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August 6, 2013
Published by Bryan at August 6, 2013
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When I start into heat capacity I contrast the temperature of a substance with the feeling of hot and cold. A thermometer will tell you the temperature of a substance, but that does not tell you how much heat is present. If you touch something, you can tell if it is hotter or colder than your hand, but what about two substances at the same temperature?
Suppose outside it is -10 C (14 F) and there you find a piece of steel and a piece of Styrofoam. Which is colder? If you touch the steel it feels colder than the Styrofoam, but they are both at the same temperature. If you placed the steel on the Styrofoam, no heat will flow between them (Third Law of thermodynamics). Since your hand is much hotter than the objects, heat must flow from your hand into them.
January 30, 2012
Published by Bryan at January 30, 2012
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I believe it is long overdue to do away with hard copy text books at the freshman level altogether, along with their high cost and adopt ebooks.
Think of the advantages: no paper, nothing to ship, can be updated so users always have the latest edition, integrated into the internet, easy to copy protect, and can be sold for a fraction of the price of hard copy. No resale market.
December 14, 2011
Published by Bryan at December 14, 2011
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A “course” is a “path” through the material which your prof. decides is important and attempts to teach you. Exams come from that material, so listen to him/her. You need to organize that material, see how it fits in the big picture and manage your time properly: that is you must be efficient.
December 8, 2011
Published by Bryan at December 8, 2011
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Exam time is coming and we have 1,100 freshman chemists getting stressed and nervous, so this is for them.
You need “stress” in your live. No stress would mean you would stay in bed all day. Well I’m a chemistry prof and like physical chemistry, and not a psychologist, but over the years you get to know students worries.
There are two types of stress. There is bad stress ("I'm scared", "I'm dumb" "It is too hard?") and there is good stress ("Great day, gotta get up!", "I really want to understand stuff" "I am looking forward to tonight, so got to look good.")
Use the good stress.
August 1, 2011
Published by Bryan at August 1, 2011
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If we start off with no information and make a guess at something logical, then the development of that idea is mathematics, not science. Science is based upon observation first and after doing experiments, trends may be noticed and we can perhaps summarize the data into a Natural Law.
June 16, 2011
Published by Bryan at June 16, 2011
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At a rate of 10% your money will double in 7 years . If you invest $1,000 in a tax free pension account at 10%, then after 35 years that $1,000 will have grown to $32,000!
June 6, 2011
Published by Bryan at June 6, 2011
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The time to reduce 4 beers to 2 is two hours. The time to go from 2 beers to 1 is one hour, and the time to go from 1 beer to the legal limit is 30 minutes. It therefore takes a whooping 3.5 hours to reach the legal limit: 4 beers take seven times longer to metabolize than 1 beer.
May 4, 2011
Published by Bryan at May 4, 2011
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Let us suppose that you read somewhere that perfect pancakes should have a density of 0.7 g ml-1. How could you ensure that you cook the pancakes so that they come out with that density?
April 25, 2011
Published by Bryan at April 25, 2011
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The skin of the Earth rearranges in a cataclysmic event. As the Earth’s crust trusts and turns, tsunamis slosh around the globe and volcanic activity obliterates the sun causing rapid cooling. Such an event can happen over the period of a few days, as evidenced by the fast freezing of animals found with their tropical diet still intact in their bellies. Many species become extinct, and those pockets of human’s that do survive are thrown back to the Stone Age.
April 18, 2011
Published by Bryan at April 18, 2011
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What do hot chickens, pH of blood, bubbly drinks, coral reefs, and thermostating the Earth have in common? They all make use of one of the most basic processes in the Physical Chemistry: the equilibrium between carbon dioxide and carbonic acid.
April 16, 2011
Published by Bryan at April 16, 2011
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A song by Flanders and Swan recorded many years ago that explains the laws of thermodynamics very clearly
March 30, 2011
Published by Bryan at March 30, 2011
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In this third part on nuclear radiation I want to mention some of the biological effects. Although many agree that no level of radiation is safe, it really comes down to a matter of chance. Since negative effects of radiation increase with increased exposure, we should do what we can to keep radiation around us to a minimum.