Material Science 7 min read
Materials science
Materials science, the study of the properties of solid materials and how those properties are determined by a material’s composition and structure. It grew…
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Physical Chemistry 4 min read
The mechanical equivalence of work and energy
Two of the architects of modern thermodynamics were William Thompson (better known as Lord Kelvin) and his friend James Prescott…
Physical Chemistry 3 min read
Endothermic reactions
We all sweat at some time or other, e.g. after running hard, living We need the salt in sweat to…
Physical Chemistry 4 min read
Energy and the first law of thermodynamics
Eating ice cream soon causes the mouth to get cold, possibly to Ice cream melts as it warms in the…
Physical Chemistry 3 min read
First electron affinity and reactivity
Gases such as helium, neon and argon are so unreactive that we Krypton, xenon and radon will form a very…
Physical Chemistry 3 min read
Electron affinity
Lightning is one of the more impressive manifestations of the power in nature: the sky lights up with a brilliant…
Physical Chemistry 3 min read
Properties of covalent compounds
Clear petroleum gel is a common product, comprising a mixture of simple hydrocarbons, principally n-octadecane (III). It is not quite…
Physical Chemistry 2 min read
Covalent bonds and valence
The water molecule always has a composition in which two hydrogen atoms combine with one oxygen. Why? The Lewis structure…
Physical Chemistry 3 min read
Breaking bonds requires an input of energy
A plant accumulates nutrients from the soil as it grows. Such accumulation depletes the amount of nutrient remaining in the…
Physical Chemistry 2 min read
Hydrogen bonds
DNA is a natural polymer. It was first isolated in 1869 by Meischer, but its role in determining heredity remained…
