Jump to content

Atom anatomy and chemical bonds


Ryanward96

Recommended Posts

Hello my name is Ryan. Im 22 and work at a hardware store but am always finding new things to learn about to occupy my free time. learning is a passion of mine and I just can’t seem to learn enough. My most recent interest is chemistry. I was initially turned off by any academic topic in highschool and wished I had the drive to learn then that I have now. What got me so interested in chemistry was an article I read about a 12 year old boy who built a working fusion reactor in his house. 12 YEARS OLD. After digging into it a little deeper the information I found the way atoms work and how they can create energy in many forms very intriguing and I want to know all I can about the elements, molecules, ions and how that react with one another. Any info is good info for me. Ive recently been listening to lectures on chemical bonds but it is a bit confusing to me. I feel I have the anatomy of an atom learned proficiently. I want to know more about how they create molecules and compounds

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, Ryanward96 said:

I was initially turned off by any academic topic in highschool and wished I had the drive to learn then that I have now.

...bad teachers are disease of educational system... they don't teach subject.. but teach to hate/dislike knowledge.. teach to hate/dislike schools..

23 minutes ago, Ryanward96 said:

What got me so interested in chemistry was an article I read about a 12 year old boy who built a working fusion reactor in his house. 12 YEARS OLD.

Unlikely..

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can fuse (or split) atoms even using Van de Graaff generator, but it is in really just a few reactions happening there. i.e. it takes a lot of energy to start up, but releases fraction of energy.. i.e. it's not self-sustainable and capable for fusion power plant..

ps. It belongs to quantum physics, rather than chemistry..

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Ryanward96 said:

I guess I wasn’t very clear with why I’m really on this forum.

No. You were absolute clear. You want to learn. Welcome and good luck.

5 minutes ago, Ryanward96 said:

I don’t know where to begin when wanting to learn about molecular structures, compounds, different bonds.

Try Wikipedia first, Khan Academy or reread your old school books. If/when you will have questions about something in them, feel free to ask question here on physics and/or chemistry section of the forum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Sensei said:

it's not self-sustainable and capable for fusion power plant..

Nobody ever got close to saying it was.
 

 

10 minutes ago, Ryanward96 said:

I guess I wasn’t very clear with why I’m really on this forum. I don’t know where to begin when wanting to learn about molecular structures, compounds, different bonds. I guess I really am looking for a teacher haha.

I'd start with the Khan academy.
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have Kahn academy and it’s an incredible learning tool. I just feel like there’s definitely more resources out there. It’s nice that Kahn has unit test because that’s what I need is confirmation that I am indeed learning the material I’m reading about.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was recently in a discussion on another forum about the force that holds molecules together. The covalent bond.

My opponent and I disagreed if the covalent bond was electromagnetism or not. We settled on electrostatics. It's in the EM spectrum (like light), but not exactly electromagnetism.

Physics is a hair-splitting game. The tiniest details are extremely important. So if you want to join, prepare for a rocky ride!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Ryanward96 said:

I guess I wasn’t very clear with why I’m really on this forum. I don’t know where to begin when wanting to learn about molecular structures, compounds, different bonds. I guess I really am looking for a teacher haha.

We're the teacher, but this is office hours rather than the lecture hall. You come to us to ask specific questions. If the request is "teach me about <topic>," then you need to avail yourself of other resources (e.g. Khan academy, as people have mentioned) You can come to us to explain details or clear up confusion after you've done so.

12 hours ago, QuantumT said:

 My opponent and I disagreed if the covalent bond was electromagnetism or not. We settled on electrostatics. It's in the EM spectrum (like light), but not exactly electromagnetism.

Covalent bonds are not in the EM spectrum. These are two distinct concepts. If you wish to discuss thus further, please open up a new thread.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Ryanward96 said:

Hello my name is Ryan. Im 22 and work at a hardware store but am always finding new things to learn about to occupy my free time. learning is a passion of mine and I just can’t seem to learn enough. My most recent interest is chemistry. I was initially turned off by any academic topic in highschool and wished I had the drive to learn then that I have now. What got me so interested in chemistry was an article I read about a 12 year old boy who built a working fusion reactor in his house. 12 YEARS OLD. After digging into it a little deeper the information I found the way atoms work and how they can create energy in many forms very intriguing and I want to know all I can about the elements, molecules, ions and how that react with one another. Any info is good info for me. Ive recently been listening to lectures on chemical bonds but it is a bit confusing to me. I feel I have the anatomy of an atom learned proficiently. I want to know more about how they create molecules and compounds

Ryan, welcome to ScienceForums.

Since you have come forward like this I am going to say +1 for encouragement, but you need to be more focused here, like swansont says.

In relation to your topic, here are a few hints.

Although your topic is in Chemistry, you will need to equip yourself more widely with basic Science, particularly Physics.

You will need to know the difference between force and energy, and the different types of energy, particularly potential energy.
You also need to have an idea what a particle is.

You will also need to know the meanings of the terms atoms, molecules, ions, elements, compounds, pure substances and mixtures.

 

Chemistry is very theoretical. It tends to concentrate on substances the ordinary person does not come into daily contact with and cannot readily obtain, eg nitrogen and oxygen.
Seeing that your work in hardware, you may find the more down to earth approach used in Materials Science or Engineering Science attractive. Here the emphasis would be more likely on air in my example.

So hardware means things like glue and timber and concrete and rope and so on.

Chemists will discuss the forces between individual oxygen atoms - very theoretical.
materials Scientist will be more interested in why and how the fibres in a rope hang together to form a length of rope, even though no individual fibre is anywhere near as long as the rope.

 

If any of this gives you inspiration for more questions, I will have achieved my objective.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, studiot said:

materials Scientist will be more interested in why and how the fibres in a rope hang together to form a length of rope, even though no individual fibre is anywhere near as long as the rope.

And they will ask a chemist who will tell them it's largely down to dipole-dipole interactions.
Those arise in turn from the " forces between individual oxygen atoms" which I am told are "very theoretical."

 

Playing "my field is better than your field" never works.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, studiot said:

Chemistry is very theoretical. It tends to concentrate on substances the ordinary person does not come into daily contact with and cannot readily obtain, eg nitrogen and oxygen.

I come into daily contact with nitrogen and oxygen. I think most people do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, studiot said:

I presume you would prefer to start a professed beginner off on something like this.

No

I'd start off a beginner on something like 

22 hours ago, John Cuthber said:

In fact, I did.

Which makes it obvious that your post was a bit silly.
That too might put someone off.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, studiot said:

Chemistry is very theoretical.

"Chemistry is applied physics"..

 

10 hours ago, studiot said:

Chemists will discuss the forces between individual oxygen atoms - very theoretical.

Oxygen bonds are broken while breathing.. or burning fuel...

 

Edited by Sensei
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Strange said:

I come into daily contact with nitrogen and oxygen. I think most people do.

It's a breeze.

52 minutes ago, Sensei said:

Oxygen bonds are broken while breathing.. or burning fuel...

And energy is released because they form stronger bonds with carbon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • 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.