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January 29 th marks the passing of Fritz Haber. Haber was a German chemist who discovered a process to create ammonia from atmospheric gases. The Haber-Bosch process is a reaction that fixes nitrogen to form ammonia (NH 3 ) from nitrogen gas (N 2 ) and hydrogen gas (H 2 ) under pressure over an iron catalyst. Haber discovered the process on a laboratory scale using table top equipment. German chemical engineer Carl Bosch converted the laboratory equipment to be used on large scale industrial equipment. This process was important in the production of agricultural fertilizers to replace the guano industry of South America. During World War I, the process was important to Germany for the production of munitions and explosives. The process would earn both Haber and Bosch Nobel Prizes in Chemistry (1918 and 1931 respectively). Today, the Haber-Bosch process accounts for 100 million tons of fertilizer per year.

How well can you distinguish between physical and chemical changes? Physical changes involve a change in the form of a substance, but it remains the same on the molecular level. On the other hand, chemical changes involve chemical reactions. New products are created, often accompanied by changes in temperature or color. Melting the wax of a candle is an example of a physical change. The wax only changes shape -- it's still wax. Burning a candle is a chemical change. The wax undergoes a chemical reaction, producing carbon dioxide and water. Do you think you understand? Here's a quick self-test you can take to check whether you can tell the two types of changes apart... Try the quiz

The design of the Olympic medals changes for every Olympics, plus each host city gets to mint the medals, but the chemical composition of the medals is regulated so that there is not too much variation in the value from one Olympics to the next. While the Olympic gold medals do contain pure gold, do you know if they are solid gold or plated gold? Are plated medals plated with real solid gold, or with 14k or 18k gold or something else?. Question: Are the Olympic Gold Medals Real Gold? You can tell the Olympic gold medals are colored like gold, but are they solid gold or even real gold? Here's the answer to the question. Answer: At one time, Olympic gold medals were real solid gold. However, the last time a solid gold medal was awarded was at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Modern Olympic gold medals are sterling silver that has been plated with real solid gold. Gold Medal Regulations The National Olympic Committee (NOC) allows quite a lot of leeway in the production...

January 28 th is Kathleen Yardley Lonsdale's birthday. Lonsdale was a leading figure in the field of crystallography. She began her work in the laboratory of William Bragg developing the techniques of x-ray crystallography. Her early work centered on simple molecules and branched into more complex organic compounds. She was the first to verify the shape of the benzene molecule. She showed the six carbon atoms that make up benzene were laid out in a flat hexagon. Her later research involved x-ray crystallography of pharmaceuticals and other biochemical compounds. The Royal Society elected her as their first female Fellow in 1945 to honor her work.

I'm talking about making a positive impression... there are lots of ways you can make a negative impression on a science fair judge. If that's your goal, turn in a poster with breakfast stains on it, which describes a project totally unrelated to science that you started on the way to school that day. On the other hand, if you are doing a science fair project and want to win an award or get a good grade, here are the types of things a science fair judge.

January 27 th marks the passing of David M. Cowie. Cowie was a medical researcher who was instrumental to the addition of iodine in table salt in the United States. Cowie was investigating the high incidents of goiter in the United States Great Lakes and Pacific Northwest areas. Goiter is a swelling of a thyroid gland in the neck and was recognized as a national health problem during the draft preceding World War I. Several young men were disqualified from service because of the condition. The main reason for the development of goiter is the lack of iodine in a person's diet. The amount of iodine necessary to ward off these effects was very small and finding an effective means to administer iodine to people was needed. Cowie was aware of a Swiss process of adding sodium iodide to table salt (sodium chloride) and managed to convince Michigan salt producers to include minute quantities of sodium iodide to their salt for consumption locally. This type of salt was ident...

Learning how to balance chemical equations is an essential skill for chemistry class or work in chemistry. Mastering this skill takes practice. Here are some resources that show you, in written and video tutorial form, how to balance equations, some examples of balanced equations and a printable practice sheet so you can see if you understand the concepts. Balancing Chemical Equations A chemical equation describes what happens in a chemical reaction. The equation identifies the reactants (starting materials) and products (resulting substance), the formulas of the participants, the phases of the participants (solid, liquid, gas), and the amount of each substance. Balancing a chemical equation refers to establishing the mathematical relationship between the quantity of reactants and products. The quantities are expressed as grams or moles.