Elite Engineer

by tendency I mean a gene may tend to make some act in a certain way. A gene may cause someone to be aggressive. By my friend's logic, this gene would make them aggressive which would lead them to murder or assault. However, the individual would not make the choice of assaulting or murder, but rather be on the receiving end of what his gene's allow him to do. Yea that's what I was trying to tell him. I was telling him genes INFLUENCE, not make decisions.

So my friend and I were discussing free will and whether or not it exists. He believes free will does not exists because our genes predict what we think, do, etc. and that we aren't really making choices, but being driven by our genetic tendencies. Example: If a person has a gene that makes them inherently good at math, they will naturally follow into a career involved in math. Or if the same person who has the "math-gene" also has a gene that makes them more hands on ("hands on-gene"), then they will follow a career/ lifestyle that suits that gene. There is no choice being made, just an action (by the gene) following an instinctual reaction (natural selection). We discussed for almost 2 hours and it began to morph into circular logic, so now I'm confused and irritated. However, I do not agree with his premises..someone help me out here. ~EE

Just pass the chlorine through water, then react it with sodium hydroxide/ NaOH (lye) to yield water and sodium chloride, for safe disposal. overall reaction: 1.) H2O + Cl2 --> HCl + HClO 2.) HCl + NaOH --> NaCl +H2O

I'm sure you've heard this story 100 times. Basically, my friend and I got into a BIT of an argument about the purpose and use of mechanical engineers and mechanics. My friend who is a mechanic, works at this factory and managed to modify this machine to make it run better/ more efficiently...and essentially got to the point where he said mechanical engineers are just overpaid mechanics (as he could easily improve this machine), and that they got their chins up high thinking that they're better than mechanics. Naturally I tried to explain what mech. engineers do. Then he said "why do you need dynamics, statics, or calculus if a mechanic can fix and make this machine better than what some &$@%&! mechanical engineer can do !"...in a very unhappy tone. This is where my side of the argument began to fell apart, mainly because I've never taken an engineering course (I'm biochem), or understood why engineers need to take such rigorous material. Does my friend have a point though? Do mech. engineers receive higher salaries than mechanics because of a piece paper they got? I dont think he is, but I'm not sure why. -Thanks, ~EE

I've been here for a little bit over a year now. I see people posting and new members appearing, however is there significant increase in new members/ activity for the scienceforums to keep going? I know that most members probably do not contribute money to keep the site up and running, but a decrease or increase in activity (i.e. new members, more posts) would definitely promise a direction for the future. I'm not a mod/ admin so I don't know any of the behind the scenes work.. how are things going here? I LOVE this forum so I hope it styays around. ~ee

You have compound B. This is due to the fact that the oxygen atom gravitates to the more substituted side of the molecule for stability during transition states. The left side has a tertiary carbon atom which provides higher stability during transition, while the right side (where the cyano group attaches) has only a secondary carbon, offering less stability. Not to mention, the cyano group being a very strong nucelophile and the nature of the reaction being a substitution reaction kicks out the oxygen atom as well. ~EE

1-phenylethanol spectra: When analyzing IR spectra, you typically dont need to pay attention to the fingerprint region (1400-600) for analysis. However, the peaks at 1450-1500 are identified as C-H scissoring and possibly some bending. cyclohexanone spectra: Yes, the stretches at 2938 and 2863 are from C-H stretching. benzoic acid spectra: The peak at 3072 is definitely an O-H stretch, however the rest I am not 100%, but would say they are most likely O-H, with maybe 2560 being a C-H stretch. ~ee

There was a Danish biochemist who was doing a TED talk..I forget his name, but he was discussing the identity of the earliest "living" life form. In summary of what he said, the first organized, living (relatively simple) organism would have been something that can be synthesized in a lab. Basically; place hydrophobic solution (such as oil) into water. This forms a hydrophobic barrier in which water cannot penetrate. Add to the oil barrier hydrophilic chemicals, or what ever, and you essentially have the earliest structure of a cell. Now just give the molecules in the oil protected barrier a few million years to make some amino acids and you have proteins, the end.

might be exothermic with bubbling at most, but not HIGHLY exothermic to the point of fiery explosion. Only way you'd get enough energy to cause an explosion/ massive heat release would be to break the peroxide bonds of the newly synthesized hydrogen peroxide..i.e. a catalyst...of course under pressure... but at that point were talking about explosives... and that's a no no. I don't know off hand of any enzymes that convert fatty acids to H2O2. ~ee

If you have the means to produce reagents that you need, is it usually better to make them rather than purchase from a supplier? Im not talking ammonium nitrate or NaOH that you can buy at a drug/ hardware store. I'm talking about chemical like potassium nitrate, hexane, sulfuric acid, glacial acetic acid, ether, etc. Advantages of Home Synthesis: -potentially faster -make as much as you need/ make bulk -potentially cheaper -available if needed last minute Advantages of Buying from a supplier: -higher purity (most likely) -probably more expensive -regulations -takes longer (shipping) What's your opinion? ~EE

I read "a study in scarlet" in highschool. I thought it was neat with the blood test and stuff, but limiting Holmes' character relative to the Robert Downey Jr. Holmes.

This is what I was thinking about Holmes. Bond is just an organized Rambo, Holmes is a morally-guided genius. Bond is more keen to reacting to an action. Holmes devises an impenetrable plan. In the end, brains win over brawn...if with highly trained psychological and physical skills.

James Bond (Daniel Craig version..sorry swansont) vs Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr. version). One has to apprehend the other..all smarts, no fancy weapons/ gadgets, disguises are ok. who will win?

I was just generalizing a reaction that's relatively safe and doesn't really require a gas mask or heavy precautions. I could have said if you're going to burn ammonium chloride, wear a mask...just giving general lab safety instruction, it wasnt entirely relative to the OP.

It depends on the chemical reaction. If you're reacting acetic acid (vinegar) and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), which emits carbon dixode, you're fine. You should be more concerned with just the acid its self. Hydrochloric acid has potential deadly fumes, as well as many other acids. So yes you should either use a gas mask or at least work outside when working with even small concentrations of any acid. Glass stoppers should do just fine, except for hydrofluoric, it'll eat through the glass itself. ~ee

My name is actually Isaac Clark, this is a picture of me just before I shot some pesky necromorphs.

Aren't Cheesie-poofs real? -I'm feel confident though that at least 50% of the people on here are real, which is why I keep coming back.

Its basically potatoe vs po-tot-o

Why don't we all put up pictures of ourselves on our avatars...make this more formal I suppose. I'l do it if the mods do it. P.S.- not trying to start anything unruly. -EE

Pretty much what Phi for All said, to learn different perspectives of people's lives. I want to know what physicists and industrial chemists are up too. I want to know what other scientists or science enthusiasts think of new discoveries, whether they think theyre real or bs, etc.. -I do acknowledge the fact that everyone on this forum could be complete BS artists who live in their parents basements and claim to be 25+ year industrial chemists, etc. However with all my interactions with the people on this forum I have to say I'm generally satisfied with the people that post and I do trust them, especially Swansont!

Grignard reagents in short produce carbanions, which you may or may not know are negatively charged or nucleophilic. The carbon on the aldehyde group is positive due to oxygen's high electronegativity; oxygen literally pulls electrons from carbon making it less negative and more positive or electrophilic. Now you have a positive carbon and a negative carbon...what do you think will happen when they interact? ~ee

I would look into specializing in Inorganic Chemistry, and then getting further involved in Materials Chemistry/ Science dedicated to the space industry... buckminsterfullerene is all the rage nowadays...

I know Edgar Allen Poe wrote a poem/ essay describing or "solving: Olbers paradox: "Were the succession of stars endless, then the background of the sky would present us a uniform luminosity, like that displayed by the Galaxy – since there could be absolutely no point, in all that background, at which would not exist a star. The only mode, therefore, in which, under such a state of affairs, we could comprehend the voids which our telescopes find in innumerable directions, would be by supposing the distance of the invisible background so immense that no ray from it has yet been able to reach us at all" -EAP

Relative to the major advances in science and technology, what field of science (i.e. medicine, chemistry, engineering) is losing purpose in the world? I was reading on a different science forum about how some medical tests that used to be done in hospitals can be accomplished at the home bedside now and some advanced ones in the next couple of years. - or an even simpler question if you prefer: What college science degree is least likely to attain employment in the future? -My pick is biologist.

always wanted to know, but never had the time/ knowledge to educate myself.