Category Archives: Chemistry

People are talking about Alan Turing again as it’s the centenary of his birth tomorrow. And when people talk about Turing, they talk about him as the father of modern computing or the man who helped with the number-crunching that cracked the German’s top secret enigma code during the Second World War. But what’s less well known – unsurprisingly as he’s better known as a mathematician – is his one, sole and seminal contribution to chemistry.

Turing wrote a paper in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in 1952, two years before his untimely death, titled The chemical basis of morphology. In it, he laid out his groundbreaking idea that chemical reactions could create patterns. He postulated that, if reacting chemicals were separated into small reacting cells that can freely diffuse they can create an array of different patterns. And this goes beyond just chemical oddities like the beautiful Belousov-Zhabotinsky reactions. His theory was a chemical just so story that explains how the zebra earned its stripes and how the jaguar got its spots. You can learn more about Turing’s chemical connection in Philip Ball’s feature here.

Patrick Walter

                  

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Used on the million-tonne scale in domestic products from toothpaste to self-cleaning windows, this material is more than just a white pigment. Phil Robinson tells us how titanium dioxide brightens up our life in this week’s Chemistry in its element podcast.

                  

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— What is that chemical?

A couple of years ago, a letter popped up in the Chemistry World inbox, wondering about the identity of a chemical-looking logo on the Technicals line of outdoor gear from UK chain Blacks. General concensus at the time was that it could represent some kind of stylised neurochemical, but strictly the logo looked like a saturated hydrocarbon.

Well, two years and an undergraduate synthesis project later, another letter has arrived…

— Blacks logo synthesis

Mark Cockerton at Plymouth University in the UK took up the challenge to synthesise the logo hydrocarbon. Under the supervision of Simon Belt, Cockerton used Friedel-Crafts acylation of ortho-xylene and two rounds of hydrogenation to reduce out the ketone and benzene ring functionality, leaving the bare bones hydrocarbon ‘logo chemical’ as shown in the synthetic scheme here.

To me, this is a fine example of the importance of communication to science – through whatever channels that happens, and gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling that somehow our original correspondent, the people who commented on the blog and myself have helped inspire someone to do some new chemistry. Not only that, but in doing so, we may have helped guide a budding chemist on the way to exploring chemistry further. In his letter, Cockerton says:

Good luck to you, Mark, in your further studies and exploration of the world of chemistry. However, there still remains one conundrum – what is the logo meant to represent in the first place? I guess this will forever be one of those unanswered questions…

Phillip Broadwith

                  

Source:
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Emmy Award winner Mario Andreacchio. Picture: Mangan Chris Source: AdelaideNow

EMMY Award winner Mario Andreacchio has managed to secure the feature rights to The Alchemyst, the first in Michael Scott's six-book series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.

It's big news for Adelaide's Mario who runs AMPCO Films out of Norwood, as the complete series of the books has sold in excess of 25 million copies, and the latest one, The Enchantress, has already reached No.2 on the New York Times best sellers list. Hunger Games is No.1.

Mario, of Napoleon and The Dragon Pearl fame, and Konstantin Thoeren will produce the film.

Mario tells Confidential the film does not yet have a studio and it is unsure whether some of it will be filmed in SA, using the South Australian Film Corp's Adelaide studios.

"This type of franchise is rare for Australia," Mario says. "We are not wired up to think that we can do a Harry Potter, or a Twilight or a Hunger Games. But then, no one thought Peter Jackson could do Lord of the Rings in New Zealand.

See the original post:
Magic movie chemistry for Mario

source: Joaquin Henson | philstar.com

Joseph Uichico said yesterday chemistry is an issue the Philippine team must address quickly in preparing for the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) championships set in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on July 3-7.

Uichico, 49, will call the shots for the national squad in his first stint as head coach since piloting the Philippines to fourth place at the Asian Games in Busan in 2002. He has captured six titles for San Miguel Beer and two for Barangay Ginebra in the PBA so winning isnt new to the former La Salle cager, now Meralco assistant coach.

But the problem he faces is getting the team together for practice with the departure looming on July 1. Center Marcus Douthit is still in the US and wont be back until early next week. There are players in the 24-man lineup submitted to the SEABA for notification not sure of their availability.

Under SEABA rules, each participating country must initially turn in a 24-man lineup which is then trimmed to 12. The final roster will be confirmed at the team managers meeting on July 2 and may not necessarily be the reduced 12-man cast. The only requirement is the players in the final roster must be picked from the original 24-man pool.

The 24-man pool includes players from the PBA. However, if the teams of the listed PBA players remain in contention in the Governors Cup, they will be excluded from the final 12. The Governors Cup elimination schedule ends July 1. Only players from eliminated PBA teams will be considered for the final roster. Smart Gilas head coach Chot Reyes said the PBAs participation in the SEABA tournament will be clarified in a Board of Governors meeting on June 28. He declined to name the PBA players in the 24-man pool pending notification of the Board and team owners.

Uichico said the reduced 12-man lineup submitted to the SEABA included NLex mainstays Borgie Hermida, Dave Marcelo, Garvo Lanete, Eman Monfort and Woody Co, Cebuana Lhuillier center Vic Manuel, Philippine Patriots forward and Smart Gilas veteran Aldrech Ramos, Smart Gilas captain Chris Tiu and Douthit. Included in the 24-man pool were two other NLex stalwarts Cliff Hodge and Chris Ellis.

We got together just last Monday and we werent even complete, said Uichico. Were hoping to get in some practice time Friday (today) and Saturday. Then, well try to arrange practice games. Were playing La Salle on Thursday at PhilSports Arena and were also playing Ateneo. This is a brand-new team were forming. Its not Gilas, its not Sinag. The talent level isnt as high as either Gilas or Sinag but I think if we get the chemistry we want, well be okay. This tournament is like a bridge to get us to the Stankovic Cup in Tokyo where the best Asian national teams will be playing. Only the SEABA champion will go to Tokyo. Well be playing only four games in Chiang Mai so its a short tournament.

The Philippines has won five of the last six SEABA championships since 2001 and the only miss was in 2005 when Malaysia won with the Philippines disqualified from participation because of its FIBA suspension. Aside from the Philippines and Malaysia, the other SEABA contenders are Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.

Link:
Chemistry an issue in SEABA tilt

Along with teaching chemistry, Burtt also was a passionate bird watcher and wrote a weekly column for The Post-Standard for more than 50 years.

Benjamin P. Burtt Sr., who taught chemistry at Syracuse University for nearly 50 years, had such an influence on his students that they decided to honor his memory in a special way by recreating his famous Water Lecture.

The lecture, which he gave to freshmen every year shortly before finals, was a joke presentation that he did seriously, including demonstrations that go wrong and an explosion. Students say it was funny and a great stress reliever.

Burtt, who died in February at age 91, influenced many students to love chemistry so much that they went on to become chemistry teachers.

One of his former students, Jamie Cucinotta, a Fayetteville-Manlius chemistry teacher since 1997, has taken a lead role in coordinating the special event on Thursday.

She, along with East Syracuse Minoa chemistry teacher Sally Mitchell and SU chemistry professor Michael Sponsler, will re-enact the lesson at 7 p.m. at Syracuse Universitys Stolkin Auditorium.

The event, sponsored by the Syracuse Section of the American Chemical Society, is open to the public. It also will include recognition of U.S. and local National Chemistry Olympiad exam takers and others being honored for achievements in chemistry.

Cucinotta said Burtts legacy lives on through the scores of chemistry students he taught and influenced.

Cucinotta, who was Mitchells mentor and master teacher, said she believes Burtts influence inspired many chemistry teachers. At the event, which has been named as the Ben P. Burtt Lecture Series, students and teachers who have made a difference in chemistry also will be honored.

Cucinotta said Burtt was was a very good, intense teacher, she said. and he tested on what he taught.

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High school chemistry teachers re-enact Benjamin Burtt's famous Water Lecture