Caesium

Cæsium is a soft, silvery-gold alkali metal with the symbol Cs and atomic number 55.

It has a melting point of 28°C (82°F), which means it will be liquid on a warm summer day, and revert to a solid later that night after the ambient temperature cools. Cæsium is just one of five elemental metals that are liquids at or near room temperature.

Its name comes from the Latin word for sky-blue because when burned, cæsium turns the flame a lovely blue colour.

Since the 1990s, the largest application of the element has been as caesium formate for drilling fluids, but it has a range of applications in the production of electricity, in electronics, and in chemistry. The radioactive isotope caesium-137 has a half-life of about 30 years and is used in medical applications, industrial gauges, and hydrology. Nonradioactive caesium compounds are only mildly toxic, but the pure metal's tendency to react explosively with water means that caesium is considered a hazardous material, and the radioisotopes present a significant health and ecological hazard in the environment.

Caesium is also know for its use in atomic clocks and use the electromagnetic transitions in the hyperfine structure of caesium-133 atoms as a reference point. The first accurate caesium clock was built by Louis Essen in 1955 at the National Physical Laboratory in the UK. 

These clocks measure frequency with an error of 2 to 3 parts in 10¹⁴, which corresponding to an accuracy of 2 nanoseconds per day, or one second in 1.4 million years. The latest versions are more accurate than 1 part in 10¹⁵, about 1 second in 20 million years.  The Caesium standard is the primary standard for standards-compliant time and frequency measurements. Caesium clocks regulate the timing of cell phone networks and the Internet.

For more information visit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesium
https://www.theguardian.com/science/grrlscientist/2012/mar/23/1

On this day in science history: the first U.S. patent for a liquid soap was issued

In 1865, the first U.S. patent for a liquid soap was issued to William Sheppard of New York City (No. 49,561). The patent described his "discovery that by the addition of comparatively small quantities of common soap to a large quantity of spirits of ammonia or hartshorn is thickened to the consistency of molasses, and a liquid soap is obtained of superior detergent qualities." The proportions given were to dissolve one pound of common soap in water or steam, and then add 100-lbs of ammonia such that the liquid thickens to the consistency of molasses. The product was expected to be useful for both domestic and manufacturing purposes. (Hartshorn is an ancient name for an aqueous solution of ammonia).

Decorative soaps, by Phanton at English Wikipedia (Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

So, how does soap clean?

Action of soap

When used for cleaning, soap allows insoluble particles to become soluble in water, so they can then be rinsed away. For example: oil/fat is insoluble in water, but when a couple of drops of dish soap are added to the mixture, the oil/fat dissolves in the water. The insoluble oil/fat molecules become associated inside micelles, tiny spheres formed from soap molecules with polar hydrophilic (water-attracting) groups on the outside and encasing a lipophilic (fat-attracting) pocket, which shields the oil/fat molecules from the water making it soluble. Anything that is soluble will be washed away with the water.

Effect of the alkali

The type of alkali metal used determines the kind of soap product. Sodium soaps, prepared from sodium hydroxide, are firm, whereas potassium soaps, derived from potassium hydroxide, are softer or often liquid. Historically, potassium hydroxide was extracted from the ashes of bracken or other plants. Lithium soaps also tend to be hard—these are used exclusively in greases.

Effects of fats

Soaps are derivatives of fatty acids. Traditionally they have been made from triglycerides (oils and fats). Triglyceride is the chemical name for the triesters of fatty acids and glycerin. Tallow, i.e., rendered beef fat, is the most available triglyceride from animals. Its saponified product is called sodium tallowate. Typical vegetable oils used in soap making are palm oil, coconut oil, olive oil, and laurel oil. Each species offers quite different fatty acid content and hence, results in soaps of distinct feel. The seed oils give softer but milder soaps. Soap made from pure olive oil is sometimes called Castile soap or Marseille soap, and is reputed for being extra mild. The term "Castile" is also sometimes applied to soaps from a mixture of oils, but a high percentage of olive oil.

For more information visit:-

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

https://todayinsci.com/8/8_22.htm

http://www.prlabs.co.uk/lab-supplies.php?N=ammonia-buffer-soln&Id=57114

On this day

On 8th January 1868, Søren Peder Lauritz Sørensen was born in Havrebjerg, Denmark.  He died on 12th February 1939.  He was a Danish chemist famous for the introduction of the concept of pH, a scale for measuring acidity and basicity.

From 1901 to 1938 he was head of the prestigious Carlsberg Laboratory, Copenhagen. While working there he studied the effect of ion concentration on proteins, and because the concentration of hydrogen ions was particularly important, he introduced the pH-scale as a simple way of expressing it in 1909.

The article in which he introduced the scale (using the notation pH), described two new methods for measuring acidity. The first method was based on electrodes, while the second involved comparing the colours of samples and a preselected set of indicators.

pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline. Pure water has a pH very close to 7.

For more information visit:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PH

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Soren_Peter_Lauritz_Sorensen.aspx

pH Indicators

A pH indicator is a colour changing (or halochromic) chemical compound that is added in small amounts to a solution so that the pH (acidity or basicity) of the solution can be determined visually.

A pH indicator is a chemical detector for hydronium ions (H3O+) or hydrogen ions (H+).  Normally, the indicator causes the colour of the solution to change depending on the pH.

pH (potential of hydrogen) is a scale of acidity from 0 to 14. It tells how acidic or alkaline a substance is. More acidic solutions have lower pH. More alkaline solutions have higher pH. Substances which are not acidic or alkaline (neutral) usually have a pH of 7. Acids have a pH less than 7. Alkalis have a pH greater than 7.

pH indicator solutions are themselves weak acids or bases.  As one chemical is added it changes the arrangement of the electrons in the molecule causing it to absorb different wavelengths of light and therefore appear different in colour.

Different chemicals can be used for different pH ranges as shown in the diagram below.

 

pH indicators are frequently employed in titrations in analytical chemistry and biology to determine the extent of a chemical reaction. Because of the subjective choice (determination) of colour, pH indicators are susceptible to imprecise readings. For applications requiring precise measurement of pH, a pH meter is frequently used.

Many plants or plant parts contain chemicals from the naturally-coloured anthocyanin family of compounds. They are red in acidic solutions and blue in basic. Anthocyanins can be extracted with water or other solvents from a multitude of coloured plants or plant parts, including from leaves (red cabbage); flowers (geranium, poppy, or rose petals); berries (blueberries, blackcurrant); and stems (rhubarb). Extracting anthocyanins from household plants, especially red cabbage, to form a crude pH indicator is a popular introductory chemistry demonstration.

For more information visit:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PH_indicators

http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/04/04/the-colours-chemistry-of-ph-indicators/

 

Back to school

Where did the summertime break go?  Time for kids to go back to school.  And time for us too...chemistry basics.....Acids and bases

All acids:

• have a low pH (1-6) – the lower the number the stronger the acid
• react with bases to form neutral compounds
• are corrosive when they are strong
• are an irritant when they are weak.

Acids have a pH of less than 7. Bases have a pH of more than 7. When bases are dissolved in water, they are known as alkalis. Salts are made when an acid reacts with a base, carbonate or metal. The name of the salt formed depends on the metal in the base and the acid used. For example, salts made using hydrochloric acid are called chlorides.

Acids
Substances with a pH of less than 7 are acids. The more strongly acidic the solution, the lower its pH number. Acidic solutions turn blue litmus paper red. They turn universal indicator paper red if they are strongly acidic, and orange or yellow if they are weakly acidic.

Bases
Substances that can react with acids and neutralise them to make a salt and water are called bases. They are usually metal oxides or metal hydroxides. For example, copper oxide and sodium hydroxide are bases.

Alkalis
Bases that dissolve in water are called alkalis. Copper oxide is not an alkali because it does not dissolve in water. Sodium hydroxide is an alkali because it does dissolve in water.

Alkaline solutions have a pH of more than 7. The stronger the alkali, the higher the pH number. Alkalis turn red litmus paper blue. They turn universal indicator paper dark blue or purple if they are strongly alkaline, and blue-green if they are weakly alkaline.

Neutral solutions
Neutral solutions have a pH of 7. They do not change the colour of litmus paper, but they turn universal indicator paper green. Water is neutral.

For pH meters or pH test papers or buffer solutions give us a call.

For more information visit:-
http://www.prlabs.co.uk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PH