/oss/taxonomy/term/966/all en /oss/article/student-contributors-technology-history/can-problems-future-be-solved-technology-past <p>Electric cars are often portrayed as an invention created to solve the issue of pollution generated from the exhaust emission of gasoline cars, but the electric car has been around the block before! The first electric vehicle (EV) was developed by Robert Anderson – a Scottish inventor – in 1847. And while the world has drastically changed in the past 176 years, both the benefits and problems of EV’s remain much the same.</p> Fri, 06 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000 Daniela Padres 9679 at /oss /oss/article/history/powder-sympathy <p>Four hundred years ago Belgian physician Johann Baptist Van Helmont was persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church for promoting the use of the “Powder of Sympathy” that was supposed to treat wounds by applying it to a dressing that had previously covered the wound. The exact nature of the substance varied, but iron or copper sulfate seem to have been common ingredients. This folly was first proposed by physician and scoundrel Sir Kenelm Digby, but Van Helmont bought into the idea. Somehow the effect of the powder on the bloody dressing was to be communicated to the blood still in the body.</p> Fri, 25 Feb 2022 18:33:41 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9037 at /oss /oss/article/history-general-science/heres-jeopardy <p>In many households, 7:00 pm is time for Jeopardy (although these days, with video recording and repeats on Netflix, any time can be Jeopardy time). For thirty-seven years many of us have invited Alex Trebek into our homes and appreciated his elegance and wit. Unfortunately, we lost this Canadian icon this week, so what better way to pay tribute than to play a little Jeopardy. The category? CHEMISTRY of course. Let’s go to the board!</p> <p><em>[Try to answer before looking at the answers below!]</em></p> Tue, 10 Nov 2020 23:06:19 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8479 at /oss /oss/article/general-science/shaking-champagne-bottle <p>People readily understand that solids can dissolve in a liquid. Salt or sugar dissolve in water and the warmer the water, the faster the rate of dissolution. We learn this in elementary school. But for some reason, the idea that gases can dissolve in water causes more confusion. Indeed, they do dissolve. If oxygen from the air did not dissolve in water, for example, fish could not survive. And if carbon dioxide did not dissolve in water, we wouldn’t have carbonated beverages. Temperature, on the other hand, has a different effect as to how gases and solids dissolve in water.</p> Tue, 17 Dec 2019 15:00:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8044 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/i-keep-hearing-isobutylene-newswhat-heck-it <p>An explosion and fire at a <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/One-dead-two-injured-in-Crosby-plant-explosion-13736724.php#photo-17164118">Texas chemical plant</a> fuelled by the extremely flammable gas isobutylene has killed one employee and left the public wondering why such a dangerously flammable gas is produced in such large quantities.</p> <p>Isobutylene (also called 2-methylpropene, isobutene, and γ-butylene because chemists aren’t wonderful at sticking to a one naming system) is a colourless, gaseous hydrocarbon at room temperature.</p> Fri, 05 Apr 2019 14:43:01 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7694 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/did-you-know-you-dont-need-burp-babies <p>It’s a commonplace occurrence: When a baby is done eating, their mom or dad places them over their shoulder and pats their back to get them to burp.</p> <p>It turns out that this familiar routine is probably useless.</p> <p>The theory behind the practice is that while nursing, babies inhale air that needs to be expelled after feeding. Patting their backs causes them to bring up that air, and well, burp.</p> Fri, 29 Mar 2019 14:53:27 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7673 at /oss /oss/article/its-time-bbq <p><span>The word “barbecue” derives from the ancient Caribbean tradition of supporting food over a fire with a scaffolding made from green wood which in Spanish was called "barbacoa." </span><span>The technique itself was referred to as "boucan." </span><span>Shipwrecked sailors and runaway servants who found themselves on Caribbean islands picked up the method and came to be called "boucaniers," or in English, "buccaneers." </span><span>Many of us still turn into summertime buccaneers, brandishing our long forks and spatulas as we grill, roast, broil, and of course, burn food to our stomach'</span></p> Thu, 12 Jul 2018 18:00:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7166 at /oss /oss/article/general-science/nervous-about-nerve-agents <p>It was back in 1939, that German chemist Gerhard Schrader was searching for better methods to control insects when he chanced upon a substance that had greater insecticidal activity than anything he had ever seen. He named the new compound "tabun" and envisioned a breakthrough for agriculture. Hitler, however, had something else in mind for the newly developed substance. If it could kill pests, it could also kill people. A terrible new weapon was born.</p> Tue, 13 Mar 2018 15:57:39 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 6961 at /oss /oss/article/environment/its-thanksgiving-and-time-talkturkey <p>Eventually we will run out of oil.  There is no doubt about that.  The earth is of a fixed size, and the amount of oil stored in the ground is not infinite.  We take it out of the ground and do not replenish it.  Therefore we will run out.  It’s just a question of when.  When people think of the uses of oil, they think of course of gasoline, heating oil and aircraft fuel.  But you have to remember that the raw materials we need to make plastics, cleaning agents, many medications, cosmetics, fibres and a myriad of other consumer items are also sourced from oil.  Indeed, when we run out we wi</p> Mon, 09 Oct 2017 21:47:13 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 4094 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/excimer-lasers <p>During the 1970’s in Moscow, Russia excimer lasers were first developed, consisting of both reactive and inert gases. When excited electrically, the mixture of these gases produces a dimer. Thus ‘excimer’ combines the terms “excited” and “dimer.” This laser disrupts chemical bonds of organic tissue when it produces energy in the ultraviolet spectrum; because it neither burns nor cuts material the excimer laser has many applications. Most applications are medicinal, it’s most famous use being LASIK eye surgery.</p> Fri, 02 Jun 2017 16:27:22 +0000 OSS 2527 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-history/mints-gas <p>Restaurants often offer mints to their patrons after a meal. This is an old tradition geared to reducing the chance of untoward gaseous emissions. Gas builds up in the intestine in various ways. Air can be swallowed. Carbon dioxide can be produced when the acid contents of the stomach mix with naturally occurring bicarbonate in the small bowel. Hydrogen and methane along with some odiferous sulfur compounds are produced by the action of bacteria on indigestible food components in the large intestine.</p> Sun, 21 May 2017 18:07:35 +0000 OSS 2466 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-quirky-science/letting-fizz-out-fizz-keeper <p>A little pump called the “Fizz Keeper” is available in kitchen supply stores to pressurize previously opened soft drink bottles and prevent loss of carbonation. The idea appears to make sense, but actually, the device does not work. Pumping the bottle can restore the pressure above the solution so the bottle feels hard, just like when it was purchased. But the manufacturers are unaware of Henry’s Law.</p> Sat, 04 Jan 2014 20:28:55 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2060 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-health-news-you-asked/are-electronic-cigarettes-new-trend <p>These plastic cigs dispenses nicotine vapour without releasing any of the harmful substances found in tobacco smoke. The idea is to try and satisfy a smoker’s need for a nicotine fix without putting their lives at risk. And since this isn’t a real cigarette, it can be “smoked” indoors. Obviously bars and restaurants are in favour. The device is actually quite clever, invented by Hon Lik, working for the Ruyan electronics company in China. It looks like a cigarette, but is actually a plastic tube that houses a rechargeable battery, a heating coil and a cartridge that contains nicotine.</p> Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:15:52 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1915 at /oss