Physical Science

Plutonium bears a name descended from the name of the Roman god of Hell. The name was not chosen by scientists being dramatic, however. It simply came next in the naming sequence scientists were following. In the periodic table, plutonium…
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Probably no other chemical has found its way onto so many T-shirts as caffeine. (Water might be a close second.) Even people who have never touched a chemistry book are familiar with this molecule, primarily because they love to drink…
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Lawrencium Symbol: Lr Atomic Number: 103 Atomic Mass: (262.0) amu (atomic mass unit) Melting point: 1627°C (1900 K or 2961°F) Boiling Point: Unknown Number of Protons: 103 Number of Electrons: 103 Number of Neutrons: 159 This element, which was first…
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William Optics are fast becoming one of the most popular astronomical companies as their series of telescopes and accessories share a high level of quality at a reasonable cost. The SPL series are a great example of WO’s commitment to…
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Copper (symbol Cu), known for thousands of years, about 5,000 ago led man out of the Stone Age and into the Bronze Age. When combined with up to 25% tin copper forms the alloy bronze. Another early copper containing alloy,…
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He was a genius among middle school biology teachers, and also a ham. He didn’t just take joy in science, he took glee. He loved shoving cages of frogs up next to each other so that they’d display for us….
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You can’t see just one of them, but they are all around and in us. They are the smallest stable constructs of matter, and at the same time are little packages of energy. The idea for atoms dates back 25…
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A substance is classified as a glass, or as a glassy material, when it is not crystalline in structure, is a solid that has a vitreous and disordered state. Glass is the product of fusion of inorganic material through heat,…
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Propane and natural gas have a lot in common.  Both are used as fuels, are gaseous, can be stored in tanks and pumped through lines, and have similar safety hazards associated with them.  To compare how they are both similar…
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A mole is a unit of measurement in chemistry, which is used to count how much of a substance is present in a sample. The term was first used by Wilhelm Ostwald of Germany during the 1890s, who presumably intended…
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