Chemistry Connections

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry ConnectionsYou thought gluten made you bloated????Episode #12 

(Say it very quickly) Warning: There are gruesome topics mentioned in this podcast, so feelings of disgust is natural. This podcast is not meant to joke about human decomposition, but to explain the process in a light-hearted manner. We hope this podcast is educational and that you enjoy. 

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Katie Laitusis and I’m Angela Choi and we are your hosts for episode number 12 called You thought gluten made you bloated???? Today we will be discussing Human Decomposition… yuck

Segment 1: Introduction to Human Decomposition

There are 5 stages of human decomposition: the fresh stage (aka autolysis), the bloat stage, active decay, advanced decay, and the dry or skeletonized stage. In this episode we will be focusing on our personal favorites: the bloat stage and advanced decay stage. To start, during the bloat stage the body may double in size, due to the gases, which is why it has a bloated look. During the advanced decay stage, gut bacteria digests intestines and then surrounding tissues, and cartilage. Hair, bones, and ligaments are the only parts of the body that are left over. Insects that chew are attracted to the body during advanced decay like dogs to a bone. 

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Human Decomposition

Anyways, lets lighten the mood with a quick joke before we get into the chemistry. What do you do with a dead chemist? I don’t know, what? You Barium. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAH

We will now be talking about the chemistry behind these stages. In the bloating stage, we will talk about gas pressure and how it affects people during decomposition. During bloating, gasses build up and fluids are pushed outside of natural body openings. The bloat phase begins about 3-5 days after death and this occurs when bacteria shifts from aerobic to anaerobic bacteria, which is when they don’t require oxygen. The bacteria will feed on the body tissues, causing the sugars to ferment them to produce gaseous by-products… probably not the type of passing gas your familiar with. So then what type of gasses are we talking about? Some of the gases produced include methane, hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. What else happens during the this stage?During bloating, this stage also will start to attract flies that lay eggs and produce maggots, which will feed on the dead tissue. As more bacteria accumulates, the abdomen and other body parts will grow in size. Anaerobic bacteria converts hemoglobin molecules, which once carried oxygen around the body, into sulfhemoglobin. The presence of this molecule in settled blood gives skin the marbled, greenish-black appearance characteristic of a body undergoing active decomposition. Ewwww… uhhh Cool? And, even better, as the gas pressure continues to build up inside the body, it causes blisters to appear all over the skin surface… and sometimes the abdomen will burst from the pressure. I’m never going to an open casket funeral then. So tell me about the advanced decay stage.

In the fourth stage, which is advanced decay, this process may start about 25-50 days after death. In advanced decay, we will talk about the effect that temperature has on the speed of reactions. During decomposition, the speed of the chemical reactions involved doubles with every 10°C rise in temperature, because when particles are heated, they move faster within the system, creating more collisions, and an increase in the rate of the reaction. So a cadaver will reach the advanced stage after 16 days or 1.14 fortnights at an average daily temperature of 25°C. However it will take 80 days to reach this stage at an average daily temperature of 5°C. Good thing I don’t live in the desert. The higher the temperatures, the more bacteria in the body will produce gas at a faster rate. This will create more openings in the skin for flies to lay their eggs. A decomposing human body in the earth will eventually release approximately 32g of nitrogen, 10g of phosphorus, 4g of potassium, and 1g of magnesium for every kilogram of dry body mass. Wow, that's a lot of gas! Or is it? How much is a gram of gas? Anyways, that must have some effects on the area… right? Dead bodies can impact the environment, because of chemicals leaking into the soil, which can actchually make it more fertile. Who knew decaying corpses were the secret to solving climate change? Not me :D

Segment 3: Personal Connections

Now its time to get personal…We have always been interested in forensics from watching TV shows like Criminal Minds, and took the Forensic Science course during high school. In this course we went over how people look during death such as rigor mortis, but never went over different stages of decomposition, and felt interested in this topic. You also never know when you might stumble across a dead body and want to know why it looks so bloated… and juicy ;)

Thank you for listening to this episode of Chemistry Connections. For more student-ran podcasts and digital content, make sure that you visit www.hvspn.com. 

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/neurophilosophy/2015/may/05/life-after-death#:~:text=Decomposition%20begins%20several%20minutes%20after,begin%20to%20 accumulate%20 inside%20the m

https://bioteamaz.com/phoenix-heat-speeds-up-the-decomposition-process/#:~:text=Bodies%20decompose%20fastest%20in%20hot,occur%20in%20a%20shorter%20timeline. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3377612/ 

https://alabamabioclean.com/the-5-stages-of-human-decomposition/#:~:text=The%20five%20stages%20of%20human,at%20which%20a%20body%20decomposes

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

Bodies (cover) by @Angela Choi and Katie Laitusis

Turn It Down For What (cover) @Angela Choi and Katie Laitusis

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Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry ConnectionsThe Chemistry of FoxglovesEpisode #2

  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections! Our names are Samiyah and Raelynn and we are your hosts for episode #2 called The Chemistry of Foxgloves. Today we will be discussing the scientific properties behind these flowers that have the “power to cure and kill.” 

Segment 1: Introduction to Foxgloves

• Foxgloves, also known as the Digitalis flowers, are striking plants that look like elegant bunches of upside-down bells, and while their most common species are purple, and are known as the Digitalis purpurea, they come in a variety of colors including white, yellow, and pink amongst others. Native to Europe, western Asia, and northwestern Africa, they can grow up to 60 inches tall, and are biennial or perennial, flowering from June to September. 
• They have both healing and toxic properties, and are known as the flower with the “power to cure and kill"; it's likely for this reason that they represent insincerity- while on the surface gifting someone a bouquet of these alluring flowers may seem like a nice gesture, it could signify your ill will towards them. 
• So while compounds synthesized from these beautiful plants may be part of your daily medications- don't gift them to your significant other!

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Foxgloves

• Context: 
• Foxgloves are made up of glycoside molecules, which are steroid groups bonded to a sugar, called digoxin and digitoxin.
• The foxglove extract, which contains these glycosides, is known as digitalis, which is named after the plant’s Latin name.
• Chemistry topic: bonding/structure
• Molecules
• Molecules are covalently bonded nonmetals; what sets them apart from ionic bonding or ions is because nonmetals have very high electronegativity values, and as such all of the atoms involved in bonding would pull on the electrons in an equally strong way, thus resulting in strong covalent bonds resulting in molecules. 
• While looking at the structures of these molecules, digitoxin, and digoxin, it’s also easy to spot the large amount of OH groups that they both possess- indeed, both of them possess almost identical chemical structures, though notably, digoxin has an extra OH group thus causing the differences between the two compounds. This large amount of OH groups leads to increased polarity within both of the glycosides, which leads to increased water solubility. This is because water molecules themselves are also polar, and “like dissolves like” as the saying goes; as such, polar substances like these glycosides are highly soluble in water.
• While they have similar properties, digitoxin has a longer half-life than digoxin, making individuals more susceptible to toxicity and thus kidney failure, as it removes the system from the equilibrium needed to maintain health, which we'll discuss shortly. 
• Chemistry topic: equilibrium
• Digoxin is a key compound in the ability of digitalis to provide both beneficial and harmful effects, and does so through the sodium-potassium ion pumps found in heart cells.
• These pumps push ions against the concentration gradients to establish a greater concentration of sodium ions outside the cell and a greater concentration of potassium ions inside the cell.
• Aids in maintaining cellular equilibrium
• Digoxin prevents sodium ions from crossing the cell membrane and exiting the cell, therefore disturbing equilibrium. This causes the intracellular concentration of calcium to increase and the heart beats slower.
• Therapeutic effects:
• Can be used to treat arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) and heart failure
• Healing properties were introduced by William Withering in his book An Account of the Foxglove (1785)
• Developed a cure for dropsy (a condition currently known as “edema” in which the area under the skin swells with fluid)
• His work paved the way for the use of foxglove extract in treatments for heart failure
• Toxic effects:
• Can slow the heart to an extreme, depriving the brain of oxygen
• Could result in a heart attack as the body attempts to raise the heart rate in response

Figure 1

Segment 3: Personal Connections

• It’s interesting how the unique chemical makeup of a flower can cause it to have such drastically different effects:
• Digitalis’ ability to heal or poison comes down to the molecular structure of digitoxin and digoxin and the specific ways in which they interact with cellular components of the human body
• Points to the importance of understanding chemistry in order to use these substances properly 
• Raelynn: “it symbolizes life, what can save you can also kill you”
• Samiyah: "fascinating … and I've just loved poison since I was small." 

Thank you for listening to this episode of Chemistry Connections. For more student-ran podcasts and digital content, make sure that you visit www.hvspn.com. 

Sources:

• Digitalis (Wikipedia)
• Foxglove (Britannica)
• Foxglove (Woodland Trust)
• The Chemistry of Foxgloves—Poison & Medicine (CompoundChem)
• The Folklore of Flowers: Belladonna, Foxgloves & Angel's Trumpet (Icy Sedgwick)
• Shortage of Digitoxin and Switching to Digoxin in Norway: A Retrospective Study of Blood Samples Submitted to a Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory (Wiley Online Library)
• Mechanisms Underlying Anti-hyperalgesic Properties of Kaempferol-3,7-di-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside Isolated from Dryopteris cycadina (ResearchGate)
• CK-12 (image)
• Chemistry Learner (image)

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

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Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry ConnectionsThe Chemistry of Polyester Shirts & Their Impact On The EnvironmentEpisode #1

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Dorothy Wong and I am your host for episode #1 called The Chemistry of Polyester Shirts & Their Environmental Impact. Today I will be discussing the structure of polyester, how it is made, why it is used to make shirts, and its impact on the environment.

Segment 1: Introduction to Polyester

Polyester is a type of polymer.

Polymers are chains of thousands of monomers, forming a single big molecule.

• Monomers are smaller molecules that can react with each other to form polymer chains.
• The process is called polymerization.
• It is amorphous - polymer chains are randomly bunched together.
• The bonds within polymers are covalent (intramolecular forces),
• The bonds between polymers are dipole-dipole and London Dispersion (intermolecular forces).

Polyesters, in particular, are made by mixing an alcohol with a carboxylic acid.

• This reaction forms an ester functional group which is distinguished by the atom chain C-O-O.
• Another property of polyester in general is that it is a thermoplastic polymer - can be remelted and remolded.

Most Common Polyester: Polyethylene Terephthalate

• Also known as PET or #1 Recycling Plastic
• Properties: High strength, low shrinkage, chemical resistance → This makes it ideal for plastic containing and clothes.

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Polyethylene Terephthalate

Process Of Making Polyethylene Terephthalate Fiber

• A condensation reaction occurs between ethylene glycol and dimethyl terephthalate.
• This ends up becoming a monomer, containing the ester functional group COO (trait of a polyester as stated before).
• The monomers react once more with dimethyl terephthalate to form the polymer (PET).
• Molten polyethylene is formed into long strands that cool and dry.
• They are then broken up again, melted, and spun into fibers.
• The final product is polyester fibers that can be dyed and turned into clothing.

Chemical Bonding Within Polyethylene Terephthalate

• Covalent Bonds
• Explain what covalent bonding is:
• This sort of bonding occurs when neither of the two atoms want to part with their own electrons, causing them to share.
• This can be found by finding the difference in electronegativity.
• One pair of shared electrons makes a single bond, two pairs of sharing electrons make a double bond, three pairs of shared electrons make a triple bond.

Amorphous Solid

• Benzene ring limits the mobility of the groups attached
• The polymer chains cannot properly arrange themselves in a crystalline structure, contributing to its amorphous structure (blame on the benzene ring)
• Amorphous nature allows for transparent appearance → what you see in plastic water bottles
• Shirts → They are not transparent, but dyes are added to them to get the desired color

Segment 3: Personal Connections

I am interested in the environment, and the different factors that negatively affect it.

I went to a sustainable polymers camp this past summer. I was intrigued by the large reach that plastic has on the environment. One talk that really caught my eye was the one about microplastic. In this lecture, the professor (Anne McNeil) mentioned that millions of microplastic particles from the synthetic material of shirts are released into the environment for every laundry load. Because I was aware that polyester was one such synthetic material, I thought it would be interesting to look at its structure and properties. It is interesting to see how this is the case.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Chemistry Connections. For more student-ran podcasts and digital content, make sure that you visit www.hvspn.com. 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomer 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyester 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyethylene_terephthalate 

https://www.compoundchem.com/2022/12/15/football-shirt-2022/ 

https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Organic_Chemistry/Supplemental_Modules_(Organic_Chemistry)/Esters/Reactivity_of_Esters/Polyesters 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/polyester-fiber

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/polyethylene-terephthalate 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/covalent-bond#:~:text=A%20covalent%20bond%20consists%20of,two%20nuclei%20are%20bonding%20electrons. 

https://sewport.com/fabrics-directory/polyester-fabric#:~:text=Chemically%2C%20polyester%20is%20a%20polymer,be%20derived%20from%20other%20sources. 

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Polymer 

https://study.com/academy/lesson/polyethylene-terephthalate-structure-uses.html 

List your sources here. Make sure they are linked. Wikipedia cannot count for more than 50% of your sources.

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

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Research

Polyesters: 

• Type of polymer - a chain of monomers; a singular molecule made up of thousands of covalently bonded atoms
• Amorphous
• Manufactured by mixing an alcohol and carboxylic acid
• Contains the ester functional group
• Thermoplastic polymer, meaning that it can be remelted and remolded
• Most well known polyester is polyethylene terephthalate
• Also known as PET
• Recycling Number: 1

Polyethylene Terephthalate

• Properties: high strength, low shrinkage, chemical resistance → great for clothing
• Used for food and drink containers, plastic bottles, and clothing
• Intermolecular Forces: dipole-dipole forces between carbon and oxygen atoms, london dispersion forces
• Process of Making Polyethylene Terephthalate:
• Condensation reaction between ethylene glycol and dimethyl terephthalate
• Ends up becoming a monomer, containing the ester functional group COO (trait of a polyester)
• Monomer reacts once more with dimethyl terephthalate to form the polymer

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry ConnectionsThe Chemistry Behind Acid RefluxEpisode #16

Welcome to episode #16 of Chemistry Connections. We’re your hosts, Jeri Nestle and Andrew McManimon. In today’s episode, “The Chemistry Behind Acid Reflux,” we’ll be discussing Acid Reflux: what causes it, how it can be treated, and the chemistry behind it all.  

Segment 1: Introduction to Acid Reflux

We’ll start with the definition of acid reflux…

• So, what is acid reflux? 
• commonly called gastroesophageal reflux disease or simply GERD
• some background about the condition: is defined as the occurrence when stomach acid comes back up into the esophagus. 
• symptoms of GERD include heartburn, burning chest pains, and nausea (room for question- Why does it cause heartburn specifically?) 
• important to make the distinction between acid reflux and GERD- while technically the bodily process that occurs is the same thing, acid reflux is itself temporary, while GERD is chronic. 
• mechanics of reflux: the lower esophageal sphincter is a ring-shaped muscle that separates the stomach from the esophagus (clarify: multiple sphincters throughout the body)
• the job of the sphincter is to keep food down from the food pipe into the stomach, but in acid reflux, the sphincter doesn’t close completely and gastric acid can come back up into the food pipe 
• It’s interesting because we know what can cause acid reflux, but we don’t know why people develop GERD chronically 

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Acid Reflux

1. Acid reflux chemistry 
2. This stomach acid, which is also called gastric acid, is mainly composed of HCl, and also contains KCl and NaHCl. It is highly acidic, with a pH between 1-2. For listeners who may not be familiar with the pH scale, it is BASED on a scale of 1-14 with pH values of 1-6 being labeled as “acidic” and those with a pH value of 8-14 being considered “alkaline.” 7 is a neutral baseline, in which acidic and alkaline, or basic, substances are compared. A common example of a neutral substance is pure water. 
3. Weird that something so corrosive helps us live, but stomach acid provides a crucial key in our digestive process 
4. because it is highly corrosive, it helps break down the food and substances we consume so our body can further break it down and take what we need from it, like vitamins and minerals. More specifically, it works to denature any consumed protein by decomposing its globular structure into amino acid chains. The low pH value also creates the perfect condition for enzymes in the stomach to function. One of the main types of enzymes in the stomach is called proteases, which work to break the amino acid chains into shorter chains, explaining globular amino acid things or individual amino acids to make digestion easier. These enzymes can only work at a low pH, so it is important to maintain this acidic environment. 
5. Jeri recap in human terms 
6. Human stomachs can contain stomach acid because the stomach lining is resistant to corrosion thanks to the mucus it secretes, but the lining of the esophagus is not. Acid reflux can usually be treated with an antacid, like Alka Seltzer.
7. How antacids work to neutralize the HCl in gastric acid
8. Antacids like Alka Seltzer, are doses of mild bases that react with the excess HCl in acid-base neutralization reactions to neutralize the acidity of the gastric acid, returning the body back to normal conditions
9. Ex. Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is an active ingredient found in Tums that neutralizes HCl 
10. The acid-base reaction converts carbonic acid into CO2 into H2O 
11. CaCO3 (s) + 2HCl (aq) → CaCl2 (calcium chloride) (aq) + H2O (l) + CO2 (g)
12. MgCO3 and NaHCO3 are also common substances used to neutralize the stomach acid

Segment 3: Personal Connections

• Jeri, personal connection
• has some LPR laryngopharyngeal reflux - acid reflux into the larynx/throat
• a lot of people have this, but don’t notice it because it’s considered “silent” acid reflux 
• mostly people who sing/speak a lot and publicly notice it
• was interested in the chemistry behind acid reflux 
• a lot of conflicting info online about home remedies and how to combat acid with acidic or alkaline foods/ingredients 
• Some home remedies include consuming highly acidic substances

Thank you for listening to this episode of Chemistry Connections. For more student-ran podcasts and digital content, make sure that you visit www.hvspn.com.

Sources:

List your sources here. Make sure they are linked. Wikipedia cannot count for more than 50% of your sources.

https://sciencedebate.com/science-blog/acid-reflux-what-it

https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/General_Chemistry/Map%3A_A_Molecular_Approach_(Tro)/16%3A_Acids_and_Bases/16.01%3A_Heartburn#:~:text=Heartburn%20is%20caused%20by%20a,of%20us%20 are%20 familiar%20with.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322879

https://youtu.be/bUrZKQzrixI

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

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Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry ConnectionsChemistry of Poisonous PlantsEpisode #15

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Brian Chin and I am your host for episode 15 called Chemistry of Poisonous Plants. My name is Rey Riordan and I am also your host for this episode. Today we will be discussing various poisonous plants and how chemistry explains why they’re so dangerous.

Segment 1: Introduction to Chemistry of Poisonous Plants

Most people instantly think of poison ivy when they think of poisonous plants. The familiar itchiness, irritation, red skin. However, there are many other poisonous plants out there that are much more deadly. “Poisonous plants” are formally defined as plants that when touched or eaten in sufficient quantities are harmful or even fatal to organisms. 

So, let’s talk about some examples, starting with the water hemlock:

• Water hemlock has many nicknames: beaver poison, devil’s flower, break-your-mother’s-heart
• According to Christianity, the water hemlock, which is native to the Mediterranean region, became poisonous after growing on the hillside of Jesus’ crucifixion
• On the outside, the water hemlock also gives signs of its poisonous nature. Its stem is streaked with purple and red and the leaves release an odor when crushed
• This plant famously killed the philosopher Socrates after he drank hemlock tea - Socrates felt numbing sensation that spread throughout body before he died

The stinging nettle is another extremely dangerous plant:

• The nettle, which can grow up to 7 feet tall, has stinging hairs known as trichomes on its green leaves (can be as big as 6 inches) and stem
• These trichomes inject harmful chemicals upon contact
• Because of its unique effects, the nettle has even impacted Western culture to a certain extent
• Aesop had a fable called “The Boy and the Nettle”
• The English word “nettled,” which denotes someone who’s irritated, is also derived from the properties of the stinging nettle

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Poisonous Plants

1. Poison ivy
2. Oxidation of urushiol in body
3. Urushiol is the chemical in poison ivy that causes the allergic reaction. It’s a type of molecule known as a catechol, which means that it has a ring of six carbon atoms with alcohol (OH) groups attached to two of them, and then a string of trailing hydrocarbons (as shown in diagram).
4. When something brushes up against poison ivy and urushiol comes into contact with air as a result, it reacts with the O2 molecules in the air and becomes oxidized. The H atoms are broken off, which means that an electron is lost and the oxidation number of O increases from -2 to -1 to compensate (this is what oxidation is).
5. Oxidized urushiol with two double-bonded oxygens is then able to react with and stick to certain proteins of the skin. When reacted with a protein, urushiol acts as a hapten, which means that it causes an immune system response by changing the shape of the protein and making it seem foreign and dangerous to the body. This is what actually causes the allergic reaction of rashes and blisters that poison ivy is so well-known for.
6. Water hemlock
7. Cicutoxin
8. Cicutoxin often more concentrated in hemlock’s roots - so don’t touch roots
9. Cicutoxin’s chemical formula is C17H22O2
10. Qualifies as alcohol because two hydroxyl groups (OHs) attached to carbon atoms that are part of a larger hydrocarbon chain
11. Chemically, cicutoxin causes neuronal depolarization - essentially, the electric charge in a neuron cell changes so inside of cell becomes less negative than outside
12. Too much neuronal depolarization causes cells to become overactive - overactive cells is the reason why cicutoxin damages nervous system and causes seizures - if seizures aren’t treated, can lead to swelling in brain, muscle breakdown, blood becoming too acidic
13. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, tremors
14. Mass spectrometry
15. Hospital labs use mass spectrums to see whether or not patient’s blood has cicutoxin
16. After substance put in mass spectrometer, mass spectrum is produced. Mass spectrums essentially show peaks - each peak represents an atom or atoms (which can be identified using the mass) - height of peak shows abundance of atom/atoms
17. When put in mass spectrum, cicutoxin always shows up the same way (kinda like person’s fingerprint) - same peaks when cicutoxin breaks up into smaller parts - doctors can thus easily identify cicutoxin even if other substances in blood
18. Stinging nettle
19. Neurotransmitters: histamine, acetylcholine, serotonin
20. To cause pain, the stinging nettle mainly injects neurotransmitters such as histamine, acetylcholine, and serotonin. Neurotransmitters usually function as chemical messengers in the body by carrying chemical signals, but in this case they function as irritants and cause a painful reaction.
21. For example, histamine normally responds to allergies and causes inflammation in the affected area, allowing the immune system to do its repair work. However, when injected unnecessarily, it results in unwanted inflammation and pain.
22. Acids: formic acid, tartaric acid, oxalic acid (low concentration of formic acid)
23. The stinging nettle also injects a number of acids, which are thought to either cause pain or extend the pain duration.
24. Although present in a low concentration in stinging nettles, formic acid is capable of causing a stinging sensation and is present in many poisons such as ant venom. It has a chemical formula of HCOOH, and is an acid because it dissociates in water to form hydronium ions and its conjugate base HCOO-. It has an acid dissociation constant of 1.8 x 10^-4, which refers to the ratio between the products and reactants at equilibrium during its dissociation. With a small dissociation constant, formic acid is a weak acid, meaning that very little of it dissociates in water.

Segment 3: Personal Connections

Rey: The topic popped into my head because my father gets hit by poison ivy very frequently after yard work. He constantly complains about the itch and the fact that there is no particularly effective way to treat it. This got me wondering why this was so, and what chemicals were involved in the reaction. In addition, I’ve never gotten a poison ivy rash even while doing similar yard work. Thus, I also wondered whether it was possible to be immune to the reaction-causing chemicals in poison ivy.

Brian: I became interested in this topic after researching more about poisonous plants. It absolutely boggled my mind that some of these tiny, seemingly harmless looking plants could do so much damage on human beings. After finding out that these plants could even cause death, I wanted to research how this could be so. In my opinion, this topic is important because people should be aware that poisonous plants exist and they should be careful when doing things like hiking.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Chemistry Connections. For more student-ran podcasts and digital content, make sure that you visit www.hvspn.com. 

Sources:

1. Types of poisonous plants
2. Poison Ivy (CDC)
3. Intro to plant poisons (Brit)
4. Definition of poisonous plant
5. Water hemlock interesting background
6. Poison Ivy reaction explanation
7. Stinging nettle overview
8. Stinging Nettle chemistry
9. Water hemlock chemistry
10. Poison Ivy (Wiki)
11. More poison ivy
12. Histamines
13. Formic acid

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

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Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry ConnectionsChemistry of a Plasma BallEpisode #14  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Daniel Wolf and I am your host for episode #14 called Chemistry of a Plasma Ball. Today I will be discussing plasma, electron transitions, ionization energy, and noble gases.

Segment 1: Introduction to The Plasma Ball

In this segment, I want to briefly overview what a plasma ball is and where it came from. Nikola Tesla, a famed scientist for his many breakthroughs in electricity, invented and patented the “plasma lamp” while experimenting with high voltage phenomena. In 1971, another scientist named Bill Parker would invent the modern version of the plasma ball. James Falk would later commercialize it as a novelty toy.  

How it works:

• A high voltage alternating current is emitted from the small electrode in the center of the plasma globe
• The globe itself contains a mixture of inert noble gases in a vacuum-sealed container 
• The high voltage alternating current ionizes the gas creating plasma, and an electric current is allowed to flow.   
• Plasma filaments extend from the coil- the lightning effect seen extending from the coil 
• The color of the light is dependent on the noble gas being ionized in the plasma ball
• The flow of electrons and the noble gas involved creates plasma filaments that radiates across the globe
• A human is much more conductive than glass, which is why the plasma filaments become a large singular beam, because it's looking for a “ground” 

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind the Plasma Ball 

There are quite a few connections to chemistry within a plasma ball. For example, the fact that plasma balls contain the fourth state of matter plasma. 

• Simplified, when a solid is heated it turns into a liquid, when a liquid is heated it turns into a gas, and when a gas is heated it becomes plasma.  
• It takes around 10,000 K - 100,000 K to create plasma (10-100 electron volts (eV)) 
• Ionization energy is the energy required to remove a single electron from an atom. Plasma is formed when electrons from gas are ionized, creating a soup of electrons and positive ions. 
• Electricity (a flow of electrons) collides with noble gas atoms in the plasma ball. Electrons attached to the atoms are knocked off. Standard plasma balls contain 2-5 kilowatts of electricity at 30Hz. 
• Lightning can be seen in the plasma ball due to the properties of plasma, being that it can conduct electricity due to the free-flowing charged particles (cations and electrons). Electrons are held together by electrostatic attractions 
• Comparing the other states of matter, solids tend to have very packed and tight-fitted particles in a lattice structure. It’s classified by its definite shape and volume. 
• Liquids have particles that move and slide past each other. There is more freedom in a liquid’s movement, so it has an indefinite shape and volume 
• Down to the atomic structure, gases tend to have particles that move with higher speed and kinetic energy, there is a great amount of space between particles making the particles much more dispersed. Indefinite shape and volume 

What about the different colors of plasma ball lightning. Some plasma balls emit a green color, while others emit a purple color. 

• Electricity excites the electrons in the noble gas to different orbitals, when these electrons return back to their original orbitals in what’s called an electron transition, a photon is emitted. 
• A photon is a particle of light and can be treated as such. Essentially the electron transition emits light. The color of light is dependent on the energy difference between two energy levels 
• Example: an electron transition from the 3rd to the 1st energy level has a greater energy difference than an electron transition from the 2nd to 1st energy level.
• Example: neon causes a reddish-orange streamers while a mixture of neon, xenon, and krypton produces green streamers. 

Why noble gases? After all, plasma can be created from any gas as long as it's ionized. 

• Noble gases are considered inert, which means they tend to be very nonreactive 
• This is because of the full octet that all noble gases share. This means that no more electrons can be added to a noble gas. 
• Components of plasma ball are mostly metal, so it would be good if the gas inside didn’t react 

Segment 3: Personal Connections

I wanted to do this topic because I thought, when I was young, that plasma balls were one of the coolest toys back then, besides a power rangers action figure. For a state of matter that makes up 99.9% of the universe, we don’t see a lot of it on earth. So plasma balls gives us a glimpse into the wonders of plasma. 

Thank you for listening to this episode of Chemistry Connections. For more student-ran podcasts and digital content, make sure that you visit www.hvspn.com. 

Sources:

• https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-does-a-plasma-ball-work 
• https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/1999/ast07sep99_1#:~:text=%2299.9%20percent%20of%20the%20Universe,NASA's%20Marshall%20Space%20Flight%20Center. 
• https://cen.acs.org/articles/86/i43/Plasma-Globes.html#:~:text=Plasma%20ball%20makers%20rely%20on,produces%20reddish%20orange%20light%20streamers.
• https://www.psfc.mit.edu/vision/what_is_plasma
• https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=75251.0#:~:text=When%20electrons%20are%20split%20off,attached%20to%20a%20particular%20%2B%20ion.
• https://wonders.physics.wisc.edu/plasma-ball-experiments/#:~:text=The%20plasma%20ball%20is%20a,globe%20is%20a%20partial%20vacuum.
• https://sciencestruck.com/what-is-plasma-ball-how-does-it-work#:~:text=The%20first%20plasma%20lamp%20was,plasma%20ball%20in%20the%201970s.
• https://www.plasma-universe.com/plasma-filaments/
• https://www.advancedplasmasolutions.com/what-is-plasma/#:~:text=In%20thermal%20plasmas%2C%20energy%20is,100%20electron%20volts%20(eV)).

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

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Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry ConnectionsChemistry of the SunEpisode #13  Segment 1: Introduction to Fusion in the Sun

• Welcome to chemistry connections, my name is Tyler Longo
• And I am Sathya Kummarapurugu, and we are your hosts for episode #13. 
• Today we will be discussing the processes that take place in the sun, through a chemistry-focused lens
• Before a star is born there are clouds of dust in the area it will be formed. When clouds of dust begin to be pulled together by the force of gravity gaseous stars begin to be formed
• As gravity drags these gas particles together making stars, the temperature in the core increases to very high temperatures. As the amount of thermal energy in the core increases the temperature also increases. As temperature increases the avg kinetic energy in the sun’s core increases, and according to the equation KE=0.5mv2 as Kinetic energy increases the velocity of the hydrogen atoms in the core increases. According to the collision theory, when a particle collides with another particle with enough activation energy, a bond may form, releasing energy. 
• So since the temperature is so high, does that mean that the Hydrogen atoms within these stars begin to collide and form a bond?
• Technically, since hydrogen particles are protons, two protons coming close together have a repulsive force between them by Columbus law since both protons are positively charged and particles with the same charge repel each other. Columb’s law states that objects of the same charge repel each other and objects of opposing charge attract each other. This attraction(electrostaticforce) and repulsion are directly proportional to the distance between the particles and charge magnitude. But the strong nuclear force overcomes the repulsive force and the two protons bind together
• That’s really only the first step of the process in which hydrogen atoms become helium atoms through fusion. It’s actually a multistep process called a proton-proton chain reaction
• So how it works is first, two hydrogen atoms collide together through the power of this force called the strong nuclear force. These are basically just protons. 
• A proton is composed of an up, up, and down quark. These are one of the fundamental particles of the universe
• So when the weak force is applied, this causes an up quark to become a down quark, thus changing the two of the particles from protons to neutrons
• Yeah, There are also 4 other fundamental quarks: strange quarks, charm quarks, top quarks, and bottom quarks. 
• What’s important is that up quarks have a charge of +2/3 and down quarks have a charge of -1/3, which means when two ups and one down come together to form a proton, it has a total charge of +1. Likewise, since a neutron has one up and two downs, it has a charge of 0
• These quarks make up the fundamental particles of the universe such as neutrons and protons. Anyway, the protons are brought together by the Strong nuclear force and joined together by the strong nuclear force. The quarks are joined together by the gluons within each proton. When the strong force brings another proton towards the proton and then the protons collide with enough force, the protons stick together because the strong nuclear force joins a gluon to the quarks within the other proton causing the protons to bind and form a helium atom.
• The sun conducts nuclear fusion within its core, and these interactions that occur between quarks are central to the fusion process.
• When the protons fuse one Helium atom is created. The fusion releases a bunch of thermal energy. When bonds are formed energy is released and to break these bonds energy is required. Forming a bond through the strong nuclear force releases a lot of energy because the strong nuclear force is so strong at that microscopic scale. 
• In the sun, about 74% of the mass is composed of hydrogen, and about 25% of the mass is composed of helium
• That means we can use stoichiometry to figure out the mole ratio between these two elements within the sun. Remember, as we determined before, the isotope of helium found in the sun is helium 4. So using the numbers I said before, if we had a 100 gram sample of sun (lololol), then 74 grams would be hydrogen and 25 grams would be helium. 
• But since helium is four grams per mole, this means 25 grams of helium equals about six moles of helium.
• When you look at the ratio of 74 moles of hydrogen to 6 moles of helium, that comes out to being about 12 moles of hydrogen per mole of helium within the sun
• Wait that actually makes so much sense!!!!
• Yeah! Thinking back to the proton-proton chain reaction, six hydrogen-1 atoms were needed in the fusion reaction just to produce a helium atom (and also two extra hydrogens), so it makes sense for there to be many more moles of hydrogen than helium in the sun

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Pressure and Thermodynamics in the Sun

• Let’s get back to the topic of pressure. PV=nrt is the ideal gas law where P is pressure, V is volume, n is the number of moles, r is the gas constant, and t is the temperature. According to this law, when temperature increases Pressure also increases. 
• As the temperature increases, the core of a star exerts pressure outward. 
• Yeah, and This pressure opposes the force of gravity. Since the force of the reaction and the force of gravity are equal and opposite the star is held in a delicate equilibrium and does not collapse in on itself.
• Our sun has a surface temperature of around 5,778 K. According to the second law of thermodynamics, entropy always will naturally increase in the universe. Entropy is the amount that heat is dispersed or spread out. Since entropy must always increase in the universe the sun must disperse/transfer its concentration of thermal energy in some way. In space, stars transfer this heat through radiation, since convection or conduction is impossible in a vacuum, which increases entropy since the heat is more dispersed throughout space.
• This is a great application of the ideal gas law since the intermolecular forces between hydrogens and heliums are sooo small. I mean, I guess there would be London dispersion forces, but these elements that we are dealing with have such small electron clouds that are barely even polarizable, so their behavior must be so close to that of an ideal gas and they are moving at such high speeds that I guess IMFs don’t play much of a role.
• Although it is the lightest and most abundant element in the universe, Hydrogen is finite. The fusion in the sun is represented by the transmutation equation 11H + 11H→22He + heat. Also if you look closely, you’ll notice that this transmutation equation actually uses Isotopic notation. Isotopic notation is where the mass number (amount of protons and neutrons) is written on the top left of the element symbol and the atomic number (amount of protons) is written on the bottom left of the element symbol. Protons dictate what element an atom is. For example, if a particle has one proton it’s a hydrogen atom and if it has two it is a helium atom. 
• I noticed that you listed heat as a product in that equation. That indicates that the reaction releases energy/heat, and it is exothermic, so the enthalpy, or change in heat energy, is negative. You also mentioned that hydrogen is finite, what does that mean??
• That means hydrogen is the limiting reagent, which means it is the reactant that limits the amount of product produced. When the Hydrogen atoms run out the reaction stops. 
• So at that point, if that reaction stops no more thermal energy can be created.
•  According to PV=nrt as thermal energy decreases t decreases and P decreases. There will be no more outward pressure created and gravity becomes the dominant force in the star. The star collapses in on itself and explodes in a supernova, more entropy since the explosion spreads out the rest of the thermal energy in the sun.
• So when the star runs out of hydrogen to use in the fusion reaction, the pressure decreases because thermal energy runs low and temperature decreases in the core and the star collapses, so it just disperses all of its energy because of entropy. Are there any other ways that a star can die?
• Actually yeah: Black holes. D=m/v where m is mass and v is volume. As the star dies it expands and sheds some of its mass. The core, however, maintains most of its mass and when the star is MASSIVE ENOUGH (meaning it has a lot of mass) it has the ability to become a black hole. As the star collapses due to gravity, the volume of the star rapidly decreases while the mass of the core stays relatively constant. 
• If the volume is rapidly decreasing, with mass staying the same, that must mean the density gets extremely high…
• At about 2 x 1019 kg/m3, the star has enough density to become a black hole which terrified me as a child but fascinates me now.

Segment 3: Personal Connections

• The topic of stars was mostly your idea, so I’m wondering, how did you come up with the topic??
• Well, I never really understood how the sun worked so I wanted to explore something I didn’t know. I knew that fusion would have to go into quantum mechanics a bit so to force myself to learn it I decided to learn more about stars.
• Yeah, that's a good point, I didn't know anything about the sun going into this project either, even though it is kind of a pretty big part of our lives. One detail that I kind of skipped over is that, in the proton-proton chain reaction in which protons are fused together, in the process of changing a proton to a neutron, one other product that is released is gamma rays. When leaving the sun, these get converted into lower-energy photons such as ultraviolet rays, which can cause sunburn. That’s an example of how this stuff relates to our experiences in real life.
• I also wanted to know what fusion exactly was and how it worked. I also got to learn about quarks and how they are technically the fundamental building blocks of matter.
• At the start of the project, I came across an article titled “proton contains more anti-down quarks than anti-up” and I thought it sounded extremely dumb, but now that we learned about quarks, things like this are able to make much more sense
• Anyway, Thank you for listening to this episode of Chemistry Connections. For more student-run podcasts and digital content, make sure that you visit www.hvspn.com. 

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_binding_energy
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_chemistry
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion 
• https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-fusion-604474#:~:text=Fusion%20Definitions%20in%20Physics%20and,may%20be%20termed%20nuclear%20fusion
• https://sciencing.com/what-is-the-chemical-composition-of-most-stars-12731968.html
• https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve
• https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-is-a-star-born/
• https://sciencing.com/how-heat-transferred-sun-earth-4926205.html
• https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainsnuclear-fusion-reactions
• https://byjus.com/physics/thermodynamics/#:~:text=Thermodynamics%20%E2%80%93%20Summary%20and%20Overview,-%E2%86%92%20In%20simple&text=First%20law%20of%20thermodynamics%3A%20Energy,any%20isolated%20system%20always%20increases.
• https://theconversation.com/explainer-black-holes-7431#:~:text=The%20matter%20density%20needed%20to,density%20of%20an%20atomic%20nucleus.

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

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Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting Network Chemistry Connections Episode #12Segment 1: Introduction

Our names are Veer Davda and Ramit Dasika, this is episode number 12 of Chemistry Connections and we will be talking about seizures. Seizures are really scary and for a lot of people it can strike at any time, if you have a seizure disorder, by just playing a video-game or watching T.V can cause a seizure to strike at any moment. What we try to discover in this episode is what the chemistry behind a seizure is and the chemical processes behind the seizure.

1. So- What is a Seizure? A seizure is a symptom in which there is a disturbance in the brain. It leads to changes in mood, behavior, and level of consciousness in the day. It can change your behavior, feelings, and level of responsiveness every minute. During a seizure, there is a sudden intense burst of electricity that disrupts how the brain usually works. This activity can happen on one small part of the brain and last for just a couple of seconds, or it can spread right across the brain and keep going for many minutes. 

• Now, where that sudden burst of electricity comes from is the question we are trying to figure out and what exactly causes that burst of electricity is what we aim to figure out. 

There are also many causes of that burst of electricity, like Chemical weapons such as sarin and VX, and pesticides such as parathion and carbaryl cause hyperstimulation of cholinergic receptors and an increase in excitatory neurotransmission. 

Segment 2: Chemistry behind Seizures

Now, let’s take a look at the Chemistry behind Seizures. Ionic Substances or ionic compounds form from ions that are attached together with ionic bonding, which is based on the attraction between the positively charged cation and negatively charged anion. When ionic substances dissolve in water and it becomes a solution, the ionic bonding is broken and the compound dissociates to produce positive and negative ions or cations and anions. These ions that are produced are electrolytes. They are called electrolytes because according to their charge, they will be negatively charged ions(anion) or positively charged ions(cations). They can be ionic or covalent compounds. If it is an ionic compound, the compound of a nonmetal and a metal dissociate to yield its appropriate ions, which are electrolytes. If it is a covalent compound, the covalent bonding between both nonmetals are broken and the negatively charged ions are produced. In Epilepsy, there is an imbalance in the number of electrolytes as it causes sodium disorders (especially hyponatremia), hypocalcemia, and hypomagnesemia. The immediate correction of electrolyte imbalances is crucial in permanent brain damage and drastic consequences due to epilepsy. Medical Conditions like Dehydration can impact electrolyte imbalance.

• The only vitamin deficiency known to cause or worsen seizures is a deficiency of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine). This deficiency occurs mainly in newborns and infants and causes seizures that are hard to control.
• https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sielc.com%2FCompound-Vitamins.html&psig=AOvVaw1STaSg9HhDqUNwTE8ljqpq&ust=1654281013046000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAwQjRxqFwoTCLi3lJazj_gCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD 
• Pyridoxine can be used to which can be classified as C8H11NO3 , it has a carbon chain, with 8 Carbons, since it has a pretty long surface area, due to the long carbon chain, it is more polarizable and has stronger LDF forces, it has some OH bonds attached to the carbons and has CH3 bonds attached to other carbons, making this a very unique molecule. A vitamin B6 deficiency of pyridoxine deficiency can cause seizures.

Segment 3: Personal Connections 

What Interests us in this Topic 

• (Veer)What mainly interested me into this topic was my interest in seizures and how exactly they worked. My mom also works at a hospital in Capital Health and they also deal a lot with seizures and she talks about it a lot, which is what interested me in pursuing this topic.
• (Ramit) I was interested in this topic because it is still mostly unknown as the symptoms experienced are odd and are very fatal as it has to deal with negative effects of the brain.

What is this Important to us?

• (Veer) This is an extremely important topic because seizures have the ability to kill, knowing what exactly happens with a seizure and how exactly they work is key in order to prevent seizures. I also volunteer as an EMS, so it is extremely helpful to know what exactly happens with a seizure chemically and how to prevent it, in order to help someone
• (Ramit) I feel that discussing and analyzing such a topic like seizures is very important because it can be very fatal and as we analyze the causes, we can prevent more epilipsy cases from happening and we can find a solution.

Sources:Music Credits

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Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry ConnectionsChemistry of ComputersEpisode #11  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Alex and Tom and we are your hosts for episode 11 called The Chemistry of Computers. Today we will be discussing how chemistry is essential for the function of computers .

Segment 1: Introduction to Chemistry of Laptops 

Computers are heavily present in our society today, they are used in almost all jobs, schools, etc. Our world relies on computers and computers rely on chemistry. 

There are several parts of the computer that are necessary for its function, first of which is the motherboard, this is like the nervous system of the computer and it allows all of the different components to communicate with each other. 

• Central Processing unit or CPU, this is a silicon chip that acts as the brain of the computer, it processes all the data for the computer. 
• These days most computers store information in a device called a Solid State Drive or SSD, this device holds all the information for the computer. 
• Alongside these more behind the scenes aspects are the more well known parts of a computer such as the screen or battery.

All of these components use electricity and generate heat, so in order to prevent the computer from getting too hot, they need to be cooled, most commonly by fans. 

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Computers

Conductors and Semiconductors: 

• There are several materials that are essential for the function of a computer, some of the materials include silicon, plastic, fiberglass, copper and gold, lithium 
• These materials are sorted into three categories: Conductors, Semiconductors, and insulators
• Conductors are what allow electricity to flow because electrons can transfer from particle to particle 
• When electricity passes through a conductor it faces little resistance, allowing for uncontrolled free flowing current. 
•  The insulator does not allow electrical current to travel through it since it has high resistance levels. 
• Semiconductors are a combination of the two, where they allow for the flow of electricity to be controlled. This is done by providing a slightly resistant material.  
• Almost all computers this is through silicon chips, however pure silicon is typically an insulator. This is because pure silicon is constructed from atoms that contain 4 electrons in the orbital furthest from the atom’s nucleus. 
• Due to this atomic structure, the silicon atoms covalently bond together to form a crystalline lattice. By themselves this lattice does not conduct electricity, since the electrons are held stable in the rigid structure. In order for silicon to become a semiconductor electrons must be added or subtracted from the silicon lattice. 
• This process starts with materials that either have three or five electrons that are mixed into the silicon to disrupt the covalent bonds in the crystal lattice structure, this process is called doping. N-type doping uses materials with 5 electrons in the outer orbital, the most common materials used for this are phosphorus and arsenic. These materials add a fifth free electron to the lattice which allows the material to conduct electricity since the electrons are now free flowing. 
• P-type doping is the same process just with materials that have three electrons in their outer ring, such as boron or gallium. The addition of an atom like this leaves the absence of an electron or a hole through which the free-flowing electron can travel. 
• N and P type semiconductors are used to create transistors, these small devices are essential for computers. 
• Transistors act as both an electrical switch as well as an amplifier. They can also be used to retain code as memory blocks, making them crucial to microchip manufacturing, from processors to memory cards. 

Light and Screens: 

• Utilizes liquid crystal molecules
• Liquid Crystal molecules are molecules that exist in a state between liquids and solids because they flow like a liquid but still retain the crystal-like arrangements of a solid.
• Rod-like molecular structure
• Strong Dipole-Dipole bonds 
• Generally have the same orientation, meaning the molecules point the same way, but they aren’t quite as rigidly organized in a lattice structure like solids. They also have much more of an intrinsic order than liquids.
• Essentially, an LED will emit unpolarized light waves that travel in random directions with various orientations. A polarizing filter will only allow light waves with a certain orientation to pass through in order to bring order to polarize the light, meaning to organize them. Another polarizing filter will then be placed on top of the original filter, but turned 90 degrees so that the light waves that have already been polarized will be at the orientation of the first filter, and won’t be able to go through the second. However, Liquid Crystal molecules have an interesting property in which they twist light waves. This means that when these molecules are placed in between the two polarizing filters, they can twist the polarized waves from the first filter to go through the second filter, showing the light waves to whoever is watching. Also, the specific type of Liquid Crystal Molecules used in screens have a positive charge on one end, meaning that an electric field can be applied to the molecule which would disturb its structure and prevent it from twisting the light waves, once again preventing light from passing through the second filter. Based on where light should be shown on the screen, an electric field will be applied to certain areas of LCMs, controlling whether or not light can pass. This process is done in a very small area known as a pixel, and the process is done over the whole screen to have different areas of the screen with light showing and areas where it isn’t.

Batteries:

• Pretty much all laptops these days used lithium ion batteries because the are rechargeable and light
• A battery is made up of an anode, cathode, separator, electrolyte, and two current collectors (positive and negative). 
• The anode and cathode store the lithium. The electrolyte carries positively charged lithium ions from the anode to the cathode and vice versa through the separator. The movement of the lithium ions creates free electrons in the anode which creates a charge at the positive current collector. The electrical current then flows from the current collector through a device being powered (cell phone, computer, etc.) to the negative current collector. The separator blocks the flow of electrons inside the battery.
• While the battery is discharging and providing an electric current, the anode releases lithium ions to the cathode, generating a flow of electrons from one side to the other. When plugging in the device, the opposite happens: Lithium ions are released by the cathode and received by the anode

Cooling: 

• All computers require electricity to function, and some computer components require more electricity than others. As electricity passes across circuits and through wires, it meets a natural degree of resistance. The stronger and more powerful the part is the heat it generates This heat creates the necessity for cooling. 
• There are two main types of cooling in computers, air cooling and water cooling. Water cooling is more efficient than air cooling due to water’s high specific heat or large heat capacity. This means that it takes a lot of energy to change the temperature of water. This chemical property makes it ideal for cooling computer components. 

Segment 3: Personal Connections

What interested you in this topic? Why is it important? Anything else you’d like to share.

• Speaking of cooling, do you remember when we were struggling to install the fans in the computer we built?
• This is important because computers are all around us and are essential to life nowadays
• Tom and I find this topic interesting because we both built computers.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Chemistry Connections. For more student-run podcasts and digital content, make sure that you visit www.hvspn.com. 

Sources:

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-chemistry-lcd-flat-screen-devices-scientist.html

https://www.britannica.com/science/liquid-crystal/Liquid-crystal-compounds

https://www.edisongroup.com/edison-explains/semiconductors/22298/ 

https://uh.edu/~chembi/liquidcrystals.pdf

http://www.bigshotcamera.com/learn/lcd-display/liquid-crystal

https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/how-does-lithium-ion-battery-work 

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

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Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry ConnectionsChemistry of MayoEpisode #9  

Hello, and welcome to Chemistry Connections episode #9. I’m your host Andrew, and today we’ll be discussing the chemistry behind mayonnaise.

Segment 1: Introduction to Mayonnaise

Let’s get started by defining what mayo is. Mayo is made of oil, egg yolks, and a water-based acid like vinegar or lemon juice. Mayo is also an emulsion, which is a mixture of immiscible fluids - ones that do not dissolve in one another. This is achieved by finely dispersing one liquid into tiny droplets that are suspended in the other liquid, but emulsions last only temporarily. The most common emulsions that you’ll see on a daily basis are between oil and water. Emulsions between oil and water include milk, butter, and ice cream - each one has a stable balance of water and fat, which normally do not mix.

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Emulsions

Oil, at the molecular level, is a substance called a triglyceride. Triglycerides are formed from glycerol and three fatty acids. These fatty acids are long chains made of carbon and hydrogen atoms, making triglycerides nearly nonpolar. On the other hand, we know that water molecules, or H2O, have a high net dipole moment because of the difference in electronegativity of the hydrogen to oxygen bonds. The oxygen atom in a water molecule has a partial negative charge, while the hydrogen side has a partial positive charge.

You probably know that oil and water don’t mix, and when you try to mix them together in a cup, the oil will rise to the top. We can explain that through the intermolecular forces that exist between each type of molecule. Nonpolar oil molecules will form London dispersion forces. Water molecules will experience hydrogen bonding due to the especially high electronegativity difference across the O-H bond. When we try to mix them, the solute-solvent interactions that form are dipole-induced dipole forces, but these aren’t strong enough to break the solute-solute or solvent-solvent interactions, so we don’t observe solubility.

This is where emulsifiers come in. These substances stabilize the suspension of little oil droplets in water, or vice-versa, so that they do not separate as quickly. Emulsifiers have two ends, allowing them to form a bridge between the two insoluble liquids. One portion is called lipophilic, or oil-attracting, and it is nonpolar, often made up of a hydrocarbon chain. The other end is called hydrophilic, or water-attracting, and it is polar or ionic. The hydrophilic end will form intermolecular forces with water molecules, which can be either ion-dipole or dipole-dipole, that are strong enough to overcome the hydrogen bonds, while the lipophilic end forms London dispersion forces that overcome the forces between oil molecules. When this happens, the emulsifier molecules will form physical barriers around droplets to prevent them from coalescing and breaking the emulsion.

Segment 3: Personal Connections

Now that we know the chemistry behind emulsions, we can return to the food that brought us here in the first place: mayo. Mayo has always fascinated me in how it is made, turning liquid ingredients into a thick, spreadable condiment. The principles of intermolecular forces are at work here too!

In mayo, the water comes in the form of lemon juice or vinegar. You mix the liquid acid with egg yolks, which provide the emulsifier. Egg yolks contain lecithin, which are a type of phospholipid, or emulsifying molecule. When you slowly stream in oil, whisking quickly disperses the oil, and the lecithin molecules’ hydrophilic and lipophilic ends work to stably suspend the oil droplets. Eventually, you end up with creamy mayonnaise. By adding more liquid oil, you in fact make the mixture thicker because it becomes much more difficult for the water molecules to flow as they surround the oil droplets.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Chemistry Connections. For more student-ran podcasts and digital content, make sure that you visit www.hvspn.com. 

Sources:

https://www.ift.org/news-and-publications/food-technology-magazine/issues/2013/august/columns/processing-1

https://www.aocs.org/stay-informed/inform-magazine/featured-articles/emulsions-making-oil-and-water-mix-april-2014?SSO=True 

The Food Lab by J. Kenji Lopez Alt

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

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