Physical Science

The Chemistry Olympiad is an international competition for high school students. Talented chemistry students compete at the local level, with winners moving on to national competitions. Four winners from each country go on to compete against teams from around the…
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The science of pyrotechnics is a fascinating and wild ride. When the shell of a firework is created, it is a careful balance of chemistry and art. Like all arts it requires relentless study and artful design. So what makes…
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Xenon, a relatively inert element, is one of the noble gases. Over the years, a number of valuable uses for members of the noble gas class of elements have evolved. Xenon is no exception with a number of commercially viable…
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When Dimitri Mendeleev first produced his periodic table in 1871 there were a number of gaps where elements were at the time undiscovered. To one of these gaps, at atomic number 31, Mendeleev assigned the element the provisional name of…
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Yes, I believe, hell, it’s been proven, that there are more than just the three basic states of matter. We have solids, which are easily recognizable, with molecules packed tightly together, liquids, which flow easily, containing free molecules, and gas,…
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The Noble gas Xenon (pronounced zee-non) has atomic number 54 and belongs in group 18, period 5 of the periodic table. A gas at room temperature xenon melts at 161.36 K (minus 111.79 C, minus 169.22 F) and boils at…
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Skutterudites are hydrothermal ore crystals that contain nickel. These ores have important technological uses. They have thermoelectric properties that may replace cobalt applications in the future. Skutterudites occur in nature with erythrite. Because they have very low thermal conductivity, very…
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Matter: any substance which has mass and occupies space.  It would seem that all physical objects would be matter and logically that the only things that could not be matter would be imaginary or intangible things.  While that seems like…
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Ernest Rutherford’s 1911 gold foil experiment showed that the positive charge and most of the mass of an atom was found in the center of the atom. He called this center of the atom the nucleus. Most of the alpha…
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Of all the 118 elements in the periodic table, many are solids at room temperature. While a number are gases, are only two elements are liquid at room temperature. These two are mercury and bromine. Mercury with a melting point…
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