Archive for the ‘fun’ Category:
CLT #31: Science Fair
by azmanam on Apr 10 2012 (2989 Views)Welcome Back to CLT!
I just judged our state science fair a few weekends ago. It was my first time judging a science fair. I really enjoyed the experience, will certainly do it again, and encourage others to volunteer as well. There's nothing more rewarding than seeing a teenager geeked out about science 
via Off the Mark
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CLT #30: Bomberman
by azmanam on Apr 03 2012 (3319 Views)Welcome Back to CLT!
Here. Now no one yell at me for 'impossible structure errors'
via digital unrest
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When The Office meets big pharma
by mitch on Apr 01 2012 (3192 Views)Below is a parody video regarding the translation of a promising drug candidate to a commercial product.
If you like the video, this next one will be of interest to you as well.
To see a list of all videos, I invite you to check out ZombieSymmetry's Youtube page
Mitch
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Chemical Magicians
by See Arr Oh on Mar 28 2012 (7064 Views)Skepticism plays a central role in any kind of scientific research. To paraphrase Feynman, you should try never to fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool! We chemists all want to believe in the high yield, or the perfect recrystallization that causes us to turn cartwheels…until we realize that we can’t repeat them. Some scientists still take shortcuts to fame – consider the hot water the Sezen saga landed everyone in just a few short years ago. So, how do you keep yourself honest? And how do you sift through wild claims and hyperbole?
Please, don't hire this magician.
Credit: Arrested Development, 20th Century Fox
Well, magicians are standing by to take our calls.
(Wait…did you just say “magicians?”)
That’s right, magician James Randi offers his services in a recent Wired Opinion post. He references magician Jamy Ian Swiss, who says:
“Any magician worth his salt will tell you that the smarter an audience is, the easier they are to fool. That’s a very counterintuitive idea, but…scientists aren’t trained to study something that’s deceptive.”
Good point. As chemists, we’re always looking out for the next great reaction to come logically shuffling through the door. We don’t often step back and critically question others’ motivations for deceit or trickery. But, of course, that’s how magicians make their careers. Randi invokes Clarke’s third law, which states that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Maybe that’s part of the issue.
Think, for a moment, about all the “magical” events that occur during a normal day in lab. Stir bars rotate with the flip of a switch. Gas, that you can’t see or smell, keeps oxygen and water out of your reaction. Little towers of pumps, valves, and tubes (HPLCs) show you pictures of what’s going on inside the flask. Another box probably takes your crude brown oil, makes some noises, and turns it into a lovely white, crystalline solid. A tall, shiny refrigerator (NMR) uses the power of magnetism and radio waves (both invisible!) to show you even clearer pictures. Once everything’s wrapped up, you toss the data, on nonexistent paper, in another tiny box (hard drive), or beam the answers as pure packets of energy (emails) across the globe to collaborators.
But, if you went back in time and told an 1880’s dye chemist, he’d never believe you! How come? Because his hands were stained with product, and his arms tired from shaking vessels or moving paddles around reactors. He could tell you the boiling or melting points of all his unknown compounds, because he measured them directly. He knew all the recent literature, because he went to the library and opened the few copies of journals, trade manuals, or encyclopedias he had access to. To him, your ligands and catalysts might look like snake oils and cure-all elixirs.
Pulled a few rabbits out of his hat. Credit: RSC
So, I guess I understand the role a magician could play: a second opinion. An advisor, who could check motives or see a bigger picture, someone who, when you say “Really!” would say “Really?”
And hey, if it doesn’t work out, he could always just disappear. Or you could saw him in half. (I hear they love that!)
CLT #29: Wild West Chemistry
by azmanam on Mar 27 2012 (5248 Views)Welcome Back to CLT!
Today's cartoon from Nick Kim, previously of "Base = Neutralized" CLT fame.
via Lab-Initio
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CLT #28: Carbon Dating
by azmanam on Mar 20 2012 (4327 Views)Welcome back to CLT!
Welcome to spring!
via Jesse Springer (I think?)
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CLT #27: Frictionless Vacuum
by azmanam on Mar 13 2012 (8601 Views)Welcome back to CLT!
A little physics humor this week.
via xkcd
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CLT #26: Substituted Benzene Preparation
by azmanam on Mar 06 2012 (11573 Views)Welcome back to CLT!
This is the week my students have their exam on Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution
via ComicJK
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Shellac Nail Polish: How Does It Work?
by azmanam on Mar 01 2012 (21847 Views)See other articles in the How Does It Work series.
Shellac nail polish, sometimes referred to as gel nail polish, is all the rage these days. They claim to give a chip-free coating to your nails and can last several weeks. It can last even longer than that, but after two or three weeks, your nails have grown out and you can start to see unpolished nail at the base of your polished nail. If you go in for a quick touch up and fill in, your shellac nail polish can I guess last indefinitely!
What is Typical Nail Polish?
To start, let’s talk about typical, boring, old nail polish. At is core, nail polish is nitrocellulose dissolved in a solvent. Nitrocellulose is known for giving a nice, shiny, hard film once the solvent evaporates. Nitrocellulose is also known for exploding. It’s what makes up magicians ‘flash paper,’ and guncotton. Fortunately, our nails don’t explode. I’m pretty sure the manufacturers worked on figuring that one out before mass producing nail polishes.
CLT #25: Benzene
by azmanam on Feb 28 2012 (10999 Views)Welcome back to CLT!
This is the week my students learn about Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution
via Lab-Initio
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CLT #24: Universal Solvent
by azmanam on Feb 21 2012 (12214 Views)Welcome back to CLT!
No need to cite a source today. This one's an azmanam original!
via ME! (click for larger)
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CLT #23: Valentine's Day
by azmanam on Feb 14 2012 (6339 Views)Welcome back to CLT!
Happy Valentine's Day!
via SMBC
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