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Undergraduate teaching
March 26, 2011
Published by Bryan at March 26, 2011
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The fission reactor uses a controlled nuclear fission process to produce thermal energy, which is then converted into electricity by boiling water. With the exception of the reactor core, a nuclear power plant is similar to any other power plant that relies on thermal energy. The difference is the means by which the thermal energy is produced.
Nuclear fuel is most commonly composed of compounds containing Uranium 235 which makes up less than 1% or uranium ore in natural abundance. Most Uranium is U -238 and we have seen in part 1 that this is radioactive and decays primarily by alpha emission.
March 9, 2011
Published by Bryan at March 9, 2011
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n 1887 J.J. Thomson discovery of the electron was a significant step that led to a much deeper understanding of the microscopic properties of Nature. In this entry, I will discuss the famous Millikan Oil drop experiment which was done in 1909.
But recall that in his characterization of the properties of the electron he could only determine the charge to mass ratio, given by -1.76 times ten to the 11th Coulombs per kilogram. Was this ratio a result of two big values or two small values?
Robert Millikan was able to separate the ratio in order to show that the ratio was that of two small numbers and in this way he was able to extract the elementary charge and the electron mass. Comparing the electron mass to that of the lightest element, Hydrogen, it is found that the mass of an electron is 1800 times smaller. Indeed at that time this was the smallest particle known.
February 14, 2011
Published by Bryan at February 14, 2011
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Discussion of the discovery of the electron by J. J. Thomson in 1897 using a cathode ray tube. He was able to obtain the charge to mass ratio, but not the actual mass or charge. Later Millikan was able to separate the two. Indeed Thomson found a new state of matter which laid the foundations for quantum mechanics and a huge range of technologies
February 20, 2010
Published by Bryan at February 20, 2010
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httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B68CEj9KveI In this clip the Aufbau Principle of the electronic structure of the elements is shown as an example of the content of MCH multimedia’s General Chemistry tutorials. The Aufbau or building up principle makes use of the Hydrogen Orbitals and the Pauli Principle. Buy the General Chemistry Tutorial from MCH […]
February 4, 2010
Published by Bryan at February 4, 2010
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httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgcxUjY021E In this video one of the many uses of plotting in the ebooks is given. The example is first order consecutive reactions where the rate equations for the the concentration changes are plotted. By varying the rate constants so that the first is ten times smaller than the second, the steady […]
February 4, 2010
Published by Bryan at February 4, 2010
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httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by9piRJElEI In this video step-a by-step description is given of a bomb calorimeter that is used to measure the internal energy of a sample. If you burn as sample completely and measure the heat that evolves, you can find the thermodynamic internal energy. Recall that internal energy is a state […]
February 3, 2010
Published by Bryan at February 3, 2010
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httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlF6h3H7zLw Summary of MCH High School and College Chemistry and Physics Each of our five courses covers all the material and more that are found in chemistry and physics courses from the high school to College level. The courses entail between 100 and 200 hours of study each. They […]
February 1, 2010
Published by Bryan at February 1, 2010
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httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXRT_KzjXgk Pricing Our regular prices are about half the cost of hard copy text books and offer much more. There are two types of pricing. Regular prices and student prices which are discounted 25% by fromm regular pricing. You can purchase the programs on DVD or by download. The fastes […]