In 1869, one-sixth of a teaspoon of gold was drawn into a fine wire that stretched 50 miles. Roughly the distance from the Golden Gate in San Francisco to the beaches of Santa Cruz.
#chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry
By Kryston - based upon Image:California Bay Area county map.svg Public Domain
Metals are conductive and lustrous. But I say that flexibility is their hidden superpower.
#chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry
One thing about electrons… When illumined with a beam of light, they want to move in the opposite direction of its electric field. Metal electrons are mobile – they respond with alacrity! This is what makes a metal sparkle! #iteachchemistry #chemchat
A metal meets the extraordinary light beam and takes on a warm glow. Blame it on those mobile electrons.
#chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry
Another particle with two faces. This one has zero mass but packs a punch.
#chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry
I was so lucky to have the MOST supportive school administrators when I started teaching. I think about those days a lot. #iTeachChemistry #iTeachPhysics #STEMeducation
AC/DC from the metal’s point of view. It’s easier to treat the electron as a particle to depict DC current, but more fun to wrestle with its wavy side. AC oscillates and thus propagates. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry
Scientists often talk about the electron as a particle. I wrote this for the novice to emphasize that we know it is much more than that. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry
Another short post about metals. Written for the nonscientist. Metals are conductive, shiny and resilient. The common denominator is metallic bonding. Atomic level detail about each attribute to follow. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry
A cartoon pink flamingo sits in an office chair at a desk holding a coffee mug while working on a laptop displaying “BCCE 2026” and a red submit button. A hanging calendar shows March 1 and papers with checkmarks sit on the desk, reinforcing a message about finishing and submitting a conference abstract before the deadline.
What are your weekend plans? If they don’t include finishing your #BCCE2026 abstract… we have a suggestion. ☕
March 1 deadline. 11:59 p.m. (your timezone).
Final weekend.
Submission guidelines here ⬇️
conferences.union.wisc.edu/bcce2026/sub...
#chemed #ChemistryEducation #chemistry #iteachchemistry
Up Close and Personal with Metals, Part I. Written for chemnovice. Includes another look at metallic bonding. Showcases gold, silver and metals of physiological significance. Mercury caution given. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry
All for one and one for all! This is at the core of a metal’s superhuman traits that are too often taken for granted by the human species: conductivity, luster, and flexibility.
#chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry
Metals (blue boxes) are blue-collar, hardworking elements of the earth’s crust. Metal nuclei don’t hold on tightly to their electrons, which travel the length and breadth of the crystal. They are delocalized.
#chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry
The periodic table comes fully alive when it is in color. Elements can be distinguished as metals, nonmetals, or metalloids easily. Little hydrogen still leads the parade, but its exact place on the table turns out to be negotiable.
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Incorporating a bit of experimental design with our calorimetry lab today (aka Mr. Burnett didn't explicitly tell them how to set up their equipment to best collect data) #APChemistry #ITeachChemistry #ScienceEducation #Chemistry #EduSky
Final installment in series on chemical bonding. Metallic bonding, written for the novice. Not the sea of electrons model. Delocalization and band theory are explained.
#chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry
This is awesome!! I think I could figure out a way to incorporate this into some of my #Chemistrt classes too #ITeachChemistry
Sixth installment in bonding series for the novice. This one is short and, I hope, sweet. Features the nitrogen molecule and its 2 pi bonds. A simplified sketch shows electron density. Bond strengths of hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen molecules ranked.
#chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry
Fifth installment in bonding series for the novice. Starring the oxygen molecule, double bond, sigma, pi, explained. You may (or may not) like my simple sketch of the electron density distribution. Just trying to provide a little something to hold on to. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry
Conductive glass is one of my favourite little demos that crosses boundaries. #ITeachPhysics #ITeachChemistry
Après recherche dans la bible que sont pour moi les ouvrages de Bassam Z.Shakhashiri, je vois qu'il est aussi possible d'utiliser du benzaldéhyde dans la réaction chronomètre que j'ai testée avec le cinnamaldéhyde :-)
Pour rappel, elle est visible là : youtube.com/shorts/HDSWj...
#iteachchemistry
In this work, Marie demonstrated that she was meticulous and persistent, and these results established her as a scientist to be reckoned with.
- Enter Antoine Henri Becquerel
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Archive version
Why was one type of steel more magnetic than another? Her precise measurements revealed that steel magnetism depended on the hardness and heat treatment. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry
Given Marie's interest in magnetism, she may well have felt like a kid in a Candyland that was chock-full of precise equipment, much of it designed and built by Pierre himself. Given free rein within 4 years, she authored two papers describing her findings.
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In a series of notes. - So much more than a romantic comedy-
Marie gains access to lab space. And not just in any old lab.
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4th installment in bonding series for the chem novice. Describes the polar bond between H and F in terms of the physique of the atoms involved. Toxicity of HF gas mentioned.
#chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry
Third installment in bonding series for the novice. Dihydrogen, the usual suspect, spiced up with a dash of astrochem. Emphasize the compromise made by the nuclei and electrons. Bit of scientific notation. Explain meaning of paired and orbital. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry
