Radioactivity is caused by emission of high energy radiation from unstable atomic nuclei. An atomic nucleus will be unstable if it has an excess of energy caused by an excess of either neutrons or protons. The nucleus will decay into a more stable atom (usually a different element) from the parent atom. ©Wikipedia An atom … Continue reading The Cause of Radioactivity
Category: Chemistry
Chemical Composition Of Meteorites
Meteorites are the remains of space rocks that have fallen to Earths surface (a space rock still in space is termed a meteoroid , and when it is plunging through Earths atmosphere it is termed a meteor) . The small number of meteorites that survive vaporization in the atmosphere relatively intact give a picture of … Continue reading Chemical Composition Of Meteorites
Collision theory
Collision theory states that when suitable particles of the reactant hit each other with correct orientation, only a certain amount of collisions result in a perceptible or notable change; these successful changes are called successful collisions. ©Socratic Collision theory was proposed independently by Max Trautz in 1916 and William Lewis in 1918. Consider the bimolecular elementary reaction: A + B → … Continue reading Collision theory
Uranium Glass
Uranium glass is glass which has had uranium, usually in oxide diuranate form, added to a glass mix before melting for colouration. The proportion usually varies from trace levels to about 2% percent uranium by weight, although some 20th-century pieces were made with up to 25% uranium. Having been first identified in 1789 by a … Continue reading Uranium Glass
Fullerene
Fullerene is an allotrope of carbon whose molecule consists of carbon atoms connected by single and double bonds so as to form a closed or partially closed mesh, with fused rings of five to seven atoms. The molecule may be a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, tube, or many other shapes and sizes. Since each carbon atom … Continue reading Fullerene
Polymer
Polymer is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules, or macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic and natural polymers play essential and ubiquitous roles in everyday life. Polymers range from familiar synthetic plastics such as polystyrene to natural biopolymers such as DNA and proteins … Continue reading Polymer
Nuclear chain reaction
Nuclear chain reaction occurs when one single nuclear reaction causes an average of one or more subsequent nuclear reactions, thus leading to the possibility of a self-propagating series of these reactions. The specific nuclear reaction may be the fission of heavy isotopes (e.g., uranium-235, 235U). The chain reaction requires both the release of neutrons from fissile isotopes undergoing nuclear fission … Continue reading Nuclear chain reaction
Superheating
Superheating is the phenomenon in which a liquid is heated to a temperature higher than its boiling point, without boiling. This is a so-called metastable state or metastate, where boiling might occur at any time, induced by external or internal effects. Superheating is achieved by heating a homogeneous substance in a clean container, free of … Continue reading Superheating
Crystal
Crystal is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macroscopic single crystals are usually identifiable by their geometrical shape, consisting of flat faces with specific, characteristic orientations. Examples of large crystals include … Continue reading Crystal
Intermolecular force
Intermolecular force is the force that mediates interaction between molecules, including the electromagnetic forces of attraction or repulsion which act between atoms and other types of neighboring particles, e.g. atoms or ions. Intermolecular forces are weak relative to intramolecular forces – the forces which hold a molecule together. For example, the covalent bond, involving sharing … Continue reading Intermolecular force