Chemistry Connections

Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry ConnectionsChemistry of Apollo 11Episode #8  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, our names are Max Warias and Harris Hamid, and we are your hosts for episode #8 called Chemistry of Apollo 11. Today we will be discussing the chemistry and history of the Apollo 11 Mision/

Segment 1: Introduction to Apollo 11 Mission

• Explain what the Apollo mission was and why the US wanted to go to the moon. Discuss the technological advancements at the time and the space race with Russia.
• Discuss why it was such a big deal and how big of a success it was.
• Under a decade between Kennedy’s speech and the moon landing
• Massive importance in tandem with Cold War
• There were two main parts to the mission. Getting to get to the moon and getting back home
• Leaving Earth: Talk about the Saturn V rocket. rocket propulsion, nose cone with pressure matching with exit gas velocity. Cone volume manipulation. Talking about efficiency
• Getting down: Talk about the command module. How it had to disperse heat from reentry going thousands mph. All the drag creates heat which needs a proper heat shield.

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind rocket propulsion

Leaving Earth’s Atmosphere

• Chemistry of propulsion
• Combustion reactions
• Fuel consists of a primary fuel, generally a hydrocarbon, and an oxidizing agent, either oxygen or something with oxygen in it, so that it can vaguely follow the outline of a combustion reaction. These reactions are quite violent and release a lot of energy per unit of fuel, making them good for weight efficiency
• First stage used kerosene and oxygen in a standard hydrocarbon combustion reaction, producing heated CO2 and H2O as exhaust
• The second and third used hydrogen and oxygen gas, also a combustion reaction, but without carbon and only producing water as an exhaust
• RCS thrusters for in space maneuvering of the module was a pseudo combustion reaction between monomethyl hydrazine as the fuel and dinitrogen tetroxide oxidizer, as they were easier to store in small quantities
• Gas laws
• The general idea behind propulsion is the manipulation of gasses, which generally behave according to the equation PV=nRT (Pressure*Volume=amount of gas*temp*constant)
• Rocket engines are at peak efficiency when the exhaust has equal pressure to the surrounding atmosphere and the plume is straight and doesn’t deform
• To do this, rocket scientists developed rocket nozzles to gradually increase volume to decrease the pressure until it matches the surrounding air
• Discuss the 3 stages and fuel within each
• Combustion reactions and gas law manipulation

Re-entry into Earth's Atmosphere

• Heat dissipation and absorption, enthalpy; 
• The command module used a heat shield made of phenolic formaldehyde resin which burned and melted away during re-entry, absorbing heat and carrying it with it as it melted and charred off the module. Enthalpy of melting was present here. It ensures that the module doesn't burn up on re-entry
• o
• The heat shield also had many coverings such as a pore seal, moisture barrier, and silver Mylar thermal coating.

Segment 3: Personal Connections

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

It was a massive engineering marvel of the 20th century. Going from having a person in space to having people go to the moon and come back.

I’ve been interested in engineering and technology all m life and this was such a massive milestone for not just the US but for mankind. 

It reveals the advancements made with technology and how far and wide we can actually reach.

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.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Rocket_propellant
• https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/chemistry-goes-to-the-moon/#:~:text=The%20Saturn%20V%20stage%201,in%20liquid%20oxygen%20forming%20steam.
• https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/rocket/nozzle.html
• https://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/chemistry-goes-to-the-moon/#:~:text=The%20Saturn%20V%20stage%201,in%20liquid%20oxygen%20forming%20steam.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_command_and_service_module#Command_Module_(CM)
• GCSE
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_command_and_service_module#Command_Module_(CM)
• https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_11/#:~:text=Apollo%2011%20was%20launched%20on,the%20afternoon%20of%20July%2019.
• https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/space-race
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6021823/#:~:text=The%20density%20of%20PF%20resin,)%2C%20respectively%20%5B16%5D.

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

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Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry ConnectionsPharmaceutical ChemistryEpisode #7  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Eve O’Leary and I am your host for Episode 7 called Pharmaceutical Chemistry. Today I will be discussing The Thalidomide Tragedy.

Segment 1: Introduction to The Thalidomide Tragedy

Developed in Germany in the 1950s, thalidomide is a sedative drug that was administered to pregnant women experiencing morning sickness and insomnia associated with pregnancy. After its five years spent on the market, it was later discovered that the medicine was the cause for babies being born with a rare birth defect, phocomelia, resulting in severely malformed and underdeveloped limbs. 

• The majority of these deformities occurred in Canada, the United Kingdom, and West Germany. 
• Thalidomide was never approved for public consumption in the US
• The experiments were extremely poorly designed lacking a placebo group, excluding information for how long the treatment had gone on for, and failed to use a double blind procedure. 

The drug was withdrawn from shelves by the German distributor, Chemie Grunenthal on November 26, 1961 and was recalled from British shelves on December 2, 1961.

• The British Committee on the Safety of Drugs was established in June 1963, offering detailed regulations for the testing of potentially toxic effects on offspring using rats, mice, and rabbits. 
• Thalidomide cannot be administered to anyone who is possibly or is pregnant, and is instead used to treat a number of cancers and skin conditions such as leprosy. 

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind The Thalidomide Tragedy

Before we start talking about why thalidomide had the effects that it had, let's start by talking about some of its general properties. Below is the chemical structure of thalidomide compound (C13H10N2O4). 

Thalidomide contains several different intermolecular forces:

• London Dispersion Forces
• Dipole-dipole interactions
• Hydrogen bonding
• Extremely important in drug design. 
• More energy is required to break the compounds apart. Has a boiling point of approximately 509.7OC and is insoluble in water

Now that we have a good understanding about the properties of thalidomide, a key understanding of chirality is essential in explaining the issue with the drug. Chirality, key to organic chemistry, is a geometric property used to describe mirror image isomers, called enantiomers, that are not superimposable. 

• The best analogy for this is your hands. If you were to place the left hand over the right, the spatial arrangement will not be the same. 
• The nomenclature of chiral molecules is called the R/S system where R stands for “rectus” which means right in Latin and S stands for “sinister.” 
• Enantiomers share the same physical and reactive properties except for their effect on plane-polarized light. 
• Thalidomide is a racemic mixture of R and S enantiomers. 
• The R-enantiomer has sedative properties while the S-enantiomer is teratogenic, meaning that it raises the risk of or causes birth defects.
• Specifically, it degrades a cell protein known as SALL4 which is responsible for the full development of limbs and important organs. Unfortunately, the isomers cannot be effectively separated before use as they convert into one another under biological conditions. 

See if you can identify the structural difference between the two isomers:

Segment 3: Personal Connections

• Thalidomide had a huge impact on the United Kingdom (where my family is from)
• My maternal grandmother was actually offered thalidomide when she was pregnant in the 1950s 
• This past year, I worked as a consulting intern. I was given the opportunity to research and correspond with a number of companies including Bexa, which is a high resolution breast elastography device.
• Made me passionate, not only about the biomedical industry, but also women’s healthcare in general. 
• If I decide to look at a career path in medical law & ethics, I know that this would be a quintessential 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://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Thalidomide#section=Structures

https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Organic_Chemistry/Supplemental_Modules_(Organic_Chemistry)/Chirality/Chirality_and_Stereoisomers

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/chirality

https://www.understandinganimalresearch.org.uk/news/sixty-years-on-the-history-of-the-thalidomide-tragedy

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2726808/#:~:text=Hydrogen%2Dbonds%20play%20a%20crucial,target%20molecule%20of%20known%20structure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ligand_(biochemistry)

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

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Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry ConnectionsVinyl RecordsEpisode #_6_  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Dominic Chila and I am your host for episode #6 called Chemistry behind Vinyl Records Today I/we will be discussing The history of Vinyl records, how they are made, and how the sound is created.

Segment 1: Introduction to Vinyl Records

Vinyl records have been around for almost a century and still continue to grow in popularity. 

In the 1930’s they began as a way to share the love of music with one another and it blossomed into millions of people collecting vinyl records in order to preserve the original sound of the music as the world became digitalized.

When cassettes, cds, and mp3s came around many people decided the age of vinyl had come to an end and went fully digital. After decades of digitalized music became the go to form of music, vinyl saw a resurgence in the late 2010s. January of 2017 had the highest number of vinyl records sold in one month since 1991. 2017 marked the tenth consecutive year of vinyl growth, partially thanks to indie rock, the emergence of more record stores, and the novelty of the format. Today, vinyl records continue to grow in popularity.

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Vinyl Record

In Todays podcast I will walk through how vinyl records are made as well as how they are able to produce sound.

Vinyl records are made of a chemical compound called polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. PVC is considered a plastic due to it's malleability and plasticity in it's solid state of matter. In PVC, a CH2 molecule (see chemical formula on screen) is bonded to a CHCl (see chemical formula on screen) through a double bond between the carbon. 

The intermolecular forces between molecules of PVC inclue dipole dipole and London disprson forces. London dispersion forces occur in between all molecules. Dipole dipole forces occur when the positive end of a molecule is attracted to the negative end of another. Since PVC is polar it is able to produce dipole dipole forces but it is unable to form hydrogen bonds because it does not contain nitrogen, oxygen, or fluorine. 

The turntabe is able to create sound through the record with the use of energy. When a record spins, it creates sound energy in the form of vibrations that get converted into electrical energy signals. These signals are fed into electronic amplifiers. Electric amps vibrate and feed the resulting sound into speakers, which amplify it and make it louder. 

You may be asking yourself, how does this relate to chemistry. Well you see, those electrical signals are transferred through the internal wiring. The wiring is made of metal which has free-flowing electrons that actually allow the charge to flow through to the amplifiers. Let me explain, the metal used, let's use copper, is able to conduct electricity due to it's properties as a metal and it's bonding. Metallic bonding is very important for conducting electricity because of the free electrons involved. Unlike other bonding, metallic bonding does not bond the electrons to the atom. This “sea of electrons” is able to allow electrical currents to pass through it.

Segment 3: Personal Connections

The vinyl record first stood out to me while I was in my basement and stumbled upon a collection of them that belonged to my dad. I set out and bought a brand new record player and listened to the ones I had found.

Ever since I have been collecting vinyl to listen to at numerous stores, yardsales, and online.

I think it's important to keep vinyl records around because even tho times are changing very fast, it's always good to remember the past and keep nostalgic items in your life.

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.lenntech.com/polyvinyl-chloride-pvc.htm

https://victrola.com/blogs/articles/how-do-vinyl-records-work#:~:text=When%20a%20record%20spins%2C%20it,it%20and%20make%20it%20louder.

https://thevinylrevivers.com/a-brief-history-of-vinyl-records/

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

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Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry ConnectionsThe Chemistry of SunglassesEpisode #5  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Austin Martorana and Tyler Hersh and we are your hosts for episode #5 called The Chemistry of Sunglasses. Today we will be discussing about radiation and the reaction that causes a tint in the glasses. 

Segment 1: Introduction to Sunglasses

• Have you ever put on sunglasses and been like, “How do these sunglasses block the sun.” Well, so did we.
• Well that's actually very interesting because I’ve wanted to know this for a long time and doing research on it shared a lot of information like why do these little pieces of glass absorb UV rays and make everything a little bit darker?
• Yea, i agree after this project I finally realized how the lenses block out light to help you see better. 
• Some background information is that UV rays are a form of radiation wavelengths that is commonly found through sunlight. 
• Not only do the sunglasses block out UV rays they have a specific reaction that takes place in the tints through excited electrons
• Some background to electrons are when they hold more energy than when in their original state. This will cause them to be excited. 

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Sunglasses

• Hey Tyler when you go to the beach do you wear sunglasses?
• Yea, Austin I do they help protect my eyes from the sun. 
• Today we are going to dive into exactly how sunglasses work to protect our eyes from the sun.  
• Sunglasses have a mirror coating on the outside edges that work as a defense against the UV rays from the sun. 
• The coating is treated with UV-absorbing chemicals so it can block harmful UV and reflect the light away. 
• The tint from the sunglasses comes from the reaction between cations of the silver compound in them and the electrons of the glass.
•  The cluster of silver electrons become excited when hit by light which makes them move back and forth which then allows silver to absorb the light and scatter it. 
• The energy from the sun acts as both wave particles and electromagnetic energy which are called Photons. 
• We can describe the characteristics of photons by wavelengths and frequency. 
• Wavelengths play a big part in describing radiation and knowing which radiation is which. 
• Radiation comes in 6 forms which are gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet radiation, visible light, infrared radiation, and radio waves. 
• Even though there are so many types of radiation, our eyes are sensitive to only a certain range of electromagnetic particles which is visible light. 
• This wave allows us to see colors when reflected or refracted. 
• But the sun also allows us to see certain radions that are above and below the range of 400-750 nm. 
• These rays are typically infrared, microwave, radio and the one that sunglasses are used for, ultraviolet. 

Segment 3: Personal Connections

• I really never knew how sunglasses actually worked and how they protected your eyes. 
• Yea austin isn’t it so cool how the UV rays get absorbed into the lens to reflect light away making your eyes have less stress on them from the sun. 
• Yea Tyler I hate when I’m sitting in my chair in my living room playing fortnite and the sun shines right through the window onto my face and I can’t see. Thats when I get up, sprint to my room to get sunglasses, and rock some shades while Im playing fortnite so the UV rays can be reflected instead of getting absorbed by my regular glasses. Wearing sunglasses makes me perform a lot better because it blocks the sun and allows me to see my TV screen. 
• Yea austin I hate playing with you whenever the sun is shining through your window because you normally suck and we lose all the time. I need to carry you whenever you complain about the damn sun saying it’s in your eyes. 
• Well yea thats why I put my sunglasses on because the chemicals in the sunglass lens absorb the UV rays from the sun and reflect them which makes me see. 
• Sunglasses also help me from getting eye damage from the sun on a nice warm summer day. This will help me in my future when I am an old man. 

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.chemservice.com/news/what-is-the-chemistry-behind-sunglasses/ 

https://www.medexpress.com/blog/better-health/how-sunglasses-protect-your-eyes.html#:~:text=Mirror%20coating%3A%20Mirror%20coating%20on,you%20guessed%20it%2C%20a%20mirror.

https://www.chemicool.com/definition/polarizability.html#:~:text=What%20is%20Polarizability%3F,a%20nearby%20cation%20or%20anion.

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

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Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry Connections

Episode #4  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Andrew Neal and Isabella Randazzo and I am your host for episode 4 called The Chemistry Behind Crime today we will be discussing forensics science and the chemistry behind it.

Segment 1: Introduction to Forensic Science

-Forensic Science is defined as scientific tests or techniques used in connection with the detection of crime, forensics can be used in all sorts of crimes including, but not limited to, homicide, theft, and kidnappings. 

-the US government and justice system rely on forensics and forensic scientists to help solve crimes

-some examples of techniques used are

- fingerprinting

-blood tests

-DNA tests

-wound studies

-bullet entries in body and walls

-ect

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Blood Testing

So what exactly does AP chem have to do with the study of forensics and crime-solving?

• Blood testing

There are many different challenges that a scientist or investigator might face at a crime scene that might make it difficult to identify blood and find where it came from

• The blood could belong to an animal or a human
• The blood could belong to the unsub and not the victim
• All of this said, if blood is found at a crime scene it becomes a crucial part of the investigation, and it's often only found in small amounts so it is important that testing is done properly and effectively. 

What is blood?

• Water, plasma and proteins

-serums and anti serums/ chemical reactions between them 

-Serum: The fluid component of blood that separates from the blood cells when a clot is formed

-Antiserum: A combination of antibodies and serum

-Kastle Myers Blood Test and chemical reactions

- A Kastle Myers blood test is used to determine whether a sample is blood or not. The test uses hydrogen peroxide and phenolphthalin, which is reduced phenolphthalein, and the sample. During the test, the sample, a small amount of distilled water, hydrogen peroxide, and phenolphthalin are mixed inside a test tube. If the sample is blood, then the solution will turn a bright pink color. However, if the sample is not blood, then the solution will remain clear.

-The Kastle Myers Blood test is related to chemistry because of the chemical reactions and redox reactions that confirm the sample is blood. If the sample is blood, then a component of blood called hemoglobin, which is the protein in the blood responsible for transporting blood, reacts with hydrogen peroxide. This leads to the formation of an iron-oxo species and hydroxyl radical. Both of these products can cause a redox reaction with the phenolphthalin where either the iron-oxo species and hydroxyl radical are reduced and the phenolphthalin is oxidized into phenolphthalein. Since phenolphthalein creates a bright pink color, it turns the entire solution into a bright pink.

Bonds in blood:

• Blood contains amino acid proteins that bond with each other
• Due to the larger sizes of the amino acids in blood, the londer dispersion forces created between them are pretty strong.
• The bond between the O2 and the hemoglobin contributes to the process of carrying oxygen throughout the bloodstream.
• The Fe+2 ions found in hemoglobins creates an ion induced dipole intermolecular for with oxygen molecules.
• When the antibodies in blood find a specific antigen to bond with, they are able to create a strong attraction.
• Although most intermolecular forces are weaker compared to intramolecular forces, the hydrogen bonding, electrostatic force, London dispersion forces, and hydrophobic links create a very strong attraction force.

- Due to the bond the multitude of intermolecular forces in blood as well as the thickness in blood, blood creates a unique splatter that can be analysed at a crime scene.

- The angle of the blood falling, the heigh of which the blood came from, and the velocity of the blood coming out of the body can all be found from the specific splatter of the blood drops which can be used to reconstruct the crime scene.

Segment 3: Personal Connections

In many shows in recent years, most of the plot in these shows corresponds to crime and solving the cuplrit of the crime. They use forensics science to help them solve these crimes during this process. However, most of the viewers don’t know enough about forensics science to understand how the information at the crime scene led to solving the crime. Therefore, it is important to let people know how forensics science is helpful at a crime scene.

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.chemeurope.com/en/encyclopedia/Kastle-Meyer_test.html

-https://bio.libretexts.org/Learning_Objects/Laboratory_Experiments/General_Biology_Labs/Book%3A_Unfolding_the_Mystery_of_Life_-_Biology_Lab_Manual_for_Non-Science_Majors_(Genovesi_Blinderman__Natale)/10%3A_Protein_Gel_Electrophoresis/10.1%3A_Blood_detection_using_the_Kastle-Meyer_test

-https://www.justice.gov/olp/forensic-science

-https://chem.libretexts.org/Courses/Grand_Rapids_Community_College/CHM_120_-_Survey_of_General_Chemistry/4%3A_Intermolecular_Forces_Phases_and_Solutions/4.02_Intermolecular_Forces

-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3415751/

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

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Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry ConnectionsChemistry Behind Rainbows Episode #_3_  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, our name’s are Julianna Silva and Chloe Mcgregor and we are your hosts for episode #3 called the chemistry behind rainbows. Today we will be discussing exactly how rainbows occur after a storm, how the wavelengths of each color work together, and how acids and bases cause acid rain to change the appearance of a rainbow. 

Segment 1: Introduction to Rainbows

Have you ever wondered how exactly rainbows occur after storms? It is instinct to run outside after a storm to look at rainbows. But why exactly do these beautiful rainbows occur? 

• Just last week when I was driving during the storm I saw a rainbow right outside my window which gave me the perfect idea for our podcast episode.  

Throughout this first segment, we will be going over the basic components of a rainbow, and exactly how the water and sunlight work together to expose the 7 individual colors of the rainbow. 

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Rainbows 

To the human eye, the light that comes from the sun appears to be white. However, this white light is actually composed of the 7 wavelengths of color. A wavelength is the distance between successive crests of a wave, especially points in a sound wave or electromagnetic wave.

 Each color is unique to its wavelength. The color red has the slowest and longest wavelengths while violet, on the opposite side of the rainbow, has the shortest and fastest wavelengths. When all of these wavelengths are together, they produce the normal, visible white light. 

The electromagnetic spectrum consists of an array of wavelengths that produce a variation of radiations such as ultraviolet, infrared, radio, gamma rays, and x-rays.

 On this same spectrum is visible light that consists of the 7 wavelengths of color combined. When these 7 wavelengths of color are combined, they produce a white visible light that we see from sunlight.

 However, after a rainstorm when H2O molecules are present in the air, the white light is able to hit a new medium. Compared to the air, the white light uses the water molecules to refract, causing the 7 separate colors to become visible to the human eye. The interaction between the white light and the water droplets cause the wavelengths to separate, and therefore produce a rainbow across the sky after a storm.

 One of the main reasons why wavelengths are separated when they hit water is because water is much denser than air. The density of water causes the separation of the electromagnetic spectrum. Also visible to the human eye is the curvature of a rainbow. After a storm hits, there is only a certain amount of water droplets suspended in the atmosphere. As the sunlight hits these specific droplets, a curved rainbow can be observed with respect to the curvature of the earth. 

Not only does sunlight interact with rain water, but it also interacts with acid rain. 

As we know, rainbows can come in many different sizes and are all unique to one another. The size in particular is determined by the makeup of the water droplets and scientists determine if there are chemicals in the atmosphere by simply observing it. 

In particular, acid rain reacts differently with the sunlight as it passes through, resulting in a rainbow with a larger radius. Acid rain results when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are present in the atmosphere and get absorbed in the precipitating rainwater. The acid then has a different refraction and the interaction with water molecules together contributes to the change in rainwater and the angle with respect to sunlight that the rainbow is observed. The angle at which the rain interacts with the light can be used to estimate the pH value of the rainwater. 

• But what are acids? What is the composition of acids? 
• When other substances are added into water, its pH can change. Acidic solutions have more H+ and a lower pH, and alkaline solutions have more OH- and a higher pH. 
• pH: 7 means solution is neutral, under 7 is acidic, over 7 is basic 
• So from the words acid rain you might guess that it means rain that has a pH much lower than 7. You would be right that's exactly what it is.
• But how does it form? First, sulfur dioxide and nitric oxide are produced by the combustion of fossil fuels. When these gasses rise up in the atmosphere they can react in a few different ways to produce acid. Two molecules of sulfer dioxide can react with diatomic oxygen gas and a composition reaction to produce two molecules of sulfur trioxide. Then each of those sulfur trioxide molecules reacts with liquid water from cloud droplots to produce H2SO4 (sulfuric acid). This is the acid that then affects the composition of the water droplots in rainbows. 
• Alternatively, two molecules of nitrogen monoxide can react with diatomic oxygen gas to produce two molecules of nitrogen dioxide. Then those two molecules react with water to produce nitric acid (HNO3) and nitrous acid (HNO2). 
• H2SO4, HNO3, and HNO2 are the products remaining. But how do these actually form to create acids within the rainbow? So what essentially happens is these molecules are dissolved in the water and obviously decrease the pH value. That's simple, we know that. However, if we break it down what actually happens is these molecules donate one of their H+ ions and by the Bronsted Lowery Theorem this makes them a acid. One example of this donation of one of the H+ ions to a water molecule would be H2SO4 would be HSO4- and that would result in a water molecule gaining a hydrogen ion/ proton making it H3O+. 
• The more of these molecules that dissociate, the more H3O+ is created which makes a stronger acid. Typically, the strongest of acids will dissociate completely and each of those acid molecules will dissociate to form a H3O+ molecule. 
• Sometimes, in HNO2 case, these acids are weak, meaning they do not dissociate completely. This means that most of those molecules remain intact when they are put in water so most of the HNO2 molecules remain HNO2 molecules. However, H2SO4 and HNO3 are strong and will dissociate completely which gives them the highest effect when forming rainbows.
• Ultimately the more the acidic the rain is the more the H3O+ dissociates, forming a larger rainbow that appears bigger to the human eye. 

Segment 3: Personal Connections

• We were fasinated by the colors and how something so pretty could form from something so dark. Sometimes periods of time are dark and you need something bright and cheerful to lighten the mood. Rainbows represent just that and in terms of chemistry, learning about how the different colors come to light is interesting and useful.  

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://phys.org/news/2015-08-resplendent-inflexibility-rainbow.html

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/wavelength 

https://www.rmets.org/metmatters/rainbows-how-are-they-formed 

https://www.iopb.res.in/~sjp/83final/4.pdf 

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

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Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry ConnectionsChernobyl DisasterEpisode #11  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, our names are Melissa and Elise and we are your hosts for episode 2 called The Chernobyl Disaster. Today we will be discussing the nuclear disaster in a city in Ukraine called Chernobyl.

Segment 1: Introduction to Chernobyl

The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear explosion that occurred on April 26th, 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant No. 4 reactor. The nuclear power plant was located near the city of Pripyat in the northern part of Ukraine, which was a part of the Soviet Union at the time. The explosion of Chernobyl’s number 4 reactor (RBMK-type reactor) released large amounts of radiation into the city. The area within a 30 kilometer radius of Chernobyl is now considered the Chernobyl exclusion zone. To this day, there are still areas in the exclusion zone where the radiation is far too dangerous for human contact. (talk ab how chernobyl is a tourist attraction and people can go see it)

Melissa: Isn’t there a tourist attraction where people can go to Chernobyl?

*Elise put in stuff ab attraction*

The Chernobyl disaster is the worst nuclear disaster in terms of cost and casualties. The initial emergency response alone involved more than 500,000 personnel, which included firefighters, engineers, military troops, police, miners, cleaners and medical personnel. The cost was around 18 billion Soviet rubles, which converts to 68 billion US dollars. 31 people died as an immediate result, but in 2005, it was predicted that as many as 4,000 people could eventually die from radiation exposure. (convo about how it’s almost impossible to calculate cost of lives)

Melissa: I think it’s really hard to calculate because I think there were lasting effects right?

*Elise talks ab some of the lasting effects*

 Along with human deaths, countless animals were slaughtered in Chernobyl’s surrounding area in fear of their exposure to radiation.

Elise: Let’s look at some of the people who were involved in Chernobyl 

Important people involved: 

Valery Legasov: The main chemist behind the investigation of Chernobyl and his work in its containment as well. He commit suicide ten years after the disaster, partly because he knew he would die sooner because of the radiation exposure. He had a set of audio tapes that he recorded before his death where he described his involvement with Chernobyl in full detail. 

Anatoly Dyatlov: A Soviet engineer and deputy chief engineer for the Chernobyl power plant. He supervised the safety test that resulted in the Chernobyl explosion. He was the main person blamed for the disaster, as he did not follow safety protocols. (he did spend time in jail because it was mainly his negligence that caused the explosion)

Mikhail Gorbachev: leader of the Soviet Union at the time of the explosion

Boris Shcherbina: A Ukrainian Soviet politician who supervised the Chernobyl disaster. He had a really large role in allowing the investigation to receive the information and research that it needed. 

coal miners & firemen: They were people considered the first responders in the incident. There were obviously firemen who were woken up in the middle of the night and had to go and put out the fire. They were heavily exposed to radiation and when they went to the hospital, they had to throw their uniform and equipment in the basement. To this day, the basement of the hospital is one of the most contaminated places and cannot be accessed due to its extreme radiation. (talk ab the scene in the docu maybe) Miners were brought in to dig a tunnel under the reactor to prevent the melting core from contaminating the groundwater. (which would put many lives at risk) It’s approximated that one out of four of the miners died later as a result of radiation poisoning. 

Melissa: now that we know the people who were involved, let’s take a closer look at what happened in Chernobyl 

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind The Chernobyl Disaster

Now let’s look at what went wrong at Chernobyl. But first, let’s take a look at how a RBMK-type reactor, the kind at Chernobyl, works:

There are three components in an RBMK-type reactor which is the nuclear reactor used in Chernobyl. Uranium atoms, boron control rods, and cold water. The components can be broken down into 2 categories: things that increase reactivity and things that decrease reactivity. To start, uranium atoms split apart through a process called nuclear fission. Nuclear fission is when neutrons collide with uranium atoms and cause them to split. This releases a large amount of energy making it an exothermic reaction.

Elise: Exothermic reaction is something we covered in chem this year. CHEMISTRY CONNECTION

 This whole process increases the reactivity of the core and if the reactivity isn’t balanced by an external source, it will continue to rise exponentially. This is extremely disastrous as xenon gas is a product of this reaction and is extremely poisonous if it is not burned off and it typically is when the reactor is working under normal conditions. 

Elise jumps in: In Chernobyl’s case, the reactor wasn’t working under normal conditions which means there was a build up of poisonous xenon gas

That’s why it’s so important to have devices like the boron control rods to decrease the reactivity of the core. The Boron control rods act like brakes on a car. They absorb some neutrons that would otherwise collide with the uranium atoms, therefore slowing the rate of fission. The more neutrons absorbed, the slower the rate of fission so the more boron control rods present in the core, the lower the reactivity. 

The final part is the cold water which basically takes out the heat from the system since heat is produced in the reaction. The cold water takes out the heat and turn into steam. The steam then turns the turbines which generate electricity. 

So essentially the uranium atoms split apart which increases the reactivity. To lower the reactivity, boron control rods and cold water are used.

Elise: It’s like a cycle when you think about it. Each component needs to work together in order for the reactor to work as it should.

Right, so when there are many moving parts in the reactor the question that comes to mind is what actually happened in Chernobyl, what went wrong?

So what actually went wrong at Chernobyl?

The reactor exploded in the early morning, at around 1:23 AM. That night, the night crew was running a safety test, something that had been continuously put off for a few days. 

Melissa: Automatic red flags right there since there were people who were running the test who were not trained to do so 

There was a planned decrease of reactor power in preparation for the test, but the power output unexpectedly dropped to near-zero. Operators were not able to restore the power plant’s needed power level for the test, causing the reactor to be unstable. At this point, reactivity in the core had been rising, but all of this happened with Dyatlov thinking there was a foolproof fail-safe, AZ-5. Under normal conditions, engaging in AZ-5 immediately causes the boron control rods to enter the core and decrease reactivity. However, the control rods were tipped with graphite, (didn’t get to the boron part of the control rod) which caused the already rising reactivity in the core to soar. Ultimately, causing the core the melt down and explode and erupt into flames. 

Segment 3: Personal Connections

This topic was interesting to us because it’s the worst nuclear disaster in history and so naturally, we’re curious about what actually happened. There’s an immense amount of chemistry behind the workings of a nuclear power plant and that coupled with the tragedy of the Chernobyl No. 4 reactor piqued our interest. 

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.bbc.com/future/article/20190725-will-we-ever-know-chernobyls-true-death-toll  

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

https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-power-reactors/appendices/rbmk-reactors.aspx

https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/RBMK#:~:text=The%20control%20rods%20are%20made,and%20the%20slower%20fission%20occurs.

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/nuclear/#:~:text=In%20nuclear%20fission%2C%20atoms%20are,form%20of%20heat%20and%20radiation.

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

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Hopewell Valley Student Podcasting NetworkChemistry ConnectionsLight Up Our WorldEpisode #1  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Sarah and I'm Akhansha and we are your hosts for episode #1 called “Light Up Our World”. Today we will be discussing the chemistry behind solar panels.

Segment 1: Introduction to Solar Panels

Solar panels are an alternative, renewable energy source that have gained popularity in recent years. In this episode, we will be explaining how solar panels receive light and produce electricity. But why are solar panels important? Electricity runs the modern world, being necessary for almost all of our daily activities. However, in this day and age, the source of electricity is just as important as electricity itself. *cough* Climate change *cough*. Solar panels provide an alternative pathway to gain energy without harming our world like other sources of electricity. 

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind TOPIC

So how do solar panels convert light into electricity? Solar panels are made of two types of semiconductors: P-type and N-type. Before we elaborate, we’d like to clarify what a semiconductor is. A semiconductor is a substance that has electrical conductivity between that of a conductor and an insulator. On the periodic table, elements that are semiconductors are silicon, germanium, tin, selenium, and tellurium.

The P-type layer is placed next to the N-type layer. In the P-type layer, atoms with one less electron in the outer shell compared to silicon, like boron and gallium, are added. This absence of an electron is referred to as a “hole” that is positively charged. In the N-type layer, atoms, like phosphorus, that have one more electron in the outer shell than silicon, are added. This creates an excess of electrons in the N-type layers since one electron is free to roam after phosphorus bonds with neighboring silicon atoms. 

• Electrons in n-type layer travel to vacancies in p-type layer
• Depletion zone - area around junction between p-type and n-type layers where electrons fill holes
• When holes are filled in the depletion zone…
• Negatively charged ions in p-type part of depletion zone
• Positively charged ions in n-type part of depletion zone
• Internal electric field created that prevents more electrons from n-type layer from filling holes in p-type layer
• Sunlight ejects electrons from silicon, creating more holes
• Electrons are attracted to positive silicon nuclei (opposite charges attract)
• Energy is needed to break the attractive force between electrons and silicon nuclei
• Electrons closer to silicon nuclei will be harder for sunlight to eject (Coulomb’s law)
• Sunlight must have enough energy to remove electrons from silicon atoms
• Different types of solar radiation have different energies
• Higher-energy solar radiation (higher frequency light waves) may be more capable of ejecting electrons
• Solar radiation
• Also called electromagnetic radiation
• Light emitted by the sun
• the amount of solar radiation that reaches any one spot on the Earth’s surface varies based off of location, time of day, season, local landscape and local weather
• Solar radiation is captured and is turned into useful forms of energy
• Harder to remove electrons from elements neart the top right of the periodic table (increased Zeff, fewer E-levels)
• Ejection in electric field → field moves electrons to n-type layer and holes to p-type layer
• If n-type and p-type layers are connected with a wire, electrons travel from n-type layer to p-type layer by crossing depletion zone and then through wire out of n-type layer → electricity
• Two main types of solar energy technology: Photovoltaics (PV) and Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power (CSP)
• Photovoltaics
• When the sun shines onto a solar panel, energy from the sunlight is absorbed by the PV cells in the panel 
• This energy creates electrical charges that move in response to an internal electrical field in the cell, causing electricity to flow
• Concentrating Solar-Thermal power
• CSP systems use mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto receivers
• Receivers collect solar energy and convert solar energy to heat energy
• Heat energy can then be converted into usable electricity or can be stored for later use

Segment 3: Personal Connections

• Solar energy is becoming an increasingly popular form of energy
• Some government programs allow people to save money by switching to solar energy
• Door-to-door solar panels sales reps begging people to switch to solar
• Power outages wouldn't be an issue with solar panels
• Sarah made a solar-powered phone charger in eighth grade
• Climate change sucks

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://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/past-issues/archive-2013-2014/how-a-solar-cell-works.html 
• https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/how-does-solar-work#:~:text=When%20the%20sun%20shines%20onto,cell%2C%20causing%20electricity%20to%20flow. 

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired 

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Chemistry ConnectionsEpisode #26  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Anushka Agarwal and I’m Nick Bailey, and we are your hosts for episode #26 called the chemistry of photosynthesis in leaf slugs. Today we will be discussing how leaf slugs use photosynthesis

Segment 1: Introduction to Chloroplasts and the Leaf Slug

Leaf slugs are a sea creature that is able to use photosynthesis. This is uncommon because animal cells generally do not contain chloroplasts. 

Chloroplasts are the organelle commonly found in plant cells where the photosynthesis reactions occur. Both the light-dependent and light-independent reactions take place here. 

Photosynthesis is the process where chloroplasts turn carbon dioxide into glucose. Water is also needed for the reactions to occur and oxygen is produced in addition to the glucose. 

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind Photosynthesis

There are two main parts to photosynthesis, the light-dependent and light-independent reactions. 

Light Dependent: Chloroplasts require light energy in order to reduce NADP+ and ADP to create NADPH and ATP. We can see that this specific reaction is endothermic because the energy from the light was required to break the bonds in the reactants. 

Light Independent: The light-independent reactions make the process of photosynthesis occur properly. The main reaction that takes place is referred to as the Calvin Cycle. This is the process where the plants use the CO2 to create glucose. The process starts with 3 Carbon-5 molecules(RUBP) and 3 Carbon- molecules(CO2). These combine to create 3 Carbon-6 molecules (mention stability) and will, almost instantaneously, turn into 6 Carbon-3 molecules. Then, in a process called reduction, 6 ATP and 6 NADPH, both of which donate electrons, will be oxidized and the carbons will be reduced, or will gain electrons. We will then have 6 Carbon-3 molecules(3G3P). One G3P molecule is “set aside” to later become glucose. The remaining 5 G3Ps go towards the process of regeneration where they will further reduce by 3 additional ATP molecules(go from 5 Carbon-3 molecules to 3 Carbon-5 molecules [same RUBP we started with]). In order to successfully create a single glucose molecule this process must occur twice because glucose is C6H12O6(only produce one Carbon-3 molecule in the first full rotation of the Calvin cycle)

Segment 3: Personal Connections

Nick: I found this topic particularly fascinating because it is one of the rare exceptions where animals use photosynthesis. As we had stated earlier, photosynthesis is commonly used in plants. The leaf slug can photosynthesize because it eats so much algae and is able to extract the chloroplasts from those plant cells, making it able to photosynthesize. 

Anushka: I personally wanted to do this project on the leaf slug because I find them extremely interesting and cute. As I’d said earlier, please look up a picture of the leaf slug if you can, I promise you will not regret it. Not only are they amazing to look at, the leaf slug is also such an anomaly in nature. Their ability to photosynthesize because they eat too many greens never fails to peak my interest and wonder what else the world has hidden under the sea. 

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/Costasiella_kuroshimae 

https://www.boredpanda.com/leaf-sheep-sea-slug-costasiella-kuroshimae

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

https://www.britannica.com/science/photosynthesis 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQK3Yr4Sc_k 

https://www.britannica.com/science/chloroplast 

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired

Chemistry ConnectionsEpisode #25  

Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Christopher Sawicki, and I am your host for episode #25. Today I will be discussing the chemistry of lightning.

Segment 1: Introduction to lightning

• Lighting, how lightning is produced and why
• Lighting gives of a smell and color
• Ionization: transfer of electrons to form an ion or from an ion
• Intramolecular forces: attractions between atoms in a molecule
• Intermolecular forces: attractions between entire molecules

Segment 2: The Chemistry Behind lightning

Lightning

• Water and ice move around in the cloud, ice has a negative charge
• Updrafts and downdrafts in storms cause water molecules to collide which causes electrons to be separated from the molecules and move towards the bottom of the cloud
• Warm updrafts sweep positively charged molecules to the top of the cloud
• Updraft: current of air moving up
• Positive ions move towards the top of the cloud and creates an electric field
• Electrons are attracted to positive charged ions on the ground
• Can contain billions to trillions of electrons
• 1 billion volts of electricity
• Up to 5 billion Joules of energy
• Electrons are attracted to positive charged ions because they want to neutralize themselves.
• Protons move up and meet the electrons as they move down
• As electrons move down through during lightning, they crash into more molecules in the air, creating more ions
• This is why metals attract lightning because it has a sea of electrons and many positive charged ions.

Smell

• The smell of thunderstorms is the result of ozone in the air
• As lightning travels down, it splits O2 molecules creating 2 oxygen atoms
• These oxygen atoms then bond with other O2 molecules creating ozone, O3

Color

• Creates a blue-violet color highlighting the lightning bolt
• Electrons form lightning ionize O2 and N2 molecules 
• These molecules become excited and take on a different color when in this state

Heat

• The electrons in lightning carry heat. 
• Lightning can be up to 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Which is 6 times hotter than the sun
• Intramolecular forces
• Air is a poor conductor electricity
• Conductor means it it is easy for electrons to pass through
• Not ionic or metallic, covalent bonds make electrons not as attracted and easily given or pulled off
• Because air is a poor conductor of electricity, there is a greater resistance to the electrons moving through the air, which creates heat, heating up the molecules are the lightning

Segment 3: Personal Connections

• Lightning fascinates me because clouds form seemingly out of nothing, evaporated water and produce lighting bolts with billions of electrons
• Enough electricity and energy to kill people
• 2000 people die a year due to lightning
• Always thought lightning was cool and wanted to know what cause lightning to occur

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.compoundchem.com/2018/07/31/thunderstorms/

https://www.chemistryislife.com/the-chemistry-of-lightning

https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/storms/thunder-and-lightning

https://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weather/weather.html#:~:text=Therefore%2C%20any%20electrons%20liberated%20near,and%20creating%20more%20charged%20fragments.

https://www.tau.ac.il/~colin/research/Chemistry/chemistry.html

Music Credits

Warm Nights by @LakeyInspired