Week Six - Halogen of the Week: Astatine

I chose Astatine because I have never heard of it!

Unlike the (relatively) non-reactive inert gases, Astatine is very reactive, although the least of all the halogens. It is also the heaviest of them, and it is radioactive as well. Astatine has a very short half-life, so studying this element in great detail has proven to be quite difficult. That coupled with the fact that astatine is the RAREST naturally occurring element on Earth! At any one time the amount of astatine on the Earth's surface totals one teaspoon. That is crazy!

It behaves a lot like iodine, and is even thought to have the accumulative effects that iodine has on the thyroid gland. Although since this element is so rare, the likelihood of the general public being exposed is not likely.

Week Five - Website review: Colors of Elements in a Flame

I tried to play one of the movies, but it didn't work. It's a very, very basic site. Doesn't really give much info, other than what colors each element produces in a flame, but shows a picture too, so that's nice. It made me think, is this how fireworks have different colors, by using different elements?

Week Five - Colors in my fridge

I LOVE food and especially the healing properties of it. I have recently been going through a pretty severe digestive disorder, so my fridge is minimally packed, but only with the freshest and most whole foods. I have really had to embrace the most nutritious foods I can find, including making homemade broth from bones, using ghee, and organic meats, eggs and produce. I just made a colorful soup for dinner with:

orange: carrots

yellow: spaghetti squash

green: basil, celery

white: onions

purple: eggplant

Other options for snacks include the whole rainbow!

red: baked apples w/cider

orange: clementines and cheddar cheese

yellow: baked acorn squash, scrambled eggs

green: avocado

blue: blueberries 

purple: grapes

white: yogurt

Week Five - Inert Gas of the Week: Xenon

Xenon sounds like a stereotypical name for an alien life form, or some faraway planet. It's late as I start this, so why not choose my element based on this :) Lo and behold, xenon is greek for foreigner, stranger, or guest....or alien?!

Like the other inert gases, xenon is not very reactive, and it is heavy, colorless and odorless. In the 1930s it was used for high speed flash photography and strobe lights. It is used in various types of lasers, including lasers for dermatological procedures.

In connecting to our green themed discussions, xenon is used as a general anesthetic for surgery and it is NOT a greenhouse gas like nitrous oxide is! It is a very environmentally friendly choice for this purpose. It can also be a safer choice as when combined with oxygen the rates for hypoxia are decreased. Why is it not being used exclusively you ask? $$$$$$$!!! Xenon is quite expensive (100x more so than nitrous oxide) and a system needs to be developed to contain the gas, recycle it and decontaminate it between uses in order for it to be economically feasible. That being said, some systems are said to be surfacing in Europe. 

With the amount of surgeries being conducted on a daily basis, I hope they will soon integrate xenon into our anesthesia procedures here in the States soon!

Week Four - Website review: Atom Economy

Ummmm, ok I kind of skipped over the #'s and charts because frankly it's a bit over my head. But what I gathered from the reading is that it's using a standardized number to compare, basically the efficiency of various chemical reactions. This seems like a great way to monitor over time how well companies are doing with reducing their chemical wastes and by-products. I'm not certain how strictly, if at all, any of these atom economy % are enforced, but perhaps as stricter government regulations are imposed to enforce a greener chemical industry, these #'s can be of great value. 

Week Four - Discussion Question: Science without Social Responsibility

I think this is a two-fold problem.

1. I think the awareness of how harmful by-products from science affects our planet and health is a newer concept. This is one arena where I think governmental regulations play a HUGE role, and these regulations were just not present and/or strictly enforced. As our awareness grows and we see a grim future if changes are not made, stricter regulations can be enacted and enforced especially as this becomes not just local or industry-specific policy, but a world-wide policy to do all we can to reduce non-green by-products.

2. Capitalism. With new innovations and pharmaceutical products come huge monetary returns. In our capitalistic driven society, there is certainly a no holds barred attitude when it comes to science and its capabilities. Even if that means that our planet and our health suffers at its expense. Many companies have this tunnel vision in keeping their eye on the prize, and thus social responsibility just isn't their concern when the bucks are rolling in.

Week Four - Catalyst of the Week: Nickel

I am quite fascinated/obsessed/intrigued by food and especially in how a lot of the products people consume today are actually made. When I read that margarine, a common household product, is made using nickel, I wanted to see investigate a little more.

Nickel is a transitional metal, and while very reactive, it requires a very high temperature and pressure to do so. Interestingly, most of Earth's nickel is actually found in its core - go digging!

Nickel doesn't come without its adverse effects. In certain forms, it can be a carcinogenic. Nickel carbonyl, a very toxic gas, is a double edged sword due to nickel's inherent toxic nature as well as any carbonyl's ability to release carbon monoxide. Perhaps more familiar to most people is nickel's tendency to cause dermatitis due to allergic reactions to jewelry made with nickel.

Now back to the margarine. Nickel's role in margarine involves hydrogenation, which is a common catalytic function for nickel. The oils used in margarine are mixed with finely ground nickel (remember, toxic!) and then submitted to extremely high temperatures and pressures. When hydrogen gas is added to the mix, nickel causes the hydrogen atoms to be converted into the oil molecules. This is the process that creates trans-fat. Nickel's role is done, but then   bleaching the grey color out of this product, de-odorizing the chemical smell, and the addition of synthetic flavors and vitamins follow. Mmmmmm......

I think I'll stick with butter.