The chemistry behind the 'Oscar'

A BIT of a mix up might have dinted the magical chemistry of the Oscars this year, but it didn’t damage the sheen on those golden statuettes! 

So, what exactly IS the chemistry behind the world’s most famous prize? Check out the graphic below to learn exactly WHAT goes into an Oscar statuette. 

Source: Compound Interest

So, who knew the statuette wasn’t made from REAL gold? And what is the history of Britannium? First produced in 1769 or 1770, Britannium metal was created by James Vickers after purchasing the formula from a dying friend. It was originally known as "Vickers White Metal" when made under contract by the Sheffield manufacturers Ebenezer Hancock and Richard Jessop. In 1776 James Vickers took over the manufacturing himself and remained as owner until his death in 1809, when the company passed to his son, John, and Son-in-Law, Elijah West. In 1836 the company was sold to John Vickers's nephew Ebenezer Stacey (the son of Hannah Vickers and John Stacey).

After the development of electroplating with silver in 1846, Britannia metal was widely used as the base metal for silver-plated household goods and cutlery. The abbreviation EPBM on such items denotes "electroplated Britannia metal". Britannia metal was generally used as a cheaper alternative to electroplated nickel silver (EPNS) which is more durable.

In his essay, A Nice Cup of Tea, writer George Orwell asserts that "britanniaware" teapots "produce inferior tea" (when compared to Chinaware).

For more information visit:-

http://www.compoundchem.com/2017/02/25/oscars/
http://www.prlabs.co.uk/lab-supplies.php?N=copper-1000ppm-for-icp&Id=60111
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannia_metal

The chemistry of the environmental effects of fireworks

Who doesn’t love fireworks at New Year? Yet whilst fireworks are undoubtedly a spectacle, they can also have a negative effect on the environment. Take a look at the graphic below, to discover some of the issues that they can cause.

Source: Compound Interest

So that’s the science, but what about the history? Who first invented the firework?

The earliest documentation of fireworks dates back to 7th century China (time of the Tang Dynasty), where they were invented. The fireworks were used to accompany many festivities. It is thus a part of the culture of China and had its origin there; eventually it spread to other cultures and societies.

The art and science of firework making has developed into an independent profession. In China, pyrotechnicians were respected for their knowledge of complex techniques in mounting firework displays. Chinese people originally believed that the fireworks could expel evil spirits and bring about luck and happiness.

During the Song Dynasty (960–1279), many of the common people could purchase various kinds of fireworks from market vendors, and grand displays of fireworks were also known to be held. In 1110, a large fireworks display in a martial demonstration was held to entertain Emperor Huizong of Song (r. 1100–1125) and his court. A record from 1264 states that a rocket-propelled firework went off near the Empress Dowager Gong Sheng and startled her during a feast held in her honor by her son Emperor Lizong of Song (r. 1224–1264). 

Rocket propulsion was common in warfare, as evidenced by the Huolongjing compiled by Liu Bowen (1311–1375) and Jiao Yu (fl. c. 1350–1412). In 1240 the Arabs acquired knowledge of gunpowder and its uses from China. A Syrian named Hasan al-Rammah wrote of rockets, fireworks, and other incendiaries, using terms that suggested he derived his knowledge from Chinese sources, such as his references to fireworks as "Chinese flowers".

With the development of chinoiserie in Europe, Chinese fireworks began to gain popularity around the mid-17th century. Lev Izmailov, ambassador of Peter the Great, once reported from China: "They make such fireworks that no one in Europe has ever seen." In 1758, the Jesuit missionary Pierre Nicolas le Chéron d'Incarville, living in Beijing, wrote about the methods and composition on how to make many types of Chinese fireworks to the Paris Academy of Sciences, which revealed and published the account five years later. His writings would be translated in 1765, resulting in the popularization of fireworks and further attempts to uncover the secrets of Chinese fireworks.

For more information visit:-

http://www.compoundchem.com/2017/01/05/fireworks-environment/

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

http://www.prlabs.co.uk/lab-supplies.php?N=lead-1000ppm-for-icp&Id=60146

Neodymium

Neodymium is a chemical element with the symbol Nd and atomic number 60. It is a soft silvery metal that tarnishes in air.

Like most metals, neodymium is a lustrous silvery white colour, and like its twin praseodymium,, it tarnishes rapidly in air so it must be stored under argon (as above) or oil. Like the other lanthanoids, it is a rare earth metal that is anything but rare. In fact, neodymium is exceedingly common -- almost as common as copper -- being the second most common of the rare earth elements in the Earth's crust, following cerium.

Neodymium compounds were first commercially used as glass dyes in 1927, and they remain a popular additive in glasses. The color of neodymium compounds—due to the Nd³⁺ ion—is often a reddish-purple but it changes with the type of lighting, due to fluorescent effects.

Its compounds have a variety of lovely colours -- pink, mauve, purple, violet, green -- that change based on the sort of lighting they are exposed to. For example, neodymium chloride hexahydrate, NdCl₃·6H₂O [see image courtesy of Walkerma (public domain)], is pink when exposed to sunlight (top) and a boring yellowish colour when exposed to fluorescent light (bottom).

Another chief use of neodymium is as the free pure element. It is used as a component in the alloys used to make high-strength neodymium magnets – powerful permanent magnets. These magnets are widely used in such products as microphones, professional loudspeakers, in-ear headphones, and computer hard disks, where low magnet mass or volume, or strong magnetic fields are required. Larger neodymium magnets are used in high power versus weight electric motors (for example in hybrid cars) and generators.

Neodymium magnets are often referred to as "supermagnets". And they are for a reason: a one gram neodymium supermagnet can hold up a 1.3 kg (2.8 lb) iron sphere!

Neodymium metal dust is a combustion and explosion hazard. Neodymium compounds, as with all rare earth metals, are of low to moderate toxicity; however its toxicity has not been thoroughly investigated. Neodymium dust and salts are very irritating to the eyes and mucous membranes, and moderately irritating to skin. Breathing the dust can cause lung embolisms, and accumulated exposure damages the liver.

Even relatively small neodymium magnets cause all sorts of damages, even those that are just a few centimetres square. They are dangerous to people with pacemakers.  Bone fractures from flying magnets and crushing the tip off a finger are not uncommon.

Check out this video link too:-
Neodymium Magnet experiments

For more information visit:-
http://www.theguardian.com/science/grrlscientist/2012/apr/27/1?guni=Article:in%20body%20link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neodymium