mississippichem

Why can't our educational system just be completely meritocratic? I don't see why governments feel the urge to try and encourage certain ethnic groups to go to college. Yeah sure I would like to see college enrollment go up in the American Black and Hispanic communities. But in my opinion, its not the government's responsibility to try and increase the percentage of minorities in universities to some arbitrary value. Isn't that what discrimination is? During the 1950's many local governments wanted to make sure that 0% of the students enrolled in certain schools were black. Now let's say they wanted to make sure that n% of students enrolled in universities were black. This is the kind of policy that ensures we will never have true racial harmony. The government should get its hand out of the manipulating demographics game. It even feels wrong. I couldn't imagine sitting down at my desk and saying: Oh, today were going to try and increase the number of African Americans at Harvard to 7%. This means we will have to not enroll some whites, or Asians, Hispanics... What about whites that come from low income backgrounds? They aren't eligible for minority scholarships, nor do they get the protection of affirmative action. It all seems to stem from this imaginary "sense of right". That urge comes directly from our discriminatory nature. No one would dare say, "you're a Mexican, so we're going to admit you because you damn sure need the extra help." That's what affirmative action is in effect saying to minorities. If we live in a truly integrated society, as we claim to (at least on the books) then will minorities not become proportionally represented in the educated class naturally over time?

I'm not making a comment on the ethics or morality of profiling, but Israel seems to do it quite unashamedly and it seems to be effective. Now, whether that would work in the US is another can of worms. racial profiling in Israeli airports an exert: Effective...probably. Ethical...?

Got anymore details? I don't really understand the question. Could you be talking about a spectator ion?

Electrolysis can also be used to make rust. Or it could be done with a voltaic cell (no power source). All electro-chemistry is theoretically reversible and most reactions are practically reversible. Wikipedia: Iron (III) oxide is a product of the oxidation of iron. It can be prepared in the laboratory by electrolyzing a solution of sodium bicarbonate, an inert electrolyte, with an iron anode: [ce]2 Fe + 3/2 O_{2} + H2O -> 2 FeO(OH)[/ce] [ce]2 FeO(OH) -> Fe_{2}O_{3} + H2O[/ce] At about 200 °C, the iron(III) hydroxide converts into [ce]Fe_{2}O_{3}[/ce] Electrochemistry is tricky to pull off though, conditions are usually quite specific. I don't know how much EMF should be on the cell though, that's an important detail. As far as oxidants go, permanganates should have the electro-potential to oxidize the iron, but I don't know what the products would be.

Thought this might shed some light: Looks like this stuff goes away pretty quickly at STP.

Yep, good job...rep it

Yeah you've got it. But be careful with the terms strong and weak, something can only be truly strong if it dissociates into its constituent ions 100% in aqueous solution. So [ce]HCO_{3}^{-}[/ce] is technically not a strong base but it is a "stronger-weak base", same goes for [ce]F^{-}[/ce]. Here's a hint: [ce]HF[/ce] is one of the strongest of the common weak acids.

Are they federally subsidized student loans? Those loans have some extra strings attached in exchange for a good interest rate. For example, they are default-proof. There might be some language in the paperwork that prohibits consolidation of the debt. Beware of debt consolidation though, it's not all bad but there are companies that set it up to where once you pay the consolidation fee, you would've been better off paying the interest on multiple loans.

You need a strong oxidant. The reduction of [ce]O_{2}[/ce] is also pH dependent and lower pH shifts the equilibrium toward products. Wikipedia says the presence of a calcium electrolyte also accelerates the process but I don't know how. I would say use nitric acid, but i feel like you might end up with iron nitrate, I honestly don't know. Just remember you need a strong oxidant and low pH helps. This can also be done with an electrolytic cell but you probably don't want to go there because you'll need a lot of supplies if your doing this at home.

Remember that the conjugate base of a weak acid is a strong base. Inversely, the conjugate base of a strong acid is a weak base. -One of the bases you listed is the conjugate base of a very strong acid...that means that species is a very weak base. -The conjugate acid of [ce]HCO_{3}^-^[/ce] is [ce]H_{2}CO_{3}[/ce] is that a strong acid, a weak acid, or a "stronger-weak" acid? -One of the species you listed yields a quite basic metal hydroxide in aqueous solution. Think about the Arrhenius definition of a base. -You could always look up a table of [math]pK_{a}[/math] values if you know what those are.

Are you referring to high spin complexes? These are in the electronic ground state but that ground state just happens to be paramagnetic. It a phenomenon of orbital splitting than can be approximated with crystal field theory and described very well with ligand field theory/Tanabe-Sugano diagrams (that account for paramagnetic electron-electron repulsion). Yes there are some species that are only paramagnetic in excited states, but these transitions are often spin-forbidden (spin-multiplicity isn't conserved) and therefore unlikely and difficult to observe as far as I know. I wouldn't wait too long on those numbers Yes, thanks for saving me the debunk. Swansont, any advice on my OP? You seem to be adept at explaining these things in the "common tongue".

I agree there, it is a practical lie, just more practical than the Bohr Model. I don't need to go into Dirac or DFT approximations as much as I would like to. Yeah it actually is. I 'm talking about "good-ole" spheres dumb-bells and flowers; nothing complicated The students just need to know the order of filling in the orbitlals and be able to draw and identify them. All this is standard knowledge for the run-of-the-mill chemists. Physical chemists, which is what I hope to be in about a year, would be a little more hip to the electron-electron interactions, vibronic coupling, most definitely DFT, and some more of the finer points (one could say less relevant but who cares) of QM.

Yeah, I don't really go in depth with the Schrodinger, I only mention it in passing. Yeah you are right though, I shouldn't give information that is not pertinent to the class. However, I feel that I'm stuck with a technical explanation when it seems the students can't comprehend what an orbital is. I'm really looking for some simple analogy for an atomic orbital but I'm starting to think one doesn't exist. That's why we have quantum mechanics i guess, because classical mechanics wasn't sufficient. It just hurts my soul to say "that's the way it is, trust me on this". Good advice though, my students thank you for saving them from the uncertainty talk . Thanks -I usually just tell them to go look up the photoelectric effect if they want an interesting read that might help stir their thoughts.

So I tutor freshmen and sophomore chemistry students as a side job at my university. I've been struggling to explain the concept of atomic orbitals to some of the brighter students who keep asking deeper and deeper questions. A typical conversation goes like this: Me:...so now this model is accepted over the Bohr model I showed you last time. Student: What's wrong with the Bohr model? It makes more sense. Me:Well the quantum model is more consistent with experiment and it aligns nicely with things like the photoelectric effect, atomic line spectra, the observed structure of molecules (physical and electronic) Student:Why is that? Me:[quantized energy level rant]...schrodinger equation...uncertainty principle...moving charged particles in fields should radiate...DeBroglie wavelength... Student:Now I'm more confused than before So what is the best way to go about this and give reasonable insight into the complexity and beauty of the theory without giving students (many of whom are not chemistry or physics majors) the "quantum confusion" that they get from a more rigorous analysis? For the class, the students need to be able to predict electron configurations for atoms and ions, draw MO diagrams for homo-nuclear diatomics, understand orbital hybridization, calculate emission and absorption energies between n-levels, predict electron pair geometries, know the set of quantum numbers (without S, L, J, and spin multiplicity), distinguish between s,p,d, or f-orbitlas, and understand simple HOMO, LUMO, SOMO interactions (without the group theory or much symmetry consideration).

C-SPAN's ratings would go through the roof!

I fixed it with 83% cuts, mostly military, social security, and entitlements. The "cap-medicare" by 2013 option goes a LONG way.

An atom with different numbers of protons and electrons will have a net charge and is called an ion. So [ce] Cl^-^ [/ce] has one more electron than it does protons. Now take hydrogen for example. It has one proton and one electron. If it gains an electron, that's [ce] H^-^ [/ce]. If it loses an electron, that's [ce] H^+^ [/ce]. Now it just so happens that hydrogen only has a 1s orbital (H is in first period, first group). So hydrogen is limited to 2 electrons because an s-orbital holds 2 electrons and no more. So an ion with a 3+ charge would be missing 3 electrons from the atoms neutral configuration.

True. Any paradigm can become dangerous. Al Queda uses Islam and "anti-westernism" to coin a term. Stalin used communism and atheism. I think Islam, being younger than christianity is going through its expansionary phase. Analogous to the Christian crusades in the middle ages. Islam is trying to expand but the world has left it behind. It will be very hard for them to convince the pluralistic western world to return to an authoritarian oligarchy without women's rights or alcohol. (If we were repressing women, shouldn't we be drinkin' beer?I jest of course ) Seriously though I think it is important that reason be held above any banner or paradigm, even atheism. When people ask me about my religious beliefs, I usually don't say atheist but "free-thinker" or "secularist" just because I don't want atheism to begin to identify itself as a distinct ideological entity. Otherwise we run the risk of having sixteen different organized atheist denominations at each others' throats over whether or not Mary Magdalene existed! The bottom line is humans are silly creatures, and any idea that gains momentum overtime will probably result in some violent ideological conflict at some point. A say this rather flippantly but look through history; yeah, not every idea, but many "important" philosophical and religious ideas. *Good Point Lemur -ah, the "professional left" I like that term! It fits a niche that needed a unique word. Good job Pangloss, you've successfully closed a lexical gap.

Oh, I know the religious right in America pursues moral crusades. You're right, this quality I'm speaking of isn't particular to liberals or conservatives per se. But I feel it is true of liberals in this arena. Yes it is a method of standing strong, and I do admire the "liberal theme" (to generalize greatly) that all arguments must be heard, but I think everyone agrees with that except the craziest of the American religious right and extreme Islam. That's what I'm trying to say. It's hard to reason with people who by conscious choice don't believe in reason.

You're right. They are religious extremists. They attack us because we haven't adopted their ideology yet and they can't stand it. Something bothers me about the left in our country. They seem to always want to talk about freedom of conscience, religion, and expression; of course I agree with them. However, terrorist groups are people that are directly trying to destroy freedom of religion, expression, and conscience. Why doesn't the left want to stand strong against the group that wants to destroy everything they believe in. Extreme (not generalizing muslims) Islam is not friendly to any kind of human rights or free lifestyle. Why can't we just call it what it is? It doesn't matter how bad Bush's foreign policy was or how many global corporations are plundering the 3rd world; I'm sure they are. Ultimately, these extremist make the personal choice to hijack an airliner and kill hundreds of civilians. There is no other justification for that than believing that one will rewarded eternally. It's just organized faith at its finest.

I think what Pangloss is saying is that the cuts need to be so deep, because the problem is so deep; that no one could possibly like the outcome and the outcome be a quantitatively effective cut of expenditures. The Bear's Key, I do like your idea though. I think there should be some kind of real time or pseudo-real time access to our governments spending habits. I think that would get rid of some waste. Voters these days want blood whenever they hear about nasty little spendthrifts.

Do a little internet search on the word orbital (not orbit). This subject can get quite complex but there is much low hanging qualitative fruit that is easily understood with a little thought and old fashioned curiosity. Here's a picture of some "d-orbitals". Along with s, p, and f; these orbitals form the basis of an atom's electronic structure. *notice the ordered shapes of the orbitals, this is no coincidence.

Find a good college level general chemistry textbook. A good textbook will cover pretty much all the periodic trends that matter. I think you'll be hard pressed to find a periodic table with rate of reaction though, that would be different for every element and every other reactant. So that periodic table would have to be at least one hundred feet across if not thousands.

Everyone screams cuts during election season in tuff fiscal times. Too bad no one actually posses the stones to make the unpopular move and make the necessary to fix our fiscal situation. I heard a conservative Harvard economist being interviewed on NPR the other day. He was commenting on the level of cuts that were needed to make our situation sustainable. Then the host asks him: "How is President Obama going to reduce the deficit and curb spending without going after entitlements?" The guy responded with a very clear, "He can't." Rep. Jan Schakowsky should realize that if we don't make the painful cuts now, there are not going to be any entitlements to cut in the future because the Chinese will stop buying our treasuries and our spending spree will be over permanently.

Many enzymes are enatio-specific meaning they only catalyze reactions on substrates that have the right stereochemistry. For example: almost all natural amino-acids are in the L-configuration. So often times, enzymatic proteins made from L-amino acids will not catalyze reactions on D-amino acid substrates. That might be a good example of the effects of stereochemistry on biomolecules.