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Messages - Bill.D.Katt.
26
« on: 20/05/2011 20:48:33 »
Since plastics are highly broken down by UV light, in a landfill it would take plastics an eternity to break down. On the other hand, if the non-recycleable plastics were incinerated in a high-oxygen environment, the negative effect on the atmosphere would be high, but which would be worse?
27
« on: 10/05/2011 20:31:38 »
To answer the question: too many. If you're looking to rock blast, make sure you have a permit, and to get the permit, you need to have a little prior knowledge about explosives. Many compounds such as TATP are fairly non-toxic, but are very unstable (TATP is sensitive to light, friction, shock, heat -the big four). Many people have lost fingers, hands, and some have died because of this and other explosives. I do not advise making explosive compounds unless you have a degree in something related.
28
« on: 05/05/2011 16:04:31 »
All very true, and some very good points. But just because we have irrevocably changed the eco-system already, doesn't mean we should push it further. In fact I think the opposite.
And, this may sound a bit harsh, but if food is supplied to the areas with the worst starvation, and the worst desertification -namely Africa (which also has the highest population growth rates), then tomorrow even more food will need to be produced. Eventually, either the population will drop for some reason, or the population will get so high that we will be facing the same starvation problems as we are now, only with several billion more people.
29
« on: 05/05/2011 04:04:48 »
Of course it would continue to evolve, but if there is no fresh water available, environmental pressures will force the grass to evolve to need less water, and/or survive saltier water. And few things would be preventing the grass from spreading along the beaches, or to the beaches; thick clumps of grass are impossible to dig in, which is my concern regarding the turtles and other animals. I just think that if we get a plant that is hardened to survive in the harshest places, then it could spread to anywhere, and force out native species.
30
« on: 04/05/2011 14:26:37 »
Even though plants are at the bottom of the food chain, they have survived because they are better at one thing than every other species -reproducing. No matter how well it was contained, seeds would get out and spread to unintended areas.
31
« on: 04/05/2011 03:58:42 »
Interesting idea, but I do see potential environmental catastrophes depending on how much land is used -say goodbye to sea turtles.
32
« on: 30/04/2011 07:51:12 »
I have heard that elevation plays a role in the effects experienced by an individual under the influence of alcohol. Is this true? If so, are there any other compounds that would display similar effects as elevation changes?
33
« on: 26/04/2011 04:05:18 »
Oh, wow. That was an energetic reaction. Not as bright as thermite, but hot enough to burn through the steel pan it was on. So I just throw the powdery stuff left over into some HCl? Once it has fully reacted to AlCl3 and BaCl2 do I force it out of solution by fractional crystallization (after evaporating off excess HCl)? Or can I through a base into solution and only precipitate out one species?
34
« on: 25/04/2011 04:02:33 »
I've been wondering how I could make BaCl2 from BaSO4. Wikipedia states: "BaSO4 + 4 C → BaS + 4 CO" then "BaS + CaCl2 → BaCl2 + CaS" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barium_chloride) It states that this is performed on an industrial scale, could this be done on a minor scale, and are there any other methods?
35
« on: 10/04/2011 21:19:42 »
I believe they clean it, and then reprocess it.
36
« on: 09/04/2011 04:40:02 »
I know it is a central stimulant, and I believe it mimics the effects of epinephrine. On a more personal experience note, during extended aerobic activity it can make you think that you're ok, when in fact you have depleted your glucose stores. Here's Wikipedia link on caffeine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine#Effects_on_the_heart
37
« on: 07/04/2011 02:58:25 »
Most seawater has a lot of salt in solution. By putting this on the ground, one would effectively be salting the earth and killing the plants that were growing there.
38
« on: 29/03/2011 17:17:05 »
Uranium also comes from the ground, so would it be ok if we took enriched U and put it in someones backyard? The oil in your car is significantly different from oil straight out of the ground. Oil comes from deep in the ground where it doesn't get into groundwater or into the (biosphere) environment. There are many things that come from the ground that we don't want where we live.
39
« on: 29/03/2011 05:43:46 »
From older topics I've read that our bone composition exhibits an excellent balance of strength and lightness, for which we have billions of years of evolution to thank. But are there synthetic bones that have the capability of healing like our natural ones, and are non-calcium based?
40
« on: 27/03/2011 01:22:13 »
Adding a catalyst speeds up the reaction rate. To slow down a reaction rate, add an inhibitor.
41
« on: 26/03/2011 17:35:56 »
So how is it done? It looks like I need to maintain a high [H3O] while the solution is drying, is that right?
42
« on: 26/03/2011 03:30:04 »
Here is the exact procedure that I did today: I have around 100 old BB's from which I have removed the Cu coating so only the steel is left. I add HCl (~34%, I'm guessing by volume) at this point the solution becomes significantly more yellow; wait an hour or so and add 20% H2O2 and the solution bubbles vigorously and becomes a deep murky brown (FeCl3 in solution?). This solution is highly acidic. I am attempting to force the FeCl3 from solution to obtain the (hexa)hydrated solid.
43
« on: 25/03/2011 04:32:27 »
I used a poor-mans aqua regia mix (HCl and 20% H2O2) to make the solution. I just said it was probably mostly FeCl3 because the electron config of Fe would seem a little more stable with all the s orbitals gone and a 1/2 d shell, twas just a guess. Anyway which one it is isn't the most trying part to me. I'm mostly trying to get it to precipitate out, and the methods I know for precipitation of solutes would be about the same for the two of them (however, both have failed). Although I noticed that when I added more H2O2 to the solution it bubbled quite vigorously; is this the H2O2 decomposing?
44
« on: 23/03/2011 04:56:17 »
I think it is a mix of FeCl2 and FeCl3, considering the excess HCl I'm guessing it's predominantly FeCl3. So should I just wait until the water evaporates? I can't boil it right now (broken Pyrex beaker).
45
« on: 22/03/2011 05:23:31 »
I have a solution of ferric chloride that is fairly concentrated, but contains a fair amount of HCl. FeCl2 is far more soluble in room temp solutions that in cold solutions so I dropped the temp to a little below 0 (C). I got a few crystals at the bottom, but after extracting them, drying them off, and placing them in a container, it turned back into a liquid. Any ideas why? Is the compound hygroscopic? Are there any other ways I can force the FeCl2 out of solution? I tried the common ion effect but for some reason it didn't work.
46
« on: 18/03/2011 22:57:08 »
From what I have heard: Vit C, B6, B1, K. Also folic acid, chromium and other trace metals.
47
« on: 18/03/2011 22:06:35 »
I wasn't saying that they were filters. We had used some kind of thin clear film on either ends of the salt bridge, and I was informed that this was agar and was keeping the metallic cations from being transferred with the anions. I guess the method we used was nontraditional. Would a salt bridge of this sort (packed with agar or gelatine) keep observable transfer from happening if the two cells were connected for several days?
48
« on: 18/03/2011 03:48:57 »
"It allows (for example) NO3 ions to pass through, but stops metallic ions such as Zn."
No it doesn't.
Hm. I must have been misinformed. We used a chem filter in a electrochem lab and my TA said it was agar. Do you know what filters do work?
49
« on: 17/03/2011 05:07:23 »
This question sort of spans two different topics. Agar (or agar-agar) can be used as a chemical filter for the salt bridge in a galvanic cell. It allows (for example) NO3 ions to pass through, but stops metallic ions such as Zn. What other filters would fulfill this role, and would the membrane from a plant work?
50
« on: 05/03/2011 18:42:22 »
Since bedbugs are attracted to CO2 (and heat) one could make a dry ice trap. This is pretty much just a piece of dry ice in a bowl. The bedbugs will climb into the bowl toward the dry ice. From there on it's your choice on how to kill them, maybe pour some acetone into the bowl and make some poor-man's liquid nitrogen  .
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