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Michael de Podesta studied Physics at Sussex University, receiving his B.Sc. in 1981 and was awarded a D.Phil. in 1985. After postdoctoral work at Bristol University he was appointed a lecturer at the University of London in 1987 and joined NPL in 2000. Since then he has specialised in temperature measurements of all kinds and has recently completed the most accurate measurement of temperature in history. Michael is a chartered physicist, a member of the Institute of Physics and in 2009 he was awarded an MBE for Services to Science.   The webinar begins by asking the question “Why is the Earth’s surface the temperature it is?”. The answer to this question is not contentious but is often not fully appreciated. This understanding then forms the basis of an analysis of why scientists are concerned that human emissions of carbon dioxide are causing Global Warming.

Do you need to learn chemistry fast? Here is how you do it! Plan To Learn Chemistry Fast The first step is to determine exactly how long you have to learn chemistry. You'll need a lot more discipline to learn chemistry in a day compared with a week or a month. Also, keep in mind you won't have great retention if you cram chemistry in a day or a week. Ideally you want a month or longer to master any course. If you do end up cramming chemistry, expect to review the material if you need to apply it to a higher level chemistry course or remember it for a test further down the road. A Word About Chemistry Lab If you can do labwork, that's fantastic, because the hands-on learning will reinforce the concepts. However, labs take time, so most likely you'll miss this segment. Keep in mind labs are required for some situations. For example, you have to document labwork for AP Chemistry and many online courses. If you are doing labs, check how long they take ...

pH is a measure of hydrogen ion concentration or [H + ] in an aqueous solution. It is a useful gauge of the acidity of a solution. Yet, do you know why we use the symbol "pH" or what it stands for? Have you ever wondered what pH stands for or where the term originated? Here is the answer to the question and a look at the history of the pH scale. Question: What Does pH Stand For?     Answer: pH is the negative log of hydrogen ion concentration in a water-based solution. The term "pH" was first described by Danish biochemist Søren Peter Lauritz Sørensen in 1909. pH is an abbreviation for "power of hydrogen" where "p" is short for the German word for power, potenz and H is the element symbol for hydrogen. The H is capitalized because it is standard to capitalize element symbols. The abbreviation also works in French, with pouvoir hydrogen translating as "the power of hydrogen". Logarithmic Scale The pH scale is a l...

January 13 th marks the passing of Paul Niggli. Niggli was a Swiss mineralogist who was a pioneer of x-ray crystallography. He developed the mathematical system of space groups that defined 230 different atom arrangements based on x-ray diffraction patterns. X-ray crystallography works by shining x-ray radiation through a crystal structure and detecting the interference pattern generated by the gaps between individual atoms. This information can tell you the position of atoms in a crystal, the width of atomic bonds, and even the size of the atoms themselves. All this information can give detailed help in determining the structure of a molecule. All that is really needed is a pure sample that can be crystallized. 1927 - Sydney Brenner was born. Brenner is a South African biologist who shares the 2002 Nobel Prize in Medicine with H. Robert Horvitz and John Sulston for their discoveries of how genes regulate organ development and cell death. His research centered on th...

Mix two clear solutions, wait, and watch the liquid turn to gold! This is a simple alchemy project or chemistry demonstration, based on early attempts to make gold from base metals.     Liquid Gold Materials Solution A 1 gram sodium arsenite 50 ml water 5.5 ml glacial acetic acid Prepare Solution A by stirring the sodium arsenite into the water. Mix the glacial acetic acid into this solution. Solution B 10 grams sodium thiosulfate (photographer hypo) 50 ml water Prepare Solution B by stirring the sodium thiosulfate into the water. Let's Make Liquid Gold! Pour one solution into the other. The clear solution will turn gold after about 30 seconds. For dramatic effect, keep track of the time and command the solution to turn into gold. You can even use a magic word, if you like. The Chemistry Behind How It Works There is a delayed reaction between the acid and the sodium thiosulfate to release hydrogen sulfide gas. The hydrogen sulfide reacts in turn ...

One of the quests of the ancient alchemists (and possibly modern ones as well) was to transmute a base material into gold. While it's possible to turn lead into gold using a particle accelerator, alchemists tend to seek chemical reactions that might produce gold. One reaction they explored appeared to turn water into gold. You can try this too, as an interesting experiment or as a memorable chemistry demonstration.

You can obtain pure lithium from a lithium battery. It's an adult-only project and even then, you need to use safety precautions, but it's simple and easy.     Safety Precautions Lithium reacts with moisture and may spontaneously ignite. Don't allow it to come in contact with your skin. Also, cutting into a battery often causes a short circuit, which may produce a fire. While this is not unexpected or problematic, it does mean you need to perform this procedure on a fire-safe surface such as concrete, preferably outdoors. Eye and skin protection is a must. Materials You want a new battery for this project since the lithium can be extracted as a relatively uncorroded metal foil. If you use a used battery you'll get a product that might be better for making colored fire, but it will be impure and fragile. New Lithium Battery (e.g., AA or 9V lithium battery) Safety Glasses or Goggles Gloves Insulated Wirecutters and Pliers Procedure Basically yo...

While you may know Adderall and other amphetamines can cause psychosis (in addition to other effects), were you aware other stimulants can cause psychotic behavior, including caffeine? This is called stimulant psychosis and is characterized by: delusions hallucinations disordered thinking catatonia (extreme cases) Physical symptoms are those of stimulant overdose, which you can get without suffering stimulant psychosis: nausea diarrhea hypertension (high blood pressure) rapid breathing hyperthermia (elevated temperature) sleep deprivation tremor Drugs that are known to cause stimulant psychosis include: amphetamines methylphenidate (Ritalin) cocaine caffeine The effect typically occurs at high doses or from chronic use. Often it is temporary, although sometimes recovery is incomplete. In the case of caffeine, psychosis may be related to lack of B-vitamins, nervous system exhaustion, or a pre-existing mental condition. It's somewhat controversial beca...

On January 11, 1922 insulin was used for the first time on a human patient. Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old diabetic at Toronto General Hospital received an injection of Dr. Banting and Best's recently purified insulin. They had previously tested their hormone on dogs with positive results. Leonard's diabetes seemed to recede but he developed an allergic reaction. This reaction was later traced to an impurity in their sample and a more purified sample was used two weeks later. Leonard survived his previous death sentence of diabetes for another 13 years using insulin until he died from pneumonia at age 27. Dr. Best would later earn the 1923 Nobel Prize in Medicine for this achievement and diabetics everywhere were given a chance at a normal life.

If you've ever been asked to explain why chemistry is important, you may have found it challenging to explain what must seem so obvious to you! If you teach chemistry or are a parent, you're bound to get asked this question. If you're taking chemistry, answering why chemistry is important is a common assignment. Here's my answer and a chance for you to answer the question, too:   Answer: Chemistry has a reputation for being a complicated and boring science, but for the most part, that reputation is undeserved. Fireworks and explosions are based on chemistry, so it's definitely not a boring science. If you take classes in chemistry, you'll apply math and logic, which can make studying chemistry a challenge if you are weak in those areas. However, anyone can understand the basics of how things work... and that's the study of chemistry. In a nutshell, the importance of chemistry is that it explains the world around you. Chemistry Explains... * Cooking...