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For example, the oxygen molecule consists of two atoms of oxygen. In the case of oxygen, the bond that holds the two atoms together is known as a covalent bond, and here is how it works. The oxygen atom has 8 each of protons, neutrons, and electrons. The protons and neutrons are found in the center of the atom, known as the nucleus, and the electrons surround the nucleus in layers, or shells. The oxygen atom has 2 electrons in its first shell, and 6 in its second and outer shell. However, in chemistry, there exists the octet rule, which states that atoms generally strive to have 8 electrons in their outer shell. The oxygen therefore is 2 electrons away from a complete outer shell. When it binds with another oxygen atom, they can share two pairs of electrons and so each will have 8. When atoms share electrons like that, they form a molecule through a covalent bond. Molecules Formed by Ionic Bonds Molecules can also be formed through other kinds of chemical bonds, for ...

December 17 th is Willard Libby's birthday. Libby was the American physical chemist who developed the carbon-14 dating technique. This method is used to determine the age of 'once living' objects up to approximately 50,000 years. Carbon 14 is an isotope of carbon that is created naturally in the atmosphere by cosmic rays which in turn is breathed by living things or absorbed by plants. Over a lifetime of breathing, plants and animals maintain a natural ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12. When the living thing dies, it stops absorbing the carbon-14 from the air.                                                               14 7 N + 1 0 n → 14 6 C + 1 1 H Carbon-14 decays into nit...

Researchers are developing a new kind of geothermal power plant that will lock away unwanted carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) underground -- and use it as a tool to boost electric power generation by at least 10 times compared to existing geothermal energy approaches. The technology to implement this design already exists in different industries, so the researchers are optimistic that their new approach could expand the use of geothermal energy in the U.S. far beyond the handful of states that can take advantage of it now. At the American Geophysical Union meeting on Friday, Dec. 13, the research team debuted an expanded version of the design, along with a computer animated movie that merges advances in science with design and cognitive learning techniques to explain the role that energy technologies can have in addressing Climate -Change'> climate change. The new power plant design resembles a cross between a typical geothermal power plant and the Large Hadron Col...

Unless nitrogen emissions are curbed, the diversity of plant communities in Europe's forests will decrease. Atmospheric nitrogen deposition has already changed the number and richness of forest floor vegetation species in European forests over the last 20-30 years. In particular, the coverage of plant species adapted to nutrient-poor conditions has reduced. However, levels of nitrogen deposition in Finnish forests remain small compared to Southern and Central Europe. These results will be presented as part of international research published in the journal Global Change Biology . Researchers from the Finnish Environment Institute and the Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla) participated in this research, which concludes that unless nitrogen emissions are curbed, the diversity of plant communities in Europe's forests will decrease. The work involved the examination of long-term changes in vascular plant communities within a 1 300 monitoring grid coveri...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a proposed rule to require manufacturers of antibacterial hand soaps and body washes to demonstrate that their products are safe for long-term daily use and more effective than plain soap and water in preventing illness and the spread of certain infections. Under the proposal, if companies do not demonstrate such safety and effectiveness, these products would need to be reformulated or relabeled to remain on the market. Today’s action is part of a larger, ongoing review of antibacterial active ingredients by the FDA to ensure these ingredients are proven to be safe and effective. This proposed rule does not affect hand sanitizers, wipes, or antibacterial products used in health care settings. Millions of Americans use antibacterial hand soap and body wash products. Although consumers generally view these products as effective tools to help prevent the spread of germs, there is currently no evidence that they are an...