Life is just a theory

spaceplasma:

A Burning Candle In Zero-Gravity

The results of a Burning and Suppression of Solids (BASS) experiment demonstrates that in zero-gravity—where heat doesn’t rise—a flame burns in a uniform oval.

Credit: Col. Chris Hadfield

Gold Nanoflowers

These clusters of gold particles aren’t real flowers, but they’re certainly nano. You need an electron microscope to zoom in far enough to view the gold nanoflowers pictured above.

Pretty as they might be, nanoflowers are more than mere decoration. Depositing an array of gold nanoflowers on the surface of an electrode changes its ability to conduct electrical charge. And on other surfaces, nanoflowers can affect the way that water sticks to the substance, creating superhydrophobic materials.

Image courtesy of the American Chemical Society’s journal Langmuir

jtotheizzoe:

What’s in a flame?

The chemistry and physics of fire are surprisingly complicated for something so ubiquitous, but there’s a pretty easy answer for “what’s in a flame?”

Ions.

When a candle flame is placed between two contacts holding a about ten thousand volts, the flame is pulled to the positive and negative side like a flickering butterfly. The air, usually a good insulator, pulls the ions within the flame to either side, allowing an arc to form. 

Check out the full video from Veritasium. Spark more interest with this winning video from The Flame Challenge, explaining what fire is in simple terms.

sciencesoup:

A Diamond in the Flame

The candle was invented over 2,000 years ago in China, but for a long time no one quite understood what secrets the flames held—scientists knew that hydrocarbon molecules exist at the base of the flame, and are converted into carbon dioxide by the time they reach the top, but they didn’t understand the exact process. ‘You have the glittering beauty of gold and silver, and the still higher lustre of jewels, like the ruby and diamond,’ Michael Faraday wrote in 1860, addressing light, ‘but none of these rival the brilliancy and beauty of flame. What diamond can shine like flame?’ Well, according to research at the University of St Andrews, a flame actually shines like a diamond. Professor of Chemistry Wuzong Zhou recently discovered that a burning candle flame creates diamond nanoparticles at a rate of 1.5 million per second. Dr Zhou used a sampling technique he invented himself to remove particles from the centre of the flame, and upon analysis, he found the flame contained all four known forms of carbons. This was strange, since each of them are usually created under different conditions, but he realised this meant something amazing: the hydrocarbon molecules were being turned into tiny diamonds. The diamonds burn up in the process and are released as carbon dioxide, and there are currently no ways to extract them, but Zhou’s research could prove useful for future research into green, economic diamond production. It’s a tantalising discovery—light a candle, and you can watch millions and millions of tiny, glittering diamonds wink in and out of existence.

jtotheizzoe:

Periodic Table by Alison Haigh, featuring elements represented by their electron structures. 

One of the best periodic tables I’ve ever seen.

Awesome!

kemistree-tyme:

Perfect relationship. 

“How does Sodium (Na) and Chlorine (Cl) have the perfect relationship?”

Simple explanation;

Sodium (Na) has a positive charge of 1+ and chlorine (Cl) has a negative charge of 1-. Since all of the elements want to be like the almighty noble gas, they need to find a partner that can give them what they need. Because they can balance each other out, its a match made in heaven — or a chemistry lab if you will.  

Salt has never been so cute.

sciencespook:

First X-ray diffraction of Martian soil

Curiosity’s CheMin (Chemistry and Minerology) experiment has been studying a sample of the Martian soil, taken from Gale Crater, for the ‘fingerprints’ of minerals. The colours in the image represent intensity, with red being the most intense. Analysis reveals crystalline feldspar, pyroxenes and olivine. The soil is similar, says the JPL release, to “weathered basaltic soils of volcanic origin in Hawaii.” Analysing the soil is key to Curiosity’s mission goal, which is to assess environmental conditions to see if Mars is or has ever been habitable, and the analysis of the soil is “consistent with…initial ideas of the deposits in Gale Crater recording a transition through time from a wet to dry environment.”