Thorium

Another picture post...Heidi and I went for a walk in the woods with Brodie today, but it ended up being a hike to a nice little summit after an impromptu decision to take the "Summit Trail." It was such an interesting view of Lake Placid...not like most other peaks around town. Check it out!

Looking down at Lake Placid - we were able to find the road we live on (weird).

Brodie is not one to stay still long enough for pictures, especially when there are piles of snow to sniff.

Summit view.

A "different" view of the ski jumps.

Fun Fact: During World War II, the Allied forces got extremely worried that the Germans were farther along building an atomic bomb after they confiscated a huge stockpile of thorium from Paris. Instead of a bomb, the Germans were planning on using it for toothpaste.

Actinium

Winter is a unique beast in the Adirondacks - you've heard me complain about no snow, herald new snow, and now that snow has turned to ice. Mother Nature clearly has yet to decide on her outlook for winter this year. Nevertheless, today was bright and sunny (let's not forget the below zero windchill!) so I decided to get a few pictures. They are certainly not my best (read: my fingers were freezing), but here they are!

I was so surprised to find all these ducks just chilling (literally and figuratively)! Crazy, right?

Whiteface from Lake Placid.

A view of the ski jumps - isn't the snow pathetic?

I had taken a picture here in August as the sun was setting. The view? Still good in winter :)

High Peaks from Adirondack Loj Road.

Surprise! I love finding finely crafted snowmen. This guy is a beauty!

Fun Fact: Actinium is extremely rare so it has few industrial uses, but it has been used as a source for radiation in treating cancer.

Radium

Thank you all so much for checking out my post from yesterday! It was certainly a fun one to write and it's hard to come up with another post so soon that even comes close...

I was pondering doing a Christmas wishlist of science things, but obviously that never got done. So in an attempt to make a list that only slightly resembles a belated Christmas list, here are some sweet reads for the holiday break!

The Poisoner's Handbook. A friend of mine recommended this one to me and one of today's fun facts actually comes from the book. During the Jazz Age in New York, a medical examiner explores the world of toxicology and poisoning, which at the time was the perfect crime.

Fool Me Twice: Fighting the Assault on Science in America. I would be lying if I said I haven't drooled about getting the chance to read this book. This book has a similar feeling to yesterday's post. Here's a tidbit from it:

Will the media save us?  Don't count on it.  In early 2008, of the 2,975 questions asked the candidates for president just six mentioned the words "global warming" or "climate change," the greatest policy challenge facing America.  To put that in perspective, three questions mentioned UFOs.

A Short History of Nearly Everything. Let's be honest, Bill Bryson is the man. I'm pretty sure when this book came out in 2004, science had a short stint as a popular subject.


Fun Fact: Radium was once believed to have health benefits, so people included this radioactive element in medicines, facial creams, and health drinks. Turns out radium is not so healthy, as it stores itself in bone and wreaks havoc in the body.

Geneva's Fun Fact (!!): A friend of mine sent me this one the other day after reading The Poisoner's Handbook. People who suffer from radium poisoning exhale radon gas!

Francium

I've talked about writing this post for awhile, so I'm happy to finally get some time to sit down and type! I saw this article back in November while perusing the NY Times and have read it what seems like a billion times since. The article delves into President Obama's recent announcement that he would like to see higher education produce 10,000 more engineers and 100,000 new STEM (science-technology-engineering-math) teachers in the very near future. It's certainly a great proposal, but here are some speed bumps:

College attrition rates. For students who are interested in the sciences, approximately 40% switch their major. Toss in pre-med students and that 40% dropout rate rises to 60%. Some of this can certainly be attributed to a lack of preparation in high school, but much of it comes from the stress of pursuing a science degree, especially at schools where science majors see their social science and humanities friends' grades inflated. Math and science majors are known for having the lowest grade point averages and it's not because we're stupid/lazy - it's because most science and math questions have a clear-cut answer. Blowing up a lab is not an art form - it's a problematic error.

With science comes math. It seems like a very simple statement, doesn't it? And to most science majors, it's pretty obvious. But what is scary is that people still don't seem to understand science and math's inherent coupling. Without Newton and calculus, there would be no physics. Without physics, no chemistry. Without chemistry, no biology. The cycle continues, but the most important part is that science boils down to being applied mathematics. People like numbers (for the most part), so when seemingly  interesting phenomenon arise, we seek to answer those questions with numbers. And with those numbers, explanations are needed, thus the quantitative and qualitative nature of science.

(NY Times multimedia image)

To paint a picture of why this article has been so alluring to me for some time, look at the graphic above. If we are in the "technology era" how is it that only 2.4% of bachelor's degrees are computer science related? And why has this number been declining since the early 2000s?

I recently asked my students if they knew how much science affected them and they scoffed at me...it took me a lot of mental persuading to not start on a diatribe about how their smart phones and iPods and computers are all related to science. We chalk these things up to "advances in technology" but what that really means is scientific experimentation and discovery (sorry if that comes as a surprise). The next time a pair of ear buds for your iPod breaks, take some time to cut those puppies apart - there is a reason why copper is the wire of choice for transmitting sound from the iPod to your ears, but could you explain why that is? (Guess what - some of my students can.)


Fun Fact: If a solid block of francium could be produced (nearly impossible if you were wondering), it would evaporate itself in a violent radioactive reaction.

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.

Astatine

If there was any bumper sticker that defined me (besides one spelling my name with periodic table elements - impossible if you were wondering) it would say "I'd rather be nordic skiing." (I add nordic because we all know that people think of the worst type of skiing ;) ) While most people relish the warm sunny days in December that bring 40 degree weather and gives high school boys a reason to wear shorts in the winter, the warmth (and rain) that leaves brown lawns and an iced over driveway makes me cringe.

And cringing certainly happened yesterday, as any and all snow on the ground melted. Normally I would not be too downtrodden by this, but after traveling across borders with a ski bag (quite the story if anyone is wondering), I was really hoping to hit some pow pow if not even some glazed tracks. As it stands, the only thing I'm asking Santa Claus for Christmas is some snow...just enough to even ski at a golf course...but please, the white stuff????

An homage to Peggy is built every year. Sadly, I think Peggy might have to go without :(

Fun Fact: At any given time, there are only about 28 grams of astatine on Earth.

P.S. In case you haven't figured it out, the purple words are links. And in skiing fashion, today's are slightly hilarious.

Polonium

I officially survived another semester at grad school...papers are handed in and I'm cuddled up with my favorite dog in front of the fireplace. It feels so nice to be home :)

I also have been so excited for this element (yes...I am a dork). The first of two elements discovered by Marie Curie, I thought I would share her story about her rise to success. Curie was fortunate to have a supportive husband who aided her with her research and fought for her to teach at the Sorbonne. While these videos are slightly hilarious with the phony French accents, it is still a great story.

Look for more posts in the coming weeks, now that I have some time to actually write things that aren't papers :) I have a lot to catch up on with some great posts about science and hopefully some winter pictures, so I'm excited!!

Fun Fact: Polonium's most common isotope, polonium-210, is so radioactive that a single gram of it in air produces 140 watts of power continuously.

Combined Fun Fact: If a coin was made of polonium and radium, the elements discovered by Marie Curie, it would kill everyone in the same room.