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Sanctuary’s science, spin and songs
by
Bryan Sanctuary
November 14, 2011
it is suggested the difficulty students have in understanding that entropy is a measure of randomness can be approached by rolling dice. In the first entry two dice were rolled but in that case there are only 36 arrangements and 10 outcomes (rolls from 2 to 12). This does not show that the most random state dominates (i.e. the one with most number of arrangements consistent with a roll of 7) . To show that more dice need be rolled. In this entry three dice are shown to have more randomness in the outcomes (3 to 18).
November 8, 2011
To understand entropy, I roll dice. I start with two, then move to three, four, ten and then Avogadro’s constant of dice, and roll them randomly.
October 17, 2011
Published by Bryan at October 17, 2011
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In that pile of glass plates I found in the Kamerlingh Onnes laboratory in 1974, was the original glass negative of the 1927 Solvay Conference. I had never seen the picture before and it was an exciting moment as I looked at my find, and started to recognize individuals.
August 26, 2011
Published by Bryan at August 26, 2011
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In a nutshell Bell thought that different reference frames would allow superluminal communication between particles. Einstein’s special relativity predicts the well-known space and time contractions in different inertial frames, and perhaps these could explain the EPR paradox and rationalize non-locality.
August 5, 2011
Published by Bryan at August 5, 2011
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Explosions are vigorous chemical reactions that take place very rapidly and produce large volumes of gas and a lot of heat. For the explosives shown here, all are solids or liquids with a small volume relative to the huge amount of gas that is released in the explosion. The rapid production of a large volume of gas causes damage.
August 4, 2011
Published by Bryan at August 4, 2011
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The empirical formula is simplest whole number formula for a compound.
August 3, 2011
Published by Bryan at August 3, 2011
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Once atoms were found, it became evident that atoms were composed of protons, neutrons and electrons. The first model, due to J.J. Thomson, was the plum pudding model. This suggested that the atom was a positively charged cloud with electrons floating in it. This model is incorrect.
August 1, 2011
Published by Bryan at August 1, 2011
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At the energy we mostly deal with in chemistry matter is composed of atoms, molecules and ions. From a chemical point of view, these particles interact though the electromagnetic force.
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.
July 15, 2011
Published by Bryan at July 15, 2011
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The more heat that is converted into work, the more efficient the process. The heat lost to the cold reservoir cannot be recovered. Efficiency is therefore define as the ratio of work out to heat in,...
July 13, 2011
Published by Bryan at July 13, 2011
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The Third Law of Thermodynamics says: if two separated systems are in thermal contact with a third, then at equilibrium they all have the same temperature.
Clearly when we bring two blocks together, heat will flow between them. This is an example of coupling systems A to B and to C so eventually the three will be in equilibrium. This coupling only allows heat to flow through direct contact.
July 11, 2011
Published by Bryan at July 11, 2011
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Suppose we have a system which is a drink in a glass. Certainly heat flows in and warms the cold drink, and mass changes when we add to the glass or drink the contents. The system is open.