Gateways 2018-2019

Atoms in the Human Body Atoms are the smallest things known to humanity, and the human body is just riddled with them. In other words, the amount of atoms in the human body is more than a billion times more than the amount of people on Earth.  The amount of atoms in our bodies is approximately 7*10^27 atoms. Basically, 7 and 27 zeroes. That number, for reference, looks like this: 7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. In addition, 99% of these atoms have six  elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Around 0.85% is made up of five  other elements: potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium. 

Claudia Morales                                                                                      3/25/19 Why does Oil and Water not Mix? Its obvious that oil and water do not mix but why?  Oil and water dont mix because water molecules are more attached together than the oil molecules.  Water and oil dont mix because water is polar and oil is non-polar.  Oil is less dense than water that is why oil always floats on top.   There is one way oil and water could mix.  DETERGENT!  Detergent mixes with both water and oil because it is hydrop hilic (which means water-loving) and hydrophobic (which means water-fearing).  so when you add detergent to both the oil and water at the same time they would mix.  Thats why...

Claudia Morales                                                                                                           3/22/19 Why Does Iron Rust Rust forms from a compound called iron oxide.  Its formed when iron and oxygen is exposed to moisture in the air.  Its very hard to find very pure iron because its always exposed to oxygen and at least some moisture in the air. Iron can also rust in chloride.  Pillars under a pool would turn a green color instead of the brown color.  If iron meets with its alloys like steel and corrode, the pieces of iron would rust and disintegrate when its meet with water and then left alone for a long while. The rust process is a combustion reaction, kind of ...

Mixtures Are Everywhere By: Shahminah Mahar-ullah Date:3/13/19 The amount of mixtures that can be created is infinitive. Everything you combine is a mixture, not only is this the case in the laboratory but even in your own house. Think of your kitchen, if you bake a basic cake your combining each of those ingredients to make a mixture that becomes your batter that you then put in the oven. Even the metal creating your water bottle is a mixture, the stainless steel and chromium is melted together then formed to make the bottle you use everyday. Mixtures are all around us in everyday life. Solutions are also mixtures, but since all the molecules are evenly distributed its then considered homogeneous mixtures. There are many examples of this in the kitchen is  lemonade, I say lemonade because all the ingredients in the drink dissolve or mix in with each other. Another type on mixture is a homogeneous mixture. A homogeneous mixture is a mixture that consist of visibly d...

Recently a new state of matter was discovered by putting a hydrogen atom inside of the electron shell of another atom at far below freezing. This state of matter was dubbed Rydberg polarons. Jochim Burgdörfer,   director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics  at the Vienna University of Technology, states "For us, this new, weakly bound state of matter is an exciting possibility of investigating the physics of ultra-cold  atoms." This new state of matter does not have any uses as of yet, however it is speculated that this new state of matter could have many medical uses. I personally believe that this type of matter will never be used in my lifetime, but maybe in the future it could have many inexpensive practical applications. This new sub-zero state of matter sent scientists into a tizzy. While the experiment only lasted for 6 milliseconds it still helped make great strides in the field of physics. If you believe this discovery could make a difference in scie...

Claudia Morales                                                                                                  3/19/19 How to make Neutrino Beams Neutrinos beams are made by using an accelerator.  It propels protons into a a graphite target which then collides with nuclei which can produce new cells which are positive and negative ions and neutrons.  The magnetic horn then is focused on positive ions to make a narrow beam leaving behind the other ions and neutrons.  The positive ions also start to decay into positive muons and neutrinos.  A block of concrete and steel slows and absorbs the muons but neutrinos can pass through anything.  Which leaves with a Neutrino Beams.   Neutrinos are in everyth...

Last week scientists at the University of Plymouth blended a cell phone to dust and measured the chemical composition. The results of this test proved that when a phone's life span runs out that you should recycle it. For example in a single phone 90 milligrams of silver and 36 milligrams of gold. This may seem like a small number but when millions of phones are produced every year it adds up. Not only is their silver and gold in phones, there is also large quantities of iron, silicon, chromium, and tungsten. While these materials are quite common, they do require a large amount of ore to get the small amount needed for a single phone. Each phone requires 10-15 kilograms of ore to make. Bear in mind that a smart phone weighs a average of 150 grams. Now  begs the question will people start recycling their phones? Based on current studies people care more about the environment they live in more than ever. This leads me to the belief that people will start recycling their phon...

Belle James March 21, 2019 Chemistry Blog The History of the Periodic Table In 440 BC, Democritus and Leucippus propose The Atom , something that makes up ALL matter. Because of their discovery, they became known as "Atomists", one who studies atoms. Many people credit just Leucippus for the discovery of both atoms and void, but Democritus deeply expanded the knowledge on the two topics. Because of Democritus and Leucippus, we now have the basic foundation for the Periodic Table. 110 years later, in 330 BC, there was a man named Aristotle. Aristotle was a Greek Philosopher and Scientist who, because of all of his discoveries, garnered the name, "Father of Western Philosophy". He was not only an outstanding thinker, but also an inovator and inventor. He was the individual who proposes the four elemental theory: Earth, Water, Fire and Air. These elements were already thought as highly religious and spiritual in China, but now they became incredibly importan...

Harmful Chemicals in Vapes Apparently nowadays the "cool" thing kids do is vape. However, as expected, vapes have chemicals that do in fact slow down respiratory systems. Although vapes are less harmful than cigarettes, the fact that they are trending right now with the younger generation makes it just as bad. Vapes have chemicals such as diacetyl, which is a "flavorant" drug that adds flavor to it, but can inject a serious disease into your lungs. Vapes are typically made by mixing flavorants, nicotine, and propelyne glycol. These intend to make vapes incredibly addictive while having a good taste. https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/18/17996706/vape-juice-flavoring-electronic-cigarettes-chemicals-ingredients-irritating-e-liquid https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/

  Scientists say there are signs of humans having a subconscious magnetic sense In some experiments the applied magnetic fields were fixed in one direction, while in others they were rotated. In still others the machines were turned on but no magnetic field was produced meaning the participant was only exposed to Earth’s natural magnetic field. The participant was not aware which experiment was underway. The results, gathered from 34 adult participants, revealed that certain cases triggered a drop in participants’ alpha brain waves, a change that is linked to the brain processing information. This occurred if the applied magnetic field was pointed north and then swept upwards or downwards, or directed down while pointing north and rotated counterclockwise. That is like a human raising their hand. The team say the experiments offer clues as to what the human magnetoreception system might look like – noting that the results rule out electrical induction, or simply artefacts,...