Vincent Summers, Author at Quirky Science

15Aug 2019 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

How Does Bleach Bleach? What Removes the Color?

Chemistry

When doing the laundry, we ask, what temperature should the water be, how much detergent should I use, will I need fabric softener, will I need bleach? If I use bleach, should I use chlorine bleach or should I use oxygen bleach? Kinds of Bleach There are two kinds of bleach, based on needed strength and fabric sensitivity. Chlorine bleach, historically the older and stronger variety, is based on sodium or calcium hypochlorite, NaOCl or CaOCl. One name brand of laundry bleach is Clorox®. It contains 5.25% NaOCl. How does chlorine bleach remove color? In order to understand that, we need first to ask, what is the chemistry behind the colors used in fabrics? Color in Fabrics When we think of colors applied to fabrics, the chemist usually thinks of…

11Aug 2019 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

Tetrahydrofuran or Diethyl Ether – Which to Use?

Chemistry

Tetrahydrofuran (C4H8O) is a heterocyclic hydrocarbon. One of the carbon atoms of a cyclopentane ring (along with its two hydrogen atoms) is replaced by an atom of oxygen. THF is an ether. It's frequently used for its solvent properties. In certain organometallic reactions, tetrahydrofuran replaces all or part of the standard solvent diethyl ether, (C2H5-O-C2H5), written in chemists' shorthand Et-O-Et. Tetrahydrofuran Vs. Diethyl Ether Although THF is essentially diethyl ether gone cyclic, its physical properties differ somewhat. A prime example of that relates to hydrogen bonding. Although both molecules possess an electron-rich oxygen atom, in THF, the oxygen is openly exposed. The ring can twist, but that's about it. The hydrocarbon portions of ethyl ether¹ have much greater freedom of motion. They can sweep around, making hydrogen bonding easier to…

10Aug 2019 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Organic Ozonides – How They Form, How They React

Chemistry

As you might guess, organic ozonides may be derived from ozone. So let's first consider the nature of ozone. The ozone molecule, O3 is bent and unstable. It is polarized and is quick to react with unsaturated molecules, notably alkenes and alkynes. The image provided illustrates the result. What, however, is the mechanism producing the result in a typical case?¹ Initially, all three oxygen molecules add to the alkene on the same side of what was previously a double bond. This structure, however, is a transient intermediate, which rearranges to form the ozonide structure. Ozonides are relatively stable. However, they can be readily split to yield a pair of carbonyl compounds. Organic Ozonides in Synthesis Some ozonides are explosive, so they are seldom isolated. However, ozonides can be made to…

08Aug 2019 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Perfluorooctanesulfonates – Beneficial, Yet Pervasive, Problematic

Health, Technology

Perflurooctanesulfonates or PFOs are simple compounds, not found in nature. They are derivatives of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid. Their chemical structure includes atoms of carbon, fluorine, sulfur, and oxygen. Various ways of writing the acid's formula are seen in the illustration, top to bottom – the simplest to the most complex, followed by a ball-and-stick model. Commercial Sales Search for the acid online, and you will find it. It can be purchased as the free acid. However, it is also sold in compound form, such as the tetramethylammonium or tetraethylammonium salts. Useful? There's no question these substances are useful. Consider this... The structure of this acid is not unlike the chemical structure of Teflon®. Teflon is slippery stuff. Teflon, however, is a solid. What if a similar, only soluble, substance could be…

01Aug 2019 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Don’t Monkey Around – What is a Banana Bond?

Chemistry, Education

A banana bond is not a typical chemical bond by any stretch of the imagination. It is a 3-center, 2-electron bond. The shape of this kind of bond resembles a banana, hence its name. Perhaps the simplest example of a banana bond is demonstrated between boron and hydrogen in the diborane molecule, B2H6. Elemental Atomic Orbitals We begin with a discussion of the much simpler, more typical 2-center, 2-electron single bond. When atoms form molecules, the atomic orbitals involved transform into molecular orbitals. Let's consider a very simple example. Say we want to form one C-H bond of the molecule methane (CH4). Now hydrogen atoms only have one electron. The single electron lies in the 1s2 orbital. That type of orbital possesses spherical symmetry. Unlike hydrogen, carbon has 12 electrons…

30Jul 2019 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

Race, War, Indigo and Coffee in the 19th Century U.S.

History, People

Indigo is a dyestuff originally derived, at least partly, from Indigofera tinctoria, a small shrub in the bean family. The dye is produced from the leaves of the plant by fermentation. The organic compound indican, is converted into indigotin, or indigo by hydrolysis and oxidation. Today, there are synthetic commercial methods for indigo preparation. Post Civil War In 1862, before the end of the Civil War, the U.S. officially recognized the Republic of Liberia in West Africa. Before the war, some "free-born" members of the black race emigrated to Liberia. It was believed that nation might prove a land of opportunity. The country was poor, but there were possibilities. One of those possibilities involved the manufacture of indigo dyestuff. A distant relation of mine, John O'Neale Stockham of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania…

27Jul 2019 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

How Procreation Differs from Creation

Bible, Biology

When humans produce a child, that child is said to be a product of procreation. This is different from creation. What do these two words mean? That is, what is the difference between creation and procreation? Creation In the strictest sense of the term, creation is the production of something from nothing. Although an artist may produce a great painting and we marvel at his "creativity", he or she did, after all, start with something. Perhaps a canvas and paints! Of course what we mean is his marvelous painting never existed before and since he did paint it, we have something new and beautiful we can enjoy. So we speak of the painting's creation. God? Most of us are familiar with the account that says God formed the first man…

27Jul 2019 by Vincent Summers No Comments

The Curiously Stable Dodecaborate Dianion

Chemistry

There is a lot of talk concerning the chemistry of carbon. And this is totally appropriate. The chemistry of carbon is the chemistry of life. But little is known about boron, which is right next door to carbon on the periodic table of the elements. Yet, boron is a most interesting element. For one thing, boron, like carbon, is capable of bonding to itself. Boron Bonds to Itself There are many compounds in which the element does just that, it bonds to itself. Consider a few of its combinations with hydrogen (see the image). As you advance to larger boron-hydrogen structures, however, it becomes clear the molecular bonding for boron differs considerably from the hydrocarbons. Dodecaborane Dodecaborane somewhat resembles dodecahedrane (C20H20) in outward appearance, even though in terms of bonding,…

25Jul 2019 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Xylitol – A Natural Artificial Sweetener

Food, Health

Most of us are familiar with xylitol because the label on our chewing gum boasts it is sugar-free¹, using xylitol in its place. This so-called artificial sweetener is prepared industrially by the catalytic hydrogenation of xylose. Xylose itself is a sugar. It may be isolated from wood. Xylitol is not decomposed in the mouth by bacteria. It is not well-absorbed in the small intestine. Hence, it is less of a threat to the diabetic and does not add to the dentist's paycheck. In the Mouth [caption id="attachment_26073" align="alignright" width="238"] Streptococcus mutans[/caption] In a person's mouth, Streptococcus mutans bacteria consumes reactive sugar (usually sucrose or table sugar), releasing in its place, carboxylic acids. Over time, the acid environment damages teeth. Xylitol is not a reactive sugar, meaning the acids are not…

25Jul 2019 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Ozone – The Other Oxygen: A Brief Discussion

Chemistry, Physics

Ozone (O3), a triatomic form of the ordinarily diatomic oxygen (O2), is a curious species. We will discuss some of ozone's curious physical properties. We will not include information related to health or the environment. Molecular Bonding Just as it takes two points to determine a straight line, diatomic oxygen is also linear. It's bond length is 1.208 Å (equal to 120.8 pm). Ozone is not linear; it is bent at an angle of 116.8o, which is greater than the measure of the angle for a water molecule, 104.5o. Comparing Boiling Points The third oxygen atom plus the relatively large angle suggests ozone should boil at a higher temperature than oxygen. In fact, this is the case. This is because the bent ozone molecules, as seen in the illustration, produces…