to be approved, each enantiomer must be trialed separately, as well as in a racemic mixture.
  4. As far as I'm aware, all dentists' equipment is autoclaved, so there is basically zero chance of catching any sort of disease from the equipment itself.
  5. I don't think so, all common salts of lead are insoluble (except nitrate and acetate).
  6. The contradiction cuts both ways. Theists tend to be pro-life about abortion, but usually pro death penalty and pro war as you say. Just wanted to point out that this isn't just a querk of atheist (or left of centrists) and can be applied equally to theists (or right of centrists).
  7. Didn't you mean pink polar bear? (another aussie joke)
  8. I believe boronitride or borazide (BN) is harder than diamond.
  9. I really don't think this kind of mentality is at all helpful, and IMO it sounds a bit pathological and extremely alarmist. When I read this sentence the first thing that came to mind was the rantings of the facists pre-WW2 about how the Jews needed to be stopped. edit: Once again, IMO this is the type of opinion that leads to hatred and intollerance, the type of view that is more likely to inflame the Muslim population and create the violence that you are so fearful of.
  10. I have exactly the same view, and maybe more extreme. I see those who support the death penalty as condoners of murder, and they are just as bad as those who committed the crime.
  11. I am currently in my last year of a PhD at the University of Western Sydney. My research involves developing new ways of locating gold, copper, lead, zinc and silver orebodies in arid and semi-arid environments using geochemical exploration techniques. I'm also a part time university lecturer and tutor in chemistry, mineralogy, geology and geochemistry, and I run undergraduate fieldtrips for geochemistry and advanced applied inorganic chemistry.
  12. New South Wales (state of Australia) has just recorded its hottest month on record, with mean temperature 0.5 of a degree C higher for January than any other recorded month. Looks like its going to continue into february, where I am (Sydney) it is currently 39 deg C (102.2 deg F), and I'm going for a 5 Km run and 10 Km bike ride this afternoon
  13. Are you talking about chiral compounds?
  14. Most people aren't going to know what the word regolith means, so perhaps a better word would be the moon's surface. At any rate, I believe the rocks at the suface of the moon closely resemble basaltic rocks here on earth ie dominated by silicon and oxygen, however containing significant iron, magnesium, sodium and calcium. Minerals formed include olivines, pyroxenes, amphiboles and plagioclase feldspars. As far as exotic species go, I'm not sure. Maybe someone else knows a little more.
  15. Does anyone know if you can get bundy overseas?
  16. What a shame! Canada might be on its way to becoming the 52nd state of the USA:-(
  17. You have to remember that horses started out as very small animals, no bigger than your average dog (pygmy horses, if you will) and they where preyed upon by birds (which were huge at the time) and reptiles alike. There are obvious evolutionary advantages for the horse to grow bigger: it reduces the number of other animals that will prey upon it.
  18. As a scientist, I have absolutely no respect for the teaching of any type of creationism or ID in science classes. Blind Freddy can see that neither can be used as an alternative for evidence based concepts such as ToE. I have absolutely no problem with these concepts being taught in religion classes, as long as they are in no way offered up as alternative to real science. 1/ At the present minute, I think there are enough intelligent (and secular) people, both in the general public, in the judiciary, and in public schools, who will realise that any move towards a non-scientific teaching of science will only serve to dumb down the population. However, if christian fundamentalism continues to grow within the USA, I think it is possible that a combination of political sway (from people like Bush, for example), activist judges and school boards in areas in with high levels of christian fundamentalism, may eventually result in ID being taught in some areas (eg Kentucky, and other red states). Gladly, in Australia, the state governments who control education have dismissed ID as unscientific and it is really a non-issue. 2/If the legal hurdles were overcome, I think it would be both detrimental to the students and the country. One possible consequence is that universities may not be as willing to take those students from schools promoting ID (especially in the science fields). A refusal to accept evolution may also lead to a reduction in the number of students persuing careers in research, which would impact on biotechnology, drug manufacture, medical science etc. In a selfish way, I hope that the US continues down the fundamentalist path with issues such as Stem Cell research and ID because it opens up opportunities for countries such as Australia to conduct research and produce products which the USA would otherwise be doing.
  19. You would not want to use either quinine or Vit B12 (cyano cobolamine) because both are toxic in large amounts
  20. Just start calling the pirates "terrorists", and bingo, you will have the justification and all the funding you need to fight them.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.