Fire

I just started reading the next section of my book. This section is title Fire and just as I did in the last section it will be split into three parts. Well here it goes.

FIRE (part one)

The Circumnavigation of the Sulphur:

This chapter is called "The Circumnavigation of the Sulphur", it is all about sulphur. Sulphur is often described in the Bible as brimstone, it represents punishment and destruction. It burns with a low blue flame and is very bland. When it undergoes combustion sulphur dioxide is yielded. The reduction of sulphur yields a poisonous gas, hydrogen sulphide. Sulphur also releases compounds that give off some really nasty odors. This chapter also describes the journey of the HMS Sulphur in 1835 when it began its seven year circumnavigation of the world.

Picture Work Cited: Sulphur, Jolyon Ralph and Ida Chau,  http://www.mindat.org/min-3826.html, Mindat, org, 1993-2014

Pee is for Phosphorus:

The next chapter in my book was titled "Pee is for Phosphorus" which is all about phosphorus. Phosphorus glows in the dark due to the combustion of oxides on its surface when it is exposed to air. Hennig Brand  was an alchemist who believed that gold and urine were connected. So within the walls of his lab he did what any logical person would do, he evaporated a large quantity of urine and distilled the residue. In the residue he discovered a waxy white substance that  had an eerie glow. It also burst into flames when it came into contact with the air. All of these qualities seemed to be attributes of the substance itself. It was found that one bucket of urine produced four grams of phosphorus. To produce the phosphorus scientists boiled the urine and than created a crust with it. It was than added to water and boiled until it became a salt. The salt was than burned and put into a container to be preserved. The newly discovered phosphorus was featured in many paintings and was even used in a bombing by the British!  Fires devastated German towns and killed many by asphyxiation. Even today military forces use phosphorus as a weapon.

Picture Work Cited: Phosphorus, http://images-of-elements.com/phosphorus.php, Creative Commons, March 29, 2013

"As Under a Green Sea":

This chapter was titled "As Under a Green Sea" and it is about chlorine. In World War One this gas was used to destroy the enemy by choking the air out of their lungs. It even bleached the grass and flowers around it! In order to get the Chlorine gas to enemy lines the military allowed the winds to push the heavy Chlorine along the ground like a choking fog. The gas ripped through blood vessels and drowns the body in its own fluids. In 1977 Carl Scheele was the first to isolate Chlorine. It was a green color with a choking and bleaching power. Dangerous compounds were also derived from the combination of chlorine and other elements. These compounds have become hazardous pollutants in today's world and some have originated from as early as World War One. Chlorine was not all bad though. It is used in the medical field for various reasons and to disinfect your pool and other household objects. Chlorine saves more lives per year than its war toll.

Picture Work Cited: Chlorine, http://www.amazingrust.com/Experiments/how_to/Cl2.html, Amazing Rust. com, January 2, 2011

Work Cited:

Hugh Aldersey- Williams, Periodic Tales: A Cultural History of the Elements from Arsenic to Zinc, 2011, HarperCollins Publishers

Power

POWER (part three) is here!

Power (Part three)

Plutonium Charades

The next chapter in my book is called "Plutonium Charades". Glenn Seaborg was possibly the greatest element discoverer ever. In 1940 he produced plutonium. Curium and americium were produced in 1944. Then in 1949 berkelium and californium were produced, and in 1950 several more elements were produced. The number of elements he produced surpassed many other scientists. Seaborg worked closely with atomic fission and was able to locate element number 94 or plutonium. This element was a crucial element used in the Manhattan Project. August 1943 Seaborg located the first microscopic speck of plutonium and after another year he was able to produce masses of it. Plutonium was a very strange element, in some conditions it could be hard and brittle, while in others it could be soft. It could burn and crumble or it could disintegrate. It is also extremely toxic. So far the only use for this element is atomic bombs, which is why it is so securely guarded. 

Picture Work Cited: Plutonium, http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Library/Plutonium/, 3/23/14, Nuclear Weapons Archive
 

Mendeleev's Suitcases

This chapter is called "Mendeleev's Suitcases", it is all about Dmitrii Mendeleev. In 1955 the 101st element on the periodic table was named after Dmitrii Mendeleev. He was the first full-time chemist to be commemorated in this way. He was born in 1834, the last of fourteen children. The creation of the periodic table was along process and arose when Mendeleev tried to figure out an easier way for his students to understand the elements. He placed the elements in order from lightest atomic weight to those of heaviest atomic weight. Many people criticized his early work but, all objections were put to rest when gallium was discovered and it fit right where Mendeleev predicted it would. After this discovery other elements were slowly put in their place as well. Mendelevium was also the first element to be brought into the world atom by atom. It has never been made into quantities visible to the naked eye. 

Picture Work Cited: Mendelevium, http://periodictable.com/Elements/101/index.html, 3/23/14

The Liquid Mirror

The next chapter is called "The Liquid Mirror" it is about Mercury. It has unique properties that allow it to be both liquid and metallic. It was discovered by the Chinese in the red ore cinnabar. It had many uses in Ancient China and was used most extensively by the Chinese. Before the toxic and dangerous effects of Mercury were brought to life it was used for a variety of products such as cosmetics, insecticide, medicine, and dentistry. In July 2011 The European Union banned the export of mercury in an effort to reduce mercury exposure. When mercury and sulfur were combined they created cinnabar.

Picture Work Cited: Mercury, Chris Cherniak, http://radiogreenearth.org/blog/?p=3726, 11/10/11, Radio Green Earth

Well that's the end of the third and final part of POWER!!! Coming up next is FIRE.

Power

Hey everybody, are you ready for POWER (part two)? Well good because here it is...

POWER (Part two)

The Ochreous Stain:

 The next chapter in my book is called "The Ochreous Stain" and it is about Iron. Ancient myths believed that iron  had once radiated celestial power in the sense that lumps of iron fell from the sky. In fact it still does, in the form of meteorites. One of the largest of these ever found is housed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. It is called the Willamette meteorite. In 1902 this meteorite was found purely by mistake by Ellis Hughes on land belonging to Oregon Iron and Steel Company. It is almost purely iron with only a little bit of nickel contained within it. Iron is often linked with strength and toughness because it is generally hard. It is also less ductile and malleable than other metals. Iron was often associated with masculinity in ancient times and it was used to forge weapons of war and armor. In 1745 Vincenzo Menghini discovered iron in the blood by performing various experiments with magnets and animal blood. From then on Iron was associated with Mars just as blood was with war. With the invention of spacecraft scientists were able to prove that there was in fact iron on Mars. During the Industrial Revolution iron was used to forge wondrous machinery and to advance scientific discovery even further. But where there is iron there must be rust and that is what happened to most of the ancient iron artifacts.

Picture Work Cited: Iron, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iron-135048.jpg, 5/21/2010, Wikipedia Commons

The Elemental Traders:

This chapter was called "The Elemental Traders", it encompasses the task of collecting all the elements on the periodic table. The author of my book has set out on completing the table and knows many people who have, in fact, been able to collect all the elements on the periodic table. Max Whitby and Fiona Barclay have done just this and have become elemental traders. They supply fellow enthusiasts with pure elements. When the author met with them he was invited to guess what some of the elements were. Some were easy to distinguish based on their appearance or weight, others were not so easy. Rhodium and Ruthenium are two of this elements that look like platinum. It is often dangerous for these traders because of some of the more noxious elements that pose threats on humans. In order to improve their business they also shape the element into more desired shapes, such as spheres or large crystals. This improves the value of the elements and therefore earn the elemental traders their pay.

Picture Work Cited: Rhodium, http://images-of-elements.com/rhodium.php, 2/13/2010, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Among the Carbonari:

This chapter, titled "Among the Carbonari" is about charcoal burning and carbon. Charcoal is almost purely carbon and when burned correctly it gives off more heat than an open fire. Jim Bettle runs a charcoal burning business in Blackmoor Vale. The author explains the process of wood-burning in this chapter. First, wood is piled in a specific pattern in the middle of a kiln and it is heated. Oxygen is released and carbon is trapped inside the kiln. After 24- hours the charcoal is complete. All the carbon dioxide must go somewhere and this is a key source of fuel for the world. Soon however, all this carbon dioxide will pile up.

Picture Work Cited: Carbon, http://images-of-elements.com/carbon.php, 12/2/2010, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 

This is the end of POWER part 2! Stay tuned for POWER part 3. :)

Work Cited:

Hugh Aldersey- Williams, Periodic Tales: A Cultural History of the Elements from Arsenic to Zinc, 2011, HarperCollins Publishers

Power

Started reading my book, Periodic Tales: a Cultural History of the Elements from Arsenic to Zinc. The book explains the inter workings of the elements found on the periodic table. It is also split into five sections: Power, Fire, Craft, Beauty, and Earth. So I guess I'll start with the first section, Power.

POWER (Part one)

El Dorado:

The first chapter in the book was titled "El Dorado" which literally means "the Golden Man" so naturally this chapter was about gold. Gold has a timeless allure that has something to do with the many unique qualities it possesses. It is yellow with a slightly metallic luster and it resists all corrosion by air, water, and most chemicals. Its endurance to many represents immortality. Gold is also very dense, add malleability and ductility and you have a near perfect element! It was around 500 BCE when gold really became popular, it was then first used for coins. But most of all people found that it was not only the key to great wealth but, great power as well. It was then when the search for El Dorado really began. From the year 1519 to now people like Hernando Cortes, Walter Ralegh, and Mark Twain have been searching for gold but have yet to find El Dorado. Although, large amounts of gold have been found worldwide. Gold is and may always be one of the most sought after elements on the periodic table.

Picture Work Cited: How and Why to Invest in Gold, http://www.simpledebtfreeliving.com/howtoinvestingold.html,  3/8/2014, Simple Debt Free Living.com

Going Platinum:

The next chapter is titled "Going Platinum" is all about platinum. Platinum was discovered during the twentieth century and it quickly replaced silver as the preferred metal used in jewelry. It is twice as dense as silver and has a "pearly lucence". It was more trendier and far more easier to come by than gold, it quickly replaced gold during a time of economic downfall. Although, it was recognized as an element by European chemists in the eighteenth century, it was discovered in South America 2,000 years before then! It is usually found in rivers and it melts at a far higher temperature than gold, bronze, and iron. Platinum eventually rose above gold and was placed ahead of it not because it was any better than gold but, to as a show of snobbery exhibited by the rich and famous.

Picture Work Cited: Platinum, Texture, Silver, Gray, http://www.freepik.com/free-photo/platinum--texture--silver--gray_229071.htm, 8/07/2010, Freepik

Noble Metals, Ignobly Announced:

The third chapter is titled "Noble Metals, Ignobly Announced". This chapter is about some of the noble metals. All the elements mentioned in this chapter were discovered by William Hyde Wollaston. In April 1803 Palladium  was discovered in a shop in Soho claiming that it was the "New Silver". When it was first discovered many thought it to be a fraud and worthless combination of platinum and mercury. But after intense research it was discovered that they were wrong. In December 1800 Wollaston began research on two more metals Iridium and Osmium. Iridium was named for the Greek word rainbow due to colors found in the salts and Osmium was named for the Greek word meaning smell. He also discovered Rhodium and published his article on this metal soon after discovering the previous two metals. These noble metals explained the brittleness in platinum when they were discovered inside the metal. 

Picture Work Cited: Osmium, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmium, 3/5/2014, Wikipedia

Well that's it for now. Tune in next time for POWER part two!

Work Cited:

Hugh Aldersey- Williams, Periodic Tales: A Cultural History of the Elements from Arsenic to Zinc, 2011, HarperCollins Publishers