Periodic Table

Periodic Table

The majority of persons when I talk about chemistry spontaneously think on a periodic table. The reason of that is because chemistry studies the elements which are de basis unit of the matter. It is very important know about the periodic table no matter if you will study any career different of chemistry. The periodic table provides a lot of information that help to understand the elements behavior and why they interact the way they do to create or produce beautiful things of the nature. Basically, we all need go to the periodic table to understand the how the world works. Today, I am going to talk about the periodic table and a big part of the information that it provide us.  

The periodic table: The periodic table of the chemical elements displays the organizing principles of matter. The table is a tabular depiction of the chemical elements and their characteristics. Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev is generally credited with the invention of the periodic table. The layout of the table has been refined and extended over time, as new elements have been discovered and new theoretical models have been developed to explain chemical behavior.

·        Each element is placed in a specific location because of its atomic structure.

·        Each row and column has specific characteristics. The elements found in column share certain similarities and the elements in rows share different characteristics.

·        When you look at the periodic table, each row is called a period. All of the elements in a period have the same number of atomic orbitals. There is a maximum of seven electron orbitals which is also the number of rows in the periodic table.

·        The periodic table also has a special name for its vertical columns. Each column is called a group.

·        The elements in each group have the same number of electrons in the outer orbital. Those outer electrons are called valence electrons and they are involved in chemical bonds with other elements. They are responsible of the chemical reactions.

·        As you keep counting the columns, you'll know how many electrons are in the outer shell. But there are exceptions to the order when you look at the transition elements, which are the elements from column 3 to 12. Sometimes they are identifies as columns B and the others that are not transition metals are identified as column A.

·        Transition elements add electrons to the second-to-last orbital.

·        Groups 1-2 (except hydrogen) and 13-18 are termed main group elements.

·        Main group elements in the first two rows of the table are called typical elements.

·        The first row of the f-block elements (That are usually located below the table) are called lanthanoids. The second row of the f-block elements is called actanoids.

·        The following names for specific groups in the periodic table are in common use:

o   Group 1: alkali metals

o   Group 2: alkaline earth metals

o   Group 11: coinage metals (not an IUPAC approved name)

o   Group 15: pnictogens (not an IUPAC approved name)

o   Group 16: chalcogens

o   Group 17: halogens

o   Group 18: noble gases

· Metals: In the periodic table, you can see a stair-stepped line starting at Boron (B), atomic number 5, and going all the way down to Polonium (Po), atomic number 84. Except for Germanium (Ge) and Antimony (Sb), all the elements to the left of that line can be classified as metals. These metals have properties that you normally associate with the metals you encounter in everyday life:
o They are solid (with the exception of mercury, Hg, a liquid).

o They are shiny, good conductors of electricity and heat.

o They are ductile (they can be drawn into thin wires).

o They are malleable (they can be easily hammered into very thin sheets).

o Metals tend to lose electrons easily. When they lose electrons and as a superscript number with a positive sing like Mg2+, they are called cations.


· Nonmetals: Except for the elements that border the stair-stepped line, the elements to the right of the line are classified as nonmetals (along with hydrogen). Nonmetals have properties opposite those of the metals:
o The nonmetals are brittle, not malleable or ductile, poor conductors of both heat and electricity, and tend to gain electrons in chemical reactions. When they gain electrons and as a superscript number with a negative sing like O2-, they are called anions.

· Metalloids: The elements that border the stair-stepped line are classified as metalloids. The metalloids, or semimetals, have properties that are somewhat of a cross between metals and nonmetals.
o Metalloids tend to be economically important because of their unique conductivity properties (they only partially conduct electricity), which make them valuable in the semiconductor and computer chip industry.


     Finally, as we can see there is a lot of information that the periodic table can provide us. I exhort you to see the image and videos below. If you have questions or doubts let me know.

References:

https://www.google.com.pr/search?q=periodic+table&espv=2&biw=1920&bih=971&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS6I-73KfMAhXHFz4KHeC4AW8QsAQIKw#imgrc=5ustKJ5-SG0c0M%3A

https://www.webelements.com/periodicity/group_number/

http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/periodictable.html

http://www.chem4kids.com/files/elem_pertable.html

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXOcWAfBdZg

Biochemistry

Biochemistry

My future career goals are to get accepted in a Graduate school for study MD and PhD in Biochemistry. But no matter what are your future goals is important search information and have knowledge about the field that you want to study. Now, let’s talk about briefly how this idea of study biochemistry evolved  and what is this field.

Briefly, this idea evolved in this way:

I have to say that my parents suffer fibromyalgia disease. This disease does not have cure and it can be hereditary, etc... I took a class of chemistry and was my lab teacher the person who inspired me to study biochemistry to can help my parents. I like biology and chemistry so why not? Then I look for information and I concluded definitely to study it.

Biochemists have to understand both the living world and the chemical world. Even if you don’t want to become a biochemist, you'll still have to understand atoms and molecules as a biologist. The key thing to remember is that biochemistry is the chemistry of the living world. Plants, animals, and single-celled organisms all use the same basic chemical compounds to live their lives. Biochemistry is not about the cells or the organisms. It's about the smallest parts of those organisms, the molecules. It's also about the cycles that create those biological compounds.

In other words, biochemistry is the branch of science that explores the chemical processes within and related to living organisms. It is a laboratory based science that brings together biology and chemistry. By using chemical knowledge and techniques, biochemists can understand and solve biological problems. Biochemistry focuses on processes happening at a molecular level. It focuses on what’s happening inside our cells, studying components like proteins, lipids and organelles. It also looks at how cells communicate with each other, for example during growth or fighting illness. Biochemists need to understand how the structure of a molecule relates to its function, allowing them to predict how molecules will interact.

     Biochemistry covers a range of scientific disciplines, including genetics, microbiology, forensics, plant science and medicine. Because of its breadth, biochemistry is very important and advances in this field of science over the past 100 years have been staggering. It’s a very exciting time to be part of this fascinating area of study.

What do biochemists do?

·         Provide new ideas and experiments to understand how life works

·         Support our understanding of health and disease

·         Contribute innovative information to the technology revolution

·         Work alongside chemists, physicists, healthcare professionals, policy makers, engineers and many more professionals

To conclude, my purpose to show you my experience is because sometimes we know that we like more than one field and we think that we cannot fusion them or study them all. That is totally false!! Now I exhort you to look for information of all the fields that you like and see how you can mix them because that is totally possible.

Do not forget see the video and if you want to know more about biochemistry go to my references. (Copy and paste the link)

References:

1.      http://www.biochemistry.org/?TabId=456

2.      http://www.chem4kids.com/files/bio_intro.html

3.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpBAmzQ_pUE

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiRStrWg5k8&ebc=ANyPxKo5uMRSXIkuOTFdFTSDirfgBmQn1qtGhGiq1aKuYnxFTpk_r6WeRF0QLEP80YGad8z2dV9UyhCiQV1gv1u005Ocg6B7WQ

INSPIRATION IN SIMPLE THINGS

INSPIRATION IN SIMPLE THINGS

     We all can be important persons in science or other fields. We all can get the inspiration of something and create innovate things that are important for the humanity. I am going to present a resume of a new of C&NE that is an example of inspiration in simple things.

     Gecko feet are covered with microscopic, spatula-shaped hairlike features that allow them to run up walls and across ceilings. The millions of microhairs are called setae. Each seta is between 30 and 130 micrometers long and branches out to end in several hundred flattened tips called spatulae. This unique structure allows the gecko’s toes to have unusually close contact with the surfaces it climbs. The close contact allows intermolecular forces which are significant at short distances, to hold the gecko to the wall.

     As we know, molecules can attract each other at moderate distances and repel each other at close range. The attractive forces are collectively called "van der Waals forces". Van der Waals forces are much weaker than chemical bonds, and random thermal motion around room temperature can usually overcome or disrupt them.

    Researchers have previously mimicked these features by creating materials with flat-topped microscopic pillars that cling to surfaces via van der Waals interactions. A new take on adhesives inspired by sticky gecko feet has led to soft, stretchy silicone patches that conduct electricity and cling fast to skin, even when underwater. The material could be used as comfortable, low-cost, reusable electrocardiography (ECG) electrodes for heart monitoring. Today’s disposable silver-based ECG electrodes have rigid metal parts and use glues that can irritate the skin. They can come off when wet or from too much movement, limiting a user’s ability to shower or exercise during longer periods of monitoring.

     The new material could also be “crucially important in next-generation skinlike technologies for wearable electronics,” says John A. Rogers, a materials science professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, who was not involved in the work. Rogers and others are developing conformable tattoolike sensors to monitor fitness and various health conditions. The new material could make such devices more durable while doubling as an electrode.

     Finally, Ronald S. Fearing, an electrical engineering and computer science professor at the University of California, Berkeley, says that such low-cost, nontoxic, skin-compatible electrodes may “find applications in interfaces for prosthetic devices, or perhaps even for monitoring muscle performance while exercising.” And unlike present-day ECG electrodes, he says, “long-term wear could be an option.” The KAIST team hopes to create other gecko adhesive variations by adding materials other than carbon. “For example, fillers with functionalities such as thermal conductivity, magnetism, and luminosity are excellent candidates for realizing different types of multifunctional, self-adhesive platforms,” Jeon says.


If you want to read more about this new, go to references. Do not forget see the images below.
Thank you!
Stephanie

A scanning electron micrograph shows 15-µm-tall pillars made of a polydimethylsiloxane composite containing carbon nanotubes and graphene powder. The soft, stretchy material conducts electricity and sticks to various surfaces, including skin.

References
http://cen.acs.org/articles/94/web/2016/04/Gecko-inspired-adhesives-stretchy-conductive.html
Images from:

https://www.google.com.pr/search?q=gecko&espv=2&biw=1517&bih=692&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjb56CVvf_LAhUEx4MKHUFYC80Q_AUIBigB&dpr=0.9#imgrc=fxeMwgrruW1BUM%3A

https://www.google.com.pr/search?q=gecko&espv=2&biw=1517&bih=692&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjb56CVvf_LAhUEx4MKHUFYC80Q_AUIBigB&dpr=0.9#tbm=isch&q=gecko+foot+microscope&imgrc=Fmq2wKguMkc7wM%3A

Myth: There are only three states of matter.

Myth: There are only three states of matter.


     I remember growing up and learning all about solids, liquids and gases. When I get accepted in college I learned that exist other states or phases of matter. The books and the information on internet almost always says that “there are only 3 states of matter, solid liquid and gas”. But is important to know that that ones are “the three most well-known types of matter” or “the three types of matter we are most scientifically familiar with”

     The most common types of changes in the phases of matter consists of changing its physical characteristics not chemical characteristics .The best way to think of a phase changing the physical nature of a substance is with the common example of water, ice, and steam. They can occupy nearly the same region of space, and be in completely different phases. Consider a glass of ice water. The ice is in a solid phase, the water is in the liquid phase, and the humid air consisting of the evaporating gas is in another phase. While chemically they are the same, what makes them in different phases is that they are physically distinct from each other.

     Most types of matter can transition into these physically different phases based on the amount of heat present. For instance, everyone knows that if you add heat to a solid it will usually transition into a liquid at least to most part of the matter. If you continue adding heat, the material will transition into a gas.

     At least there are 13 different states of the matter. That number approximately quadruples the number of the basic sates that we all know. Is very important to know it because we can contribute to our scientific education and correct our professor even email a lot of companies that produce the books that we have to buy. And at the same time we stop the myth of the three states that is continuing forward to next generations from child to professional adults.

Some examples of other states of the matter are:

1. Plasma: If you continue to add heat you will turn that gas into plasma. Plasma is an ionized gas, it means that the atoms that compose it have broken away from some of its electrons. Thus, the plasma is similar to gas but composed of anions and cations (ions with negative and positive charge respectively), separated from each other and in free state, so it is an excellent conductor. A clear example is the sun.

2. When you continue cooling a substance to almost absolute zero, you can get what is known as a Bose-Einstein condensate. Due to the need to keep substances at extremely low temperatures, these condensates have not been proven to occur naturally in our universe, although theoretically they could exist.

3. Other, even less known, phases of matter involve the substance’s magnetic characteristics. The most recent example was published in the journal “Nature” in December of 2012. Researchers at MIT were able to grow a crystal (a solid) that had magnetic characteristics of a liquid. While most magnetic solids have defined positive and negative areas within the substance, known as magnetic moments, this crystal’s specific magnetic moments fluctuated constantly without outside influence. Not only were they able to discover this new type of matter, but simultaneously they discovered something of a new type of magnetism!

4. Super-solid: This material is a solid in the sense that all of the atoms of helium (4) that compose it are frozen in a rigid crystalline film, similar to as are the atoms and molecules in a solid normal as ice. The difference is that, in this case, "frozen" does not mean "stationary". So, As the film helium-4 is so cold (just a tenth of a degree above absolute zero), begin to prevail the laws of quantum uncertainty. Indeed, helium atoms begin to behave as if they were solid and fluid simultaneously. In fact, in the right circumstances, a fraction of helium atoms begin to move through the film as a substance known as "super-fluid," a fluid that moves without any friction.

As technology advances, scientists use ever more sophisticated techniques that allow us to know more about the world we live.

See the videos below and share your opinion with me. If you want to read more about this topic see the references.

Have a Great week!
-Stephanie

References

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/08/there-are-more-than-three-states-of-matter/

http://www.taringa.net/post/ciencia-educacion/12403040/Los-estados-de-la-Materia-Ni-tres-ni-cuatro-trece.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-17xqfF4FU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RpLOKqTcSk