Radon

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday!

I got spoiled by the snow pixies the day after complaining about no snow with a small but solid amount of snow that is skiable (explains my blogging absence despite being on break I hope!). Needless to say, my fish scales and the golf course have spent some quality time together!

Not too much else from the home front - my days consist of sleeping in front of the fireplace and/or skiing. Enjoy today's video - it combines my love of skiing (though it's the wrong discipline) and Christmas!

I'll get back to science/education blogging soon and if the weather continues to be gorgeous, expect some winter pics!

Fun Fact: Grand Central Station, made of granite, is famous for being radioactive! Granite contains both uranium and thorium (radioactive elements) which decay to produce radioactive radon, adding to Grand Central's radioactive qualities.

Xenon

Short post today!! Check out the new tab at the top of my blog called "Science Resources." There are a mix of new sources, blogs, and books all related to science  that you can surf, so explore! Be sure to check in on the tab because it is a work in progress, so I'm sure it will get changed or have resources added to it. I will also be putting up a similar tab soon for education, but it's still in the making.

If you have suggestions regarding either resource, I would love your input!


Fun Fact: Nobel gases are usually inert (do not react with other elements), but xenon is an exception. While xenon prefers to not react with other elements, it will react with fluorine to form xenon difluoride. This compound can be used in organic synthesis or etching but decomposes when it comes into contact with light or water vapor.

Krypton

I now understand why schools have large summer breaks even though they are no longer necessary and have detrimental effects on retention (in the past, the summer breaks were in accordance with an agrarian calendar so that children could work on their family farms). With the weather SO nice and SO warm, it is SO hard to even want to work, let alone get work done. I had planned to go to a nature trail area about 3 miles from my apartment until I found out that I have SO much reading and writing to do. So here's to hanging out in a cafe all day (hopefully outside) with a small procrastination trip to the farmer's market instead.

Heidi on Wright Summer '09

View of Lake Champlain and Vermont from Hurricane

Bear Cub Rd.

I want schoolwork-free summer vacation back :(


Fun Fact: Before the length of one meter was measured by light in a vacuum, it was measured using krypton. Between 1960 and 1983, the definition for the meter was "1,650,763.73 wavelengths of the orange-red emission line in the electromagnetic spectrum of krypton-86 in a vacuum." Say that 5 times fast.

Argon

Finally, internet in the apartment (thanks baby sister)!! And because I have it in a fast and unlimited supply, I thought I would do a science-y post today. Enjoy this video about argon...you'll like the "mad scientist" who appears about 25 seconds in. I recently found this YouTube channel and though the argon video is not their best, I thought I would at least introduce my newest addiction.

Because argon is a noble gas and therefore has very few interesting tidbits (it doesn't react/interact with much of anything) I want to jump back to chlorine. In my haste of putting up a post about exploring Ann Arbor, I completely forgot that I've been waiting to highlight chlorine since my lithium post.

Though chlorine can be used for a great many things (salt, bleach, etc.), it can also be lethal (poison gas in WWI) and harmful to humans and the environment. To the upstate New Yorkers out there, I hope we all know about the dilemma with the Hudson River, but did you know that the problem deals with chlorine?? PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) are a type of organic compound that is extremely difficult to breakdown, which is why GE used them in capacitors and such. The more chlorine atoms a molecule of PCB has, the greater resistance it has to being broken down (and also the more toxic/lethal it is). The problem with PCBs in the water is that they don't go away: while PCBs settle into the sediment at the bottom of the river, the constant flow also keeps them in the water. And being the sneaky little molecules that they are, PCBs can diffuse through skin, which is why you shouldn't eat fish or swim in the Hudson, unless you want to increase your odds of getting cancer.

 

While GE is currently trying to solve this MASSIVE problem, dredging is not the best solution. PCBs that have settled into the sediment are stirred up again when heavy machinery digs up the polluted dirt. PCBs that are released from dredging float downstream and ultimately spread the problem farther down the Hudson River. And get this: the sediment dug up from the Hudson is not actually "cleaned." It is instead transported to a remote location in Texas and left there. Essentially the problem is moved to another location and forgotten about.

While looking for videos on the Hudson River dredging, I also found one about dioxins in a river in Michigan. Dioxins are another type of organic molecule, but once again they have chlorine, which makes them extremely stable and extremely toxic. University of Michigan (woo woo!) did a study on the Tittabawassee River, which has a high level of dioxins, to look at the levels of dioxins in locals bloodstreams. Like PCBs, dioxins are cancer-causing.

This video is heartbreaking isn't it? The woman never thought about what she was exposing her children to by letting them swim in the river...it's just terrible to even think about. Click on the links below for more information!

Hudson River dredging
Michigan study


Fun Fact: Wine snob? To prevent wine from oxidizing, you can buy disposable cylinders of argon to top off the bottle. Because argon does not react with anything, the wine is protected from any air that might enter the bottle.

Neon

Today's thought: I should have grabbed my camera before walking out the door.

Rose and I spent some quality time together before she leaves for China (tomorrow) by sifting through thrift stores. Truth be told: I have never actually been into any of the local thrift stores to shop for clothing but was mildly impressed with the selection after today. While my only purchase was a buttery soft braided leather belt, Rose hit the jackpot. I convinced her to buy the most beautiful knee-high Italian leather boots though it wasn't too hard to sway her. She also found some great dresses and super cute belts!

The end of the week is the big move. I'm freaked out, excited, nervous, anxious, anticipatory, etc. It's crazy to think that summer is pretty much over already...where did it go?


Fun Fact: The only neon lights that contain neon are orange and red.

Helium

On an extremely nerdy side, this blog has lasted longer than a physicist who studies quantum mechanics (for those who claim to be less geeky: quantum mechanics falls apart after one).

I have finally forced myself to jump on the packing bandwagon and make a sizable dent in packing/repacking my room. What I came home from college with is nothing compared to what I am taking to the Midwest. The addition of furniture and a full kitchen seems to add quite a few boxes. My biggest realization from this packing nightmare is how lucky I was to go to a college that was fairly close to home. Not so much anymore. Packing winter coats and skis in June is surreal.

On a different note, I started making my own skirts!! Ask anyone about my picky-ness when it comes to skirts - they have to be just the right length and a great color. I also have this terrible problem of buying only printed skirts so I thought I would sew a couple plain colored ones. So far I have finished one and I could have finished three or four had I not decided to put in pockets. But as G always reminds me: pockets make the skirt. 
 

Fun Fact: Helium that can be purchased at party stores to fill balloons is often mixed with oxygen to prevent suffocation if inhaled.