6: Anthracite (12 Days of Christmas with chemistry)

Anthracite is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest calorific content of all types of coal except for graphite.

Anthracite is the most metamorphosed type of coal (but still represents low-grade metamorphism), in which the carbon content is between 92.1% and 98%.^[1][2] The term is applied to those varieties of coal which do not give off tarry or other hydrocarbon vapours when heated below their point of ignition. Anthracite ignites with difficulty and burns with a short, blue, and smokeless flame.

Anthracite is categorized into standard grade, which is used mainly in power generation, and high grade (HG) and ultra high grade (UHG), the principal uses of which are in the metallurgy sector. Anthracite accounts for about 1% of global coal reserves,^[3] and is mined in only a few countries around the world. China accounts for the majority of global production; other producers are Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, South Africa, Vietnam, the UK, Australia and the US. Total production in 2010 was 670 million tons.^[4]

5: Glowing Plectrum (12 Days of Christmas with chemistry)

A plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick, and is a separate tool held in the player's hand. In harpsichords, the plectra are attached to the jack mechanism.

A plectrum (pick) for electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass guitars and mandolins is typically a thin piece of plastic or other material shaped like a pointed teardrop or triangle. The size, shape and width may vary considerably. Thin items such as small coins, bread clips or broken compact discs and credit cards can be used as substitute plectra. Banjo and guitar players may wear a metal or plastic thumb pick mounted on a ring, and bluegrass banjo players often wear metal or plastic fingerpicks on their fingertips. Guitarists also use fingerpicks.

Guitar picks are made of a variety of materials, including celluloid, metal, and rarely other exotic materials such as turtle shell, but today delrin is the most common^{[citation needed]}. For other instruments in the modern day most players use plastic plectra but a variety of other materials, including wood and felt (for use with the ukulele) are common. Guitarists in the rock, blues, jazz and bluegrass genres tend to use a plectrum, partly because the use of steel strings tends to wear out the fingernails quickly, and also because a plectrum provides a more 'focused' and 'aggressive' sound. Many guitarists also use the pick and the remaining right-hand fingers simultaneously to combine some advantages of flat picking and finger picking. This technique is called hybrid picking.

4: Drink Receptacles (12 Days of Christmas with chemistry)

3: Element Pins (12 Days of Christmas with chemistry)

A chemical element or element is a species of atoms having the same number of protons in their atomic nuclei (i.e. the same atomic number, Z).^[1]There are 118 elements that have been identified, of which the first 94 occur naturally on Earth with the remaining 24 being synthetic elements. There are 80 elements that have at least one stable isotope and 38 that have exclusively radioactive isotopes, which decay over time into other elements. Ironis the most abundant element (by mass) making up the Earth, while oxygen is the most common element in the crust of the earth.^[2]

Chemical elements constitute all of the ordinary matter of the universe. However astronomical observations suggest that ordinary observable matter is only approximately 15% of the matter in the universe: the remainder is dark matter, the composition of which is unknown, but it is not composed of chemical elements.^[3] The two lightest elements, hydrogen and helium were mostly formed in the Big Bang and are the most common elements in the universe. The next three elements (lithium, beryllium and boron) were formed mostly by cosmic ray spallation, and are thus more rare than those that follow. Formation of elements with from six to twenty six protons occurred and continues to occur in main sequence stars via stellar nucleosynthesis. The high abundance of oxygen, silicon, and iron on Earth reflects their common production in such stars. Elements with greater than twenty-six protons are formed by supernova nucleosynthesis in supernovae, which, when they explode, blast these elements far into space as planetary nebulae, where they may become incorporated into planets when they are formed.^[4]

2: Periodic Table Blankets (12 Days of Christmas with chemistry)

The modern periodic table is sometimes expanded into its long or 32-column form by reinstating the footnoted f-block elements into their natural position between the s- and d-blocks. Unlike the 18-column form this arrangement results in "no interruptions to the sequence [of] increasing atomic numbers".^[92] The relationship of the f-block to the other blocks of the periodic table also becomes easier to see.^[93] Jensen advocates a form of table with 32 columns on the grounds that the lanthanides and actinides are otherwise relegated in the minds of students as dull, unimportant elements that can be quarantined and ignored.^[94]Despite these advantages the 32-column form is generally avoided by editors on account of its undue rectangular ratio (compared to a book page ratio)

1: Tartaric Acid (12 Days of Christmas with chemistry)

Tartaric acid was first isolated from potassium bitartrate circa 800 AD, by the alchemist Jābir ibn Hayyān.^[4] The modern process was developed in 1769 by the Swedishchemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.

Tartaric acid played an important role in the discovery of chemical chirality. This property of tartaric acid was first observed in 1832 by Jean Baptiste Biot, who observed its ability to rotate polarized light. Louis Pasteur continued this research in 1847 by investigating the shapes of ammonium sodium tartrate crystals, which he found to be chiral. By manually sorting the differently shaped crystals under magnification, Pasteur was the first to produce a pure sample of levotartaric acid.

Light Bulb in Hydrofluoric Acid (HF)

Hydrofluoric acid is a solution of hydrogen fluoride (HF) in water. It is a precursor to almost all fluorine compounds, including pharmaceuticals such as fluoxetine(Prozac), diverse materials such as PTFE (Teflon), and elemental fluorine itself. It is a colourless solution that is highly corrosive, capable of dissolving many materials, especially oxides. Its ability to dissolve glass has been known since the 17th century, even before Carl Wilhelm Scheele prepared it in large quantities in 1771.^[2] Because of its high reactivity toward glass and moderate reactivity toward many metals, hydrofluoric acid is usually stored in plastic containers (although PTFE is slightly permeable to it).^[3]

Hydrogen fluoride gas is an acute poison that may immediately and permanently damage lungs and the corneas of the eyes. Aqueous hydrofluoric acid is a contact-poison with the potential for deep, initially painless burns and ensuing tissue death. By interfering with body calcium metabolism, the concentrated acid may also cause systemic toxicity and eventual cardiac arrest and fatality, after contact with as little as 160 cm² (25 square inches) of skin.

Pouring Mercury into Liquid Nitrogen (slow motion)

Mercury is a chemical element with symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is commonly known as quicksilver and was formerly named hydrargyrum(/haɪˈdrɑːrdʒərəm/).^[3] A heavy, silvery d-block element, mercury is the only metallic element that is liquid at standard conditions for temperature and pressure; the only other element that is liquid under these conditions is bromine, though metals such as caesium, gallium, and rubidium melt just above room temperature.

Mercury occurs in deposits throughout the world mostly as cinnabar (mercuric sulfide). The red pigment vermilion is obtained by grinding natural cinnabar or synthetic mercuric sulfide.

Liquid nitrogen is nitrogen in a liquid state at an extremely low temperature. It is a colorless clear liquid with a density of 0.807 g/ml at its boiling point (−195.79 °C (77 K; −320 °F)) and a dielectric constant of 1.43.^[1] Nitrogen was first liquefied at the Jagiellonian University on 15 April 1883 by Polish physicists, Zygmunt Wróblewski and Karol Olszewski.^[2] It is produced industrially by fractional distillation of liquid air. Liquid nitrogen is often referred to by the abbreviation, LN₂ or "LIN" or "LN" and has the UN number1977. Liquid nitrogen is a diatomic liquid, which means that the diatomic character of the covalent N bonding in N₂ gas is retained after liquefaction.^[3]

Liquid nitrogen is a cryogenic fluid that can cause rapid freezing on contact with living tissue. When appropriately insulated from ambient heat, liquid nitrogen can be stored and transported, for example in vacuum flasks The temperature is held constant at 77 K by slow boiling of the liquid, resulting in the evolution of nitrogen gas. Depending on the size and design, the holding time of vacuum flasks (Dewars) ranges from a few hours to a few weeks. The development of pressurised super-insulated vacuum vessels has enabled liquefied nitrogen to be stored and transported over longer time periods with losses reduced to 2% per day or less.^[4]

The temperature of liquid nitrogen can readily be reduced to its freezing point 63 K (−210 °C; −346 °F) by placing it in a vacuum chamber pumped by a vacuum pump.^[5] Liquid nitrogen's efficiency as a coolant is limited by the fact that it boils immediately on contact with a warmer object, enveloping the object in insulating nitrogen gas. This effect, known as the Leidenfrost effect, applies to any liquid in contact with an object significantly hotter than its boiling point. Faster cooling may be obtained by plunging an object into a slush of liquid and solid nitrogen rather than liquid nitrogen alone.

Pythagoras Cup (Greedy Cup) filled with Mercury

A Pythagorean cup looks like a normal drinking cup, except that the bowl has a central column in it – giving it a shape like a Bundt pan. The central column of the bowl is positioned directly over the stem of the cup and over the hole at the bottom of the stem. A small open pipe runs from this hole almost to the top of the central column, where there is an open chamber. The chamber is connected by a second pipe to the bottom of the central column, where a hole in the column exposes the pipe to (the contents of) the bowl of the cup.^[1] [2]

When the cup is filled, liquid rises through the second pipe up to the chamber at the top of the central column, following Pascal's principle of communicating vessels. As long as the level of the liquid does not rise beyond the level of the chamber, the cup functions as normal. If the level rises further, however, the liquid spills through the chamber into the first pipe and out the bottom. Gravity then creates a siphon through the central column, causing the entire contents of the cup to be emptied through the hole at the bottom of the stem. Some moderntoilets operate on the same principle: when the water level in the bowl rises high enough, a siphon is created, flushing the toilet.^[3]

Underwater Caesium - Periodic Table of Videos

Caesium metal is one of the most reactive elements and is highly explosive when it comes in contact with water. The hydrogen gas produced by the reaction is heated by the thermal energy released at the same time, causing ignition and a violent explosion. This can occur with other alkali metals, but caesium is so potent that this explosive reaction can even be triggered by cold water.^[10] The autoignition temperature of caesium is also −116 °C, so it is highly pyrophoric, and ignites explosively in air to form caesium hydroxide and various oxides. Caesium hydroxide is a very strong base, and will rapidly corrode glass.^[15]

The isotopes 134 and 137 are present in the biosphere in small amounts from human activities and which differs between locations. Radiocaesium does not accumulate in the body as effectively as many other fission products (such as radioiodine and radiostrontium). About 10% of absorbed radiocaesium washes out of the body relatively quickly in sweat and urine. The remaining 90% has a biological half-life between 50 and 150 days.^[107] Radiocaesium follows potassium and tends to accumulate in plant tissues, including fruits and vegetables.^{[108][109][110]} Plants absorb caesium differently, some do not absorb it much, and some take it large amounts, sometimes displaying great resistance to it. It is also well-documented that mushrooms from contaminated forests accumulate radiocaesium (caesium-137) in their fungal sporocarps.^[111] Accumulation of caesium-137 in lakes has been a high concern after the Chernobyl disaster.^[112][113] Experiments with dogs showed that a single dose of 3.8 millicuries (140 MBq, 4.1 μg of caesium-137) per kilogram is lethal within three weeks;^[114] smaller amounts may cause infertility and cancer.^[115] TheInternational Atomic Energy Agency and other sources have warned that radioactive materials, such as caesium-137, could be used in radiological dispersion devices, or "dirty bombs".^[116]

Underwater Potassium - Periodic Table of Videos

Potassium metal reacts very violently with water producing potassium hydroxide (KOH) and hydrogen gas.

2 K (s) + 2  H₂O (l) → 2 KOH (aq) + H
2↑ (g)

This reaction is exothermic and releases enough heat to ignite the resulting hydrogen. It in turn may explode in the presence of oxygen. Potassium hydroxide is a strong alkalithat causes skin burns. Finely divided potassium will ignite in air at room temperature. The bulk metal will ignite in air if heated. Because its density is 0.89 g/cm³, burning potassium floats in water that exposes it to atmospheric oxygen. Many common fire extinguishing agents, including water, either are ineffective or make a potassium fire worse.Nitrogen, argon, sodium chloride (table salt), sodium carbonate (soda ash), and silicon dioxide (sand) are effective if they are dry. Some Class D dry powder extinguishers designed for metal fires are also effective. These agents deprive the fire of oxygen and cool the potassium metal.^[100]

Potassium reacts violently with halogens and will detonate in the presence of bromine. It also reacts explosively with sulfuric acid. During combustion potassium forms peroxides and superoxides. These peroxides may react violently with organic compounds such as oils. Both peroxides and superoxides may react explosively with metallic potassium.^[101]

Because potassium reacts with water vapor present in the air, it is usually stored under anhydrous mineral oil or kerosene. Unlike lithium and sodium, however, potassium should not be stored under oil for longer than 6 months, unless in an inert (oxygen free) atmosphere, or under vacuum. After prolonged storage in air dangerous shock-sensitive peroxides can form on the metal and under the lid of the container, and can detonate upon opening.^[102]

Because of the highly reactive nature of potassium metal, it must be handled with great care, with full skin and eye protection and preferably an explosion-resistant barrier between the user and the metal. Ingestion of large amounts of potassium compounds can lead to hyperkalemia strongly influencing the cardiovascular system.^[103][104] Potassium chloride is used in the United States for executions via lethal injection.^[103]

Underwater Sodium - Periodic Table of Videos

Aqueous solutions[edit]

Sodium tends to form water-soluble compounds, such as halides, sulfates, nitrates, carboxylates and carbonates. The main aqueous species are the aquo complexes [Na(H₂O)_n]⁺, where n = 4–6.^[24] The high affinity of sodium for oxygen-based ligands is the basis of crown ethers; macrolide antibiotics, which interfere with Na⁺ transport in the infecting organism, are functionally related and more complex.^{[citation needed]}

Direct precipitation of sodium salts from aqueous solutions is rare because sodium salts typically have a high affinity for water; an exception is sodium bismuthate (NaBiO₃).^[25] Because of this, sodium salts are usually isolated as solids by evaporation or by precipitation with an organic solvent, such as ethanol; for example, only 0.35 g/L of sodium chloride will dissolve in ethanol.^[26] Crown ethers, like 15-crown-5, may be used as a phase-transfer catalyst.^[27]

Sodium content in bulk may be determined by treating with a large excess of uranyl zinc acetate; the hexahydrate (UO₂)₂ZnNa(CH₃CO₂)·6H₂O precipitates and can be weighed. Caesium and rubidium do not interfere with this reaction, but potassium and lithium do.^[28] Lower concentrations of sodium may be determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry^[29] or by potentiometry using ion-selective electrodes.^[30]

Periodic Table is probably WRONG

The many different forms of periodic table have prompted the question of whether there is an optimal or definitive form of periodic table. The answer to this question is thought to depend on whether the chemical periodicity seen to occur among the elements has an underlying truth, effectively hard-wired into the universe, or if any such periodicity is instead the product of subjective human interpretation, contingent upon the circumstances, beliefs and predilections of human observers. An objective basis for chemical periodicity would settle the questions about the location of hydrogen and helium, and the composition of group 3. Such an underlying truth, if it exists, is thought to have not yet been discovered. In its absence, the many different forms of periodic table can be regarded as variations on the theme of chemical periodicity, each of which explores and emphasizes different aspects, properties, perspectives and relationships of and among the elements.^{[n 19]} The ubiquity of the standard or medium-long periodic table is thought to be a result of this layout having a good balance of features in terms of ease of construction and size, and its depiction of atomic order and periodic trends.

Holmium (new) - Periodic Table of Videos

Holmium is a chemical element with symbol Ho and atomic number 67. Part of the lanthanide series, holmium is a rare earth element. Holmium was discovered by Swedish chemist Per Theodor Cleve. Its oxide was first isolated from rare earth ores in 1878 and the element was named after the city of Stockholm.

Elemental holmium is a relatively soft and malleable silvery-white metal. It is too reactive to be found uncombined in nature, but when isolated, is relatively stable in dry air at room temperature. However, it reacts with water and rusts readily, and will also burn in air when heated.

Holmium is found in the minerals monazite and gadolinite, and is usually commercially extracted from monazite using ion exchange techniques. Its compounds in nature, and in nearly all of its laboratory chemistry, are trivalently oxidized, containing Ho(III) ions. Trivalent holmium ions have fluorescent properties similar to many other rare earth ions (while yielding their own set of unique emission light lines), and holmium ions are thus used in the same way as some other rare earths in certain laser and glass colorant applications.

Holmium has the highest magnetic permeability of any element and therefore is used for the polepieces of the strongest static magnets. Because holmium strongly absorbs neutrons, it is also used as a burnable poison in nuclear reactors.

Underwater Sodium - Periodic Table of Videos

Aqueous solutions[edit]

Sodium tends to form water-soluble compounds, such as halides, sulfates, nitrates, carboxylates and carbonates. The main aqueous species are the aquo complexes [Na(H₂O)_n]⁺, where n = 4–6.^[24] The high affinity of sodium for oxygen-based ligands is the basis of crown ethers; macrolide antibiotics, which interfere with Na⁺ transport in the infecting organism, are functionally related and more complex.^{[citation needed]}

Direct precipitation of sodium salts from aqueous solutions is rare because sodium salts typically have a high affinity for water; an exception is sodium bismuthate (NaBiO₃).^[25] Because of this, sodium salts are usually isolated as solids by evaporation or by precipitation with an organic solvent, such as ethanol; for example, only 0.35 g/L of sodium chloride will dissolve in ethanol.^[26] Crown ethers, like 15-crown-5, may be used as a phase-transfer catalyst.^[27]

Sodium content in bulk may be determined by treating with a large excess of uranyl zinc acetate; the hexahydrate (UO₂)₂ZnNa(CH₃CO₂)·6H₂O precipitates and can be weighed. Caesium and rubidium do not interfere with this reaction, but potassium and lithium do.^[28] Lower concentrations of sodium may be determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry^[29] or by potentiometry using ion-selective electrodes.^[30]

Vodka - Periodic Table of Videos

Vodka (Polish: wódka [ˈvutka], Russian: водка [ˈvotkə]) is a distilled beverage composed primarily of water and ethanol, sometimes with traces of impurities and flavorings. Traditionally, vodka is made by the distillation of fermented cereal grains or potatoes, though some modern brands use other substances, such as fruits or sugar.
Since the 1890s, the standard Polish, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and Czech vodkas are 40% alcohol by volume ABV (80 proof), a percentage that is widely misattributed to Dmitri Mendeleev.^[1][2] The European Union has established a minimum of 37.5% ABV for any "European vodka" to be named as such.^[3][4] Products sold as "vodka" in the United States must have a minimum alcohol content of 40%.^[5] Even with these loose restrictions, most vodka sold contains 40% ABV. For homemade vodkas and distilled beverages referred to as "moonshine", see moonshine by country.
Vodka is traditionally drunk neat (not mixed with any water, ice, or other mixer), though it is often served chilled in the vodka belt countries (Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine). It is also commonly used in cocktails and mixed drinks, such as the vodka martini, Cosmopolitan, vodka tonic, Screwdriver, Greyhound, Black or White Russian, and Bloody Mary.

Morphine & Heroin - Periodic Table of Videos

Morphine, sold under many trade names,^[1] is a pain medication of the opiate type. It acts directly on the central nervous system (CNS) to decrease the feeling of pain. It can be used for both acute pain and chronic pain. Morphine is also frequently used for pain from myocardial infarction and during labour. It can be given by mouth, by injection into a muscle, by injecting under the skin, intravenously, into the space around the spinal cord, or rectally.^[5] Maximum effect is around 20 min when given intravenously and 60 min when given by mouth while duration of effect is between three and seven hours.^[5][6] Long-acting formulations also exist.^[5]


Heroin^{[note 1]} is an opioid painkiller and the 3,6-diacetyl ester of morphine. Heroin is prescribed as an analgesic, and less commonly as a cough suppressant and as an antidiarrhoeal. It is also used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Frequent and regular administration is associated with tolerance and physical dependence. In some countries it is available for prescription to long-term users as a form of opioid replacement therapy alongside counseling.^[7]

Chemical Weapons (Sarin Gas) - Periodic Table of Videos

Sarin, or GB, is a colorless, odorless liquid,^[5] used as a chemical weapon owing to its extreme potency as a nerve agent. It is generally considered as a weapon of mass destruction. Production and stockpiling of sarin was outlawed as of April 1997 by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993, and it is classified as a Schedule 1 substance. In June 1994, the UN Special Commission on Iraqi disarmament destroyed the nerve agent sarin under Security Council resolution 687 (1991) concerning the disposal of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.^[6]
Sarin is an organophosphorus compound with the formula [(CH₃)₂CHO]CH₃P(O)F. It can be lethal even at very low concentrations, where death can occur within one^[7][8] to ten minutes after direct inhalation of a lethal dose, due to suffocation from lung muscle paralysis, unless some antidotes, typically atropine and an oxime, such as pralidoxime, are quickly administered.^[5] People who absorb a non-lethal dose, but do not receive immediate medical treatment, may suffer permanent neurological damage.