holymoleculesbatman:

The international radiation symbol (also known as trefoil) first appeared in 1946, at the University of California, Berkeley Radiation Laboratory. At the time, it was rendered as magenta, and was set on a blue background. The modern version used in the U.S. is magenta against a yellow background, and it is drawn with a central circle of radius R, an internal radius of 1.5R and an external radius of 5R for the blades, which are separated from each other by 60°. The trefoil is black in the international version, which is also acceptable in the U.S.

holymoleculesbatman:

Molecules with Strange Names: SEX (Sodium Ethyl Xanthate)

It is an organosulfur compound with the chemical formula CH₃CH₂OCS₂. It is a pale yellow powder, which characteristically hydrolyzes to release malodorous products. Sodium ethyl xanthate is predominantly used in the mining industry as a flotation agent. 

holymoleculesbatman:

An induced fission reaction. A neutron is absorbed by a uranium-235 nucleus, turning it briefly into an excited uranium-236 nucleus, with the excitation energy provided by the kinetic energy of the neutron plus the forces that bind the neutron. The uranium-236, in turn, splits into fast-moving lighter elements (fission products) and releases three free neutrons. At the same time, one or more “prompt gamma rays” (not shown) are produced, as well.

holymoleculesbatman:

This is a molecule of water.

It is the most abundant compound on Earth’s surface, covering about 70 percent of the planet. Many substances dissolve in water and it is commonly referred to as the universal solvent.Water is the only common substance found naturally in all three common states of matter and it is essential for all life on Earth. Water usually makes up 55% to 78% of the human body.

ikenbot:

Tracking Ocean Sulfur Could Help Test Gaia Hypothesis

A few months ago I posted an article on the cwl blog explaining the Gaia theory, it’s essentially a theory that states there could be an underlying system of control covering the Earth, a system that acts to the survival of the planet. Here’s a nice accompanying article by Wired delving into a new research published which attempts to prove or disprove the Gaia theory:

Geologists at the University of Maryland have published research that could help prove or disprove Gaia theory — the notion that the Earth is one single self-regulating system.

The concept dates from the 70s and was initially formulated by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis. It proposes that all organisms and their inorganic surroundings comprise a single system that maintains the conditions for life on Earth. It was initially met with skepticism from the scientific community, and remains somewhat controversial, but is now an important area of research in Earth systems science and biogeochemistry.

If the Gaia hypothesis is correct, then a number of signals should be observable in the Earth’s natural cycles and systems. One of those is that a sulfur compound made by organisms in the ocean should be stable enough in water to allow its transfer into the air, so it can then be returned to land. A team of geologists, geochemists and marine biologists led by Harry Oduro has developed a method of tracking the movement of sulfur through ocean organisms, the atmosphere and the land, potentially yielding evidence as to how strong this cycle is.

Oduro and his colleagues tracked two compounds — dimethylsulfoniopropionate (or DMSP), which is produced by plant plankton and seaweed in the ocean, and dimethylsulphide, which has a distinctive cabbage-like smell, and is produced when marine microbes break down DMSP.

By examining the differences in the isotope ratios between the compounds over time, the researchers were able to trace unique combinations of an element’s radioactive isotopes, keeping track of them to determine the rate at which the microbes metabolize DMSP into dimethylsulfide, and therefore get clues as to how fast it’s transferred from the ocean into the atmosphere.

Full Article

holymoleculesbatman:

Previously ignited sulfur burns rapidly with a bright blue flame when lowered into oxygen in this long exposure image, forming acidic sulfur dioxide and little sulfur trioxide.

sugaratoms:

What looks like a rocky overhang is in fact stacked layers of the compound Ti₃C₂. Seen under an electron microscope, each layer is just five atoms thick - so thin that scientists regard them as ‘two dimensional’. Named MXene, the new titanium-based material could prove to be useful in energy storage technology, the researchers say. The image won the people’s choice award in thephotography category.

Photo Credit: Babak Anasori, Michael Naguib, Yury Gogotsi and Michel W. Barsoum, Drexel University/NSF/Science