Funny Chemistry

Monday, 16 November 2015

How do you know?

Ten curious things of daily chemistry.

1. Ethylene is a gas produced by the fruit to mature. The oranges are very sensitive to ethylene and deteriorate soon.

2. The butyric acid is responsible for the unpleasant smell of rancid butter.

3. The lipstick is elaborated with bee wax and oil. The oil tends to be castor.

4. The fructose (fruit sugar) is sweeter than sucrose (cane sugar).

5. The juices from the stomach have a pH of 1.6 to 1.8 . Are more acids than lemon juice (2.1 ).

6. Thymol is used in the conservation of books to combat the fungi. Present in nature in the thyme and oregano, two widely used aromatic herbs for cooking.

7. Myoglobin is the pigment responsible for the color of the red meat. The meat of an animal more old will be darker.

8. The miristicina is a toxic alkaloid present in the nutmeg that can cause hallucinations.

9. The geraniol is a natural alcohol present in fragrant flowers such as roses and geraniums. Bees use it to mark the flowers with nectar.

10. Tungsten is used as filament in the bulb. Its name derives from the Swedish tung sten, which means "heavy stone". In regard to the neon tubes, the name of this element began to be used in New York and means "new".

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Polymers

Prior to the early 1920's, chemists doubted the existence of molecules having molecular weights greater than a few thousand. This limiting view was challenged by Hermann Staudinger, a German chemist with experience in studying natural compounds such as rubber and cellulose. In contrast to the prevailing rationalization of these substances as aggregates of small molecules, Staudinger proposed they were made up of macromolecules composed of 10,000 or more atoms. He formulated a polymeric structure for rubber, based on a repeating isoprene unit (referred to as a monomer). For his contributions to chemistry, Staudinger received the 1953 Nobel Prize. The terms polymer and monomerwere derived from the Greek roots poly (many), mono (one) and meros (part).

Recognition that polymeric macromolecules make up many important natural materials was followed by the creation of synthetic analogs having a variety of properties. Indeed, applications of these materials as fibers, flexible films, adhesives, resistant paints and tough but light solids have transformed modern society. Some important examples of these substances are discussed in the following sections.

Why study chemistry?

We all do chemistry every day! As soon as you wake up in the morning, you start doing chemistry. Chemistry explains why an egg changes when you fry it and why your non-stick pan is non-sticky. Chemistry explains how soap and shampoo make you clean, why you feel tired before coffee and alert after it, and how the petrol in your car gets you to work. One of our first year labs helps you understand why perfumes smell the way they do. In fact you start doing some chemistry yourself as soon as your eyes open - your sense of vision works because a small organic molecule changes shape in the back of your eye when light hits it.