Shroedinger vs Democritus

Long, long ago in ancient Ionia, Greece what is now Turkey there was a man named Democritus. Democritus lived around 430 B.C.E. Back in Ionia many of the wealthy men were philosophisers, and they did many "thought experiments" In one of those many "thought experiments" Democritus decided that matter is made up of pieces, building blocks if you will, that are so small they cannot be cut up into smaller pieces.

The word atom meaning "one of the minute indivisible particles of which according to ancient materialism the universe is composed"* comes from the word atomos meaning uncutable. Democritus was on the right track (which is amazing because this was hundreds and hundreds of years ago) but he was still not entirely accurate. You see elements had not been recognized yet, so atoms were described by what they composed. (i.e. table atom, or tree atom.)

Now let's jump to the 1920s.

Not so long ago a man named Eric Shroedinger was praised by Albert Einstein,

"... the idea of your work springs from true genius... "

Now while that quote may have been aimed towards Shroedinger's work on quantum theory (not on the atom), it was in regard to one man: Eric Shroedinger. Born in the year of 1887 in Vienna, Austria Shroedinger loved mathematics early on.

Note: Eric Shroedinger hated homework, but later went on to win a Nobel Prize.

Shroedinger emphasized the need to focus on exactly where the electrons are located rather than prior examining on how electrons move. He worked with the term superpositioning meaning you can be in multiple places at once and have more than one state at once.

(By "you" I did not mean you as a person. I meant electrons: the extremely small, negatively charged particles that orbit an atom's nucleus. Though it would be totally awesome if you were able to be in multiple places at once!)

Under Shroedinger's use of the scientific method he changed the way we look at atoms today. He developed the brilliant atom model below via mathematics and the scientific method.

I give you a purple cotton candy model of an atom!!!

Shroedinger vs Democritus

The main difference between Scroedinger and Democritus's methods of discovery is the actual method behind each of their scientific practices. While Democritus could have sat in a comfortable armchair by the fire leisurely dreaming up particles that "could not be cut again" Shroedinger was slaving away at a chalkboard in a laboratory, doing mathematics calculations. This shows how far we have come as a scientific society, not to say that there is no imagination or leisurely thinking behind science, there is. But what I am trying to say is that we have set our standards higher, making us overall more accurate. By setting our standards higher we use and develop more modern ways of getting things done and thus our knowlage expands.

Below is the scientific method, the main difference between Shroedinger and Democritus's method. Shroedinger used it while it was long after Democritus's time.

*Taken from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atom

Researched at site: http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Schrodinger.html

Notes taken in Mr. Harrelson's science class at Spartanburg Day School.

Homework 10

Objective 1: Understanding Solutions

1. What are the characteristics of solutions, colloids, and suspensions
In order of smallest to largest particles:

solutions- particles equally spread

colloids- larger particles; eventually settle out

suspensions- very large particles; settle out quickly

2. What happens to the particles of a solute when a solution forms? The particles are typically mixed with a solvent (solvent is normally in a larger quantity) and the particles dissolve. i.e. sugar water (sugar=solute, water=solvent [water is the universal solvent])

3. How do solutes affect the freezing point and boiling point of a solvent? Solutes lower the freezing point and raise the boiling point of a solvent.

4. Suppose you mix food coloring in water to make it blue. Have you made a solution or solution or a suspension? Explain. I am going to speculate and say that it creates a solution, because the particles are distributed equally. If they weren't equally spread out would the water be entirely blue? I hypothesize that it would not be entirely (visually, without a microscope, magnifying glass, etc.) blue.

5. What effects do solutes have on a solvent’s freezing and boiling points? Solutes lower the freezing point and raise the boiling point of a solvent.

Aren't the questions in red basically asking the same thing?

Objective 2: Concentration and Solubility

1. How is a concentration measured? With the pH scale: 2. Why is solubility useful in identifying substances? If something is soluble, it is defined as a substance that can be dissolved (i.e. sugar); also note that the word solute is very similar to the word soluble. If something is insoluble then it can not be dissolved. This is an important factor in identifying a substance because not all substances are solubles. So by using process of elimination given the information that a substance is able to dissolve scientists are one step closer to identifying the given substance. Science is mainly a process of elimination and guess-and-check.

3. What factors affect the solubility of a substance? Temperature, pressure, polarity, molecule size and activation energy.

4. How does temperature affect the solubility of most solids? Heat starts to break up the bonds in a material, thus helping soluble the given substance.

5. How can solubility help you identify a substance? If something is soluble, it is defined as a substance that can be dissolved (i.e. sugar); also note that the word solute is very similar to the word soluble. If something is insoluble then it can not be dissolved. This is an important factor in identifying a substance because not all substances are solubles. So by using process of elimination given the information that a substance is able to dissolve scientists are one step closer to identifying the given substance. Science is mainly a process of elimination and guess-and-check.

Sorry but once again, can't the two questions in red be answered together?

Objective 3: Describing Acids and Bases

1. What are four properties of acids? They conduct electricity, taste sour, it's properties neutralize when combined with a base, and liberates hydrogen when confronted with active metals. 2. What are four properties of bases? They also conduct electricity, and when confronted with acids their properties are neutralized; unlike acids: they taste bitter and feel slippery to the skin. 3. How can you use litmus paper to distinguish an acid from a base? (Neutral) litmus paper turns red if the given substance it is confronted with is acidic and blue if it is basic (a base). 4. How might you tell if a food contains an acid as one of its ingredients? You can check the label to see if it mentions an acid, or use neutral litmus paper; it will turn red if it is acidic. 5. Why is it wise to wear gloves when spreading fertilizer in a garden? Well at the moment the best reason that comes to mind is the fact that many fertilizes contain animal waste, and no one really wants that on their hands... But I don't think that relates to the subject at hand, which is acids and bases. Based on this answer from Yahoo Answers: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/indexqid=20080508201726AAJBckx some
fertilizers contain weed killers and salts that when absorbed via skin, they can be potentiallydangerous.

Objective 4: Acids and Bases in Solution

1. Which ion is found in acids? a cation

2. Which kinds of ions do acids and bases form in water? Hydroxide atoms are formed.

3. What ions will the acid HNO3 form when dissolved in water? H+ and NO3

4. What does a substance’s pH tell you? It tells whether it is acidic or not.

5. If a solution has a pH of 6, would the solution contain more or fewer hydrogen ions (H+) than an equal volume of solution with a pH of 3? The hydrgen ions will be less because as the acidity increases, the hydroen ions increase as well. and 3 is more acidic than 6 , hence it has more hydrogen ions than 6.
Source:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080509000849AATJmpZ

Objective 5: Digestion and pH

1. What are the two parts of digestion?

2. How do those two parts differ?

3. People who have lost most of their teeth may have trouble chewing their food. How does this affect their digestive process?

4. What is the pH in your mouth? Stomach? Small intestine?

5. Why are pH variations in different parts of the digestive system important to the process of digestion?

Objective 6: Key Terms

Define:

1. Acids are particles which in a solution, have a pH less than 7, and are able to accept a pair of electrons from a base; as well as give a base a proton.

2. Neutralization is a process that happens when an acid and a base are combined, and it results in both the acid and base loosing some or all of their properties.

3. An indicator is a tool in chemistry such as litmus paper that shows whether a substance has a high concentration of a chemical or whether the chemical is present in the substance at all.

4. When something is corrosive it has the ability to destroy or erode a substance. In chemistry acids are corrosive because they basically erode active metals, thus creating hydrogen.

5. Hydroxide ions are also known as hydroxyls. Hydroxyls are negatively charged atoms create by a Hydrogen and Oxygen link/covalent bond.

Extra Credit.... Hg, the awesomest element

On average there are,

Protons: 80

Neutrons: 121

electrons: 80

in a mercury atom.

Now here is the way I determined this:

Protons= atomic number

Electrons= atomic number

Neutrons (neutral charge)= rounded atomic mass - atomic number

Note that protons give off positive charge, while electrons give off negative, so there are (correct me if I'm wrong) normally equal counts of each.

So the atomic number is 80, and the atomic mass is 200.59.

201-80=121 =) all done!

My Family's Trip To Monhegean Island

Every year my family and I pack our bags, and fly up north to Maine for three weeks. There, we spend our days on a little island called Monhegean. On Monheagan the islanders don't use cars. We walk everywhere.Because we go back there every year (my parents have been going for about 20 years and my great Aunt and Uncle even longer) we have acquired quite a few friends, both islanders and vacationers alike. My brother and his friend Taylor set up jobs at one of the local inns as "bell boys" earning money while caring people's luggage up to their rooms.








On Monhegean we hike, swim (in freeezing cold waters, brrrr), pick wild berries and make pie! Many plants grow wild on Monhegean such as: rubbarb, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries (the wild ones are soooo small!), blackberries, and service berries.
While on the island my brothers and I take advantage of our dad being a Marine Biologist and explore all the way from the tide pools to the cliffs, asking him many questions along the way.







Overall Monhegean is the best vacation place on Earth. It has something for everybody: views, local and famous resident artists, lobster, fresh berries, ocean, fairy house building in the Cathedral Woods (local tradition) and cute little shops such as "The Black Duck" and "The Barnacle."

I love Monhegean!!!

Psyched About Science

Hello, it's me Jesseca here! And I just wanted to say...

Who is psyched about science?

I sure am!