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electronics from coal

4/24/2016

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Spring is here and summer approaches!
 
The book
Chemistry on a Budget contains inexpensive chemistry labs that could be useful.  You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com. Check it out!
 

http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget

http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html
 
There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report.  This way the teacher has the option!  Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout. 
 

It will take a week or so to get to you, so Order Now!
 
*Some of you have purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !
 
An interesting development recently (many of these sources are dated April 19, 2016) was the discovery of the use of coal for electronics. 
 
“Graphene may be the poster child of
thin film electronics, and silicon the current king of materials for semiconductors, but if scientists from MIT get their way, graphene's humble cousin, coal, could soon be giving them both a run for their money. For the first time, electronic devices have been created from thin films of coal and the research points to a range of uses that this cheap and abundant material could have in electronic devices, solar panels, and batteries.”
http://www.gizmag.com/nanomaterial-coal-carbon-electronics-mit/42905/
 
“Thanks to the availability of cheap, abundant, and cleaner-to-burn natural gas, U.S. use of coal to generate electricity has fallen to 
lows not seen since 1949 ... with increased pressure to cut greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change, energy experts say the coal industry is at the beginning of what may be a long slide to obsolescence...MIT researchers are looking at other ways to utilize coal’s molecular complexity and harness it to make a new generation of electronic devices — including some that could become part of the switch to renewable energy.”
http://news.discovery.com/earth/could-we-turn-coal-into-electronics-160422.htm
 
Carbon (C) comprising coal, with 4 valence electrons, is in the same Group (or Family) on the Periodic Table as silicon (Si), which also has 4 valence electrons.  You might want to draw electron dot diagrams for both elements to emphasize their similarity.
 
“The adjustability of… [carbon’s] electronic and optical properties, combined with its high conductivity, thermal stability and robustness, make it a promising material. It's also relatively cheap to fabricate.”

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2016/04/19/MIT-scientists-make-electronics-out-of-coal/6681461098322/
 
​The infrastructure to mine coal already exists in the United States because it was already being used as a fuel source.

“Some naturally occurring coal varieties have a range of electrical conductivity that spans seven orders of magnitude, making them suitable for a wide range of electronic uses — and without the extensive purification and refining that silica, a standard raw material in electronics manufacturing, requires.
For that reason, coal might provide a cheaper alternative.”

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160419183939.htm
“The researchers demonstrated coal’s potential by using it to make a simple electrical heating device, which could be utilized for jobs such as defrosting car windows or airplane wings.”

Some students get a little bored, thinking that scientific research and development of technologies has reached an end point.  Here is a development using a resource in a completely different way.  It would be interesting for your students to gather pros and cons of working with carbon from coal versus silicon from sand.
 
*This Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom.  Remember, you can check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.
 
Also, 
Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.
 

Remember, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.


Have a great week!
​
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Metal Foam Armour

4/17/2016

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Many of you are returned from vacation.  Welcome back!
 
Most school budgets are depleted for the 2015-2016 class year.  The book
Chemistry on a Budget contains inexpensive chemistry labs that could be useful.  You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com. Check it out!
 

http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget

http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html
 
There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report.  This way the teacher has the option!  Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout. 
 

It will take a week or so to get to you, so Order Now!
 
*Some of you have purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !
 
A current research development is a Metal Foam Armour that, combined with Kevlar, is strong enough to stop a bullet.
 
“Kevlar is the
best-known brand for bulletproof vests and is top-rated on the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) standard for its bullet-stopping capability… It stops bullets because of its ultra-high molecular weight, meaning it has very long strands of molecules that essentially entangle the bullet as it enters.”
http://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2016/0409/Scientists-create-metallic-foam-that-shatters-bullets
[BTW, this link has two videos to better explain and demonstrate this technology.]
 
“Composite metal foams (CMFs) are tough enough to turn an armor-piercing bullet into dust on impact. Given that these foams are also lighter than metal plating, the material has obvious implications for creating new types of body and vehicle armor – and that's just the beginning of its potential uses.“

http://phys.org/news/2016-04-metal-foam-obliterates-bullets.html
 
“Afsaneh Rabiei, a professor of mechanical and
aerospace engineering at NC State, has spent years developing CMFs and investigating their unusual properties…there are many applications that require a material to be more than just incredibly light and strong. For example, applications from space exploration to shipping nuclear waste require a material to be not only light and strong, but also capable of withstanding extremely high temperatures and blocking radiation.”
 
Here is another
Extra Credit opportunity for Student Research or a brief Homework assignment for your students to read and summarize.  Students are always asking “What does this have to do with me?”  Here is an example of a real world development with several possible applications.
 

*Remember, this Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom.  Remember, you can check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.
 
Also, 
Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.
 

Remember, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.


Have a great week!
​
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spring break 2016

4/10/2016

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Many of you have a Spring Break this week – enjoy the rest.  You and your students deserve it!
 
Most school budgets are depleted for the 2015-2016 class year.  The book
Chemistry on a Budget contains inexpensive chemistry labs that could be useful.  You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com. Check it out!
 

http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget

http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html
 
There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report.  This way the teacher has the option!  Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout. 
 

It will take a week or so to get to you, so Order Now!
 
*Some of you have purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !
 
Many of you are on Spring Break this week – it’s important to get away from the school routine, breath the fresh air, and rejuvenate a little!  You may want to check out past posts on this blog to give you ideas – there is a
Topic List that shows past subjects.  Check it out! 
 
If you have this week left before your school’s break, check out the blog post
Holiday Class Activities dated 11/20/15 for commentary about the days before a vacation.
 

Remember, buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with labs and class article ideas.

Also, 
Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom. 


Enjoy your Spring Break!
​
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permafrost melting

4/3/2016

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Wow, it’s April!  The birds are singing and the trees are coming back to life!
 
Most school budgets are depleted for the 2015-2016 class year.  The book Chemistry on a Budget contains inexpensive chemistry labs that could be useful.  You can buy this lab book for $23 at amazon.com or lulu.com. Check it out!
 
http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Budget-Marjorie-R-Heesemann/dp/0578129159/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389410170&sr=1-1&keywords=chemistry+on+a+budget

http://www.lulu.com/shop/marjorie-r-heesemann/chemistry-on-a-budget/paperback/product-21217600.html
 
There are two versions of each lab, one with a ten-question conclusion and one with directions for a full lab report.  This way the teacher has the option!  Each lab is two pages to allow for one two-sided handout. 
 
It will take a week or so to get to you, so Order Now!
 
*Some of you have purchased my lab book – be sure to check out Page 141 !
 
One concern about the rise of global temperature is the thawing / melting of permafrost.  A simple definition is:
 
“Permafrost is a permanently frozen layer below the Earth’s surface. It consists of soil, gravel, and sand, usually bound together by ice. Permafrost usually remains at or below 0C (32F) for at least two years.
Permafrost can be found on land and below the ocean floor. It is found in areas where temperatures rarely rise above freezing. This means permafrost is often found in Arctic regions such as Greenland, the U.S. state of Alaska, Russia, China, and Eastern Europe.”
http://education.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/permafrost/
 
From a guide targeted to students:
“When permafrost melts, the land above it sinks or changes shape. Sinking land can damage buildings and infrastructure such as roads, airports, and water and sewer pipes. It also affects ecosystems…Another reason to be concerned about permafrost is because it has a lot of carbon trapped inside. As permafrost thaws, this carbon is released to the atmosphere in the form of methane [CH4], a powerful greenhouse gas. This process leads to more climate change and is an example of a positive feedback loop, which happens when warming causes changes that lead to even more warming.”
https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/impacts/signs/permafrost.html
 
“Frozen soils known as permafrosts can be found across the planet, and they’re concentrated heavily in the Arctic, which has been warming since the 1980s at twice the global rate. Taken together, permafrosts contain more carbon than is already in the atmosphere. Their warming-induced breakdown is helping to fill the atmosphere with greenhouse gases. In a self-feeding cycle, that's fueling the very climatic changes that are causing permafrost to waste away.”
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/good-news-bad-news-on-carbon-from-melting-permafrost-18001
 
“Worries over the current state of permafrost have been reinforced by Prof [Vladimir] Romanovsky.
A professor at the University of Alaska, he is also the head of the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost, the primary international monitoring programme.
He says that in the northern region of Alaska, the permafrost has been warming at about one-tenth of a degree Celsius per year since the mid 2000s. …

In Alaska, the warming of the permafrost has been linked to trees toppling, roads buckling and the development of sinkholes.
Prof Romanovsky says that the current evidence indicates that in parts of Alaska…the permafrost will not just warm up but will thaw by about 2070-80.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34540414
 
“Professor Vladimir Romanovsky has warned that permafrost in Alaska could start to thaw by 2070, which could trigger the release of methane stored in the earth, exacerbating climate change.
It has been assumed that permafrost levels would remain stable for the rest of this century, but rising temperatures in the constantly frozen soil in the past four years, suggest this theory is flawed.”
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/98766/20151024/thawing-of-permafrost-in-alaska-could-begin-by-2070-how-this-could-accelerate-global-warming.htm
 
“WHRC [Woods Hole Research Center ] scientist Sue Natali said that ‘to save permafrost, we have to reduce fossil fuel use and manage forests globally to enhance carbon dioxide uptake by the biosphere’. “
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/11/siberia-melting-permafrost-fuels-climate-change-151122124853964.html
 
“Increased greenhouse gas emissions from the release of carbon dioxide and methane contained in the Arctic permafrost could result in $43 trillion in additional economic damage by the end of the next century, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Colorado.”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150921112731.htm
 
You may have already discussed the solubility of gases in liquids and how increased temperature reduces the solubility of gas.  I find that discussing carbonated water (soda) is an example that students can easily understand.
 
 A past blog entry from 04/15/2015 titled Solubility Curves  discussed the temperature/solubility relationship.  (I’m sorry, some of the pages have been removed from the Internet.)
 
This page contains several graphs of the solubility of various gases in water as temperature is raised:
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/gases-solubility-water-d_1148.html
 
Here is a coarse graph of gas solubility versus temperature that might be effective for teaching:
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/gases-solubility-water-d_1148.html
 
Global warming is a real world topic that relates directly to several Chemistry concepts, gas solubility being one.  Students appreciate when concepts relate directly to their experience.
 
*Remember, this Blog contains several entries that would be helpful to your chemistry classroom.  Remember, you can check out the Topic List to help you to find past Blog entries.
 
Also, Write To Me about your successes, challenges, or questions in the Chemistry Classroom.
 
Buying a copy of the lab book Chemistry on a Budget can be very useful to your Chemistry classroom with affordable labs and class article ideas.

Have a great week!


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    Author

    Marjorie R. Heesemann is a chemistry teacher with 15 years of experience who is now working to develop resources for the Chemistry classroom.

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