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How platinum powers the world

Platinum bars. Image: Sprott Money@Flickr 

Platinum is one of the most valuable metals in the world. Precious and pretty, it’s probably best known for jewelry – and that is almost certainly its oldest use. But its value has become far greater than its decorative ability; today, platinum powers the world. From agriculture to the oil markets, energy to healthcare, we use platinum far more than we realise.

1. Keep the car running

Platinum is needed to make fuel for transport. Image: Pixabay

Platinum catalysts are crucial in the process that converts naphtha into petrol, diesel, and jet-engine fuel, which are all vital to the global economy. The emissions from those petroleum fuels, however, can be toxic, and platinum is also crucial in the worldwide push to reduce them through automotive catalytic converters. In fact, 2% of global platinum use in 2016 was in converting petroleum and 41% went into reducing emissions – a circle of platinum use that’s more impressive than a ring.

2. Feed the world

Nitric acid is a by-product of platinum which is used in fertilisers. Image: Pixabay

Another vital global sector that makes use of platinum catalysts is agriculture. Without synthetic fertilisers, we would not be able to produce nearly as much food as we need. Nitric acid is essential for producing those fertilisers and platinum is essential for producing nitric acid. Since 90% of the gauzes required for nitric acid are platinum, we may need to use more of it as we try to meet the global food challenge.

3. Good for your health

A pacemaker. Image: Steven Fruitsmaak@Wikimedia Commons 

Platinum is extremely hard wearing, non-corrosive, and highly biocompatible, making it an excellent material to protect medical implants from acid corrosion in the human body. It is commonly used in pacemakers and stents. It is also used in chemotherapy, where platinum-based chemotherapeutic agents are used to treat up to 50% of cancer patients.

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Why most metals are silver (but copper and gold aren’t)

If we want to understand what gives a metal its color we first need to understand a little bit about the definition of a metal. Metals are materials that experience metallic bonding - wherein the atoms are so close that there is a veritable “sea of electrons” in the substance. (This is also what makes metals conductors, but that’s another story). Basically each atom donates an electron or two that is free to flow throughout the material, unattached to any particular nucleus. 

This proximity leads to an overlap in the allowed energy levels of electrons (shown in the lower left hand image above); basically the higher empty electronic levels are so close to the uppermost filled levels (also called the Fermi level) that they form an essentially continuous band of allowed energies. 

Now, backtracking a little bit, color in a substance is caused when a material doesn’t absorb a particular wavelength of light. Because of the empty energy levels mentioned above, metals generally can absorb all wavelengths of light in the visible spectrum. This implies that a metal should look black, except that the excited electron can immediately fall back to the state that it came from, emitting exactly the same energy, causing a flat piece of metal to appear reflective. Thus, the reason why most metals are silver. (Also, the flatter a metal, the more reflective, thanks to diffuse vs. specular reflection).

For a few select metals, like copper and gold, the absorption and emission of photons are noticeably dependent on wavelength across the visible part of the spectrum. The graph in the lower right image above shows the reflectance of aluminum, silver, and gold, including wavelengths in the infrared and ultraviolet. Aluminum is pretty reflective overall, and silver is highly reflective in the visible region (about 400 to 700 nm), but gold clearly absorbs wavelengths about 500 nm or below. Thus, it most strongly reflects yellow, giving it its characteristic appearance. 

Sources: (first image), 2 (second image), 3 (third image), 4

But that’s not all it can do. Microsoft and NASA teamed up to “bring” you, yes you, to Mars.

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Fibonacci trefoil

© Rafael Araujo

Does one of these LEGO men look bigger than the other? They’re actually the exact same size, but are in an Ames room - a false-perspective illusion room that tricks your brain into thinking things are smaller, or larger, than they really are.

You can make one of these models to try this for yourself. Download our free template from here. And it even works in full size, if you can make one large enough!

Vantablack absorbs 99% of light and is the darkest material ever made.

The dihydrogen monoxide hoax involves calling water by the unfamiliar chemical name “dihydrogen monoxide” (DHMO), and listing some of water’s effects in an alarming manner, such as the fact that it accelerates corrosion and can cause severe burns. The hoax often calls for dihydrogen monoxide to be regulated, labeled as hazardous, or banned. It illustrates how the lack of scientific literacy and an exaggerated analysis can lead to misplaced fears.

The hoax gained renewed popularity in the late 1990s when a 14-year-old student collected anti-DHMO petitions for a science project about gullibility. The story has since been used in science education to encourage critical thinking and avoid the appeal to nature.

Forty-three students favored banning DHMO, six were undecided, and only one correctly recognized that ‘dihydrogen monoxide’ is actually plain old water.

Here’s the information he gave the students:

Dihydrogen monoxide is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and kills uncounted thousands of people every year. Most of these deaths are caused by accidental inhalation of DHMO, but the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide do not end there. Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage. Symptoms of DHMO ingestion can include excessive sweating and urination, and possibly a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting and body electrolyte imbalance. For those who have become dependent, DHMO withdrawal means certain death.

Dihydrogen monoxide:

is also known as hydroxl acid, and is the major component of acid rain.

contributes to the “greenhouse effect.”

may cause severe burns.

contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.

accelerates corrosion and rusting of many metals.

may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes.

has been found in excised tumors of terminal cancer patients.

Contamination is reaching epidemic proportions!

Quantities of dihydrogen monoxide have been found in almost every stream, lake, and reservoir in America today. But the pollution is global, and the contaminant has even been found in Antarctic ice. DHMO has caused millions of dollars of property damage in the midwest, and recently California.

Despite the danger, dihydrogen monoxide is often used:

as an industrial solvent and coolant.

in nuclear power plants.

in the production of styrofoam.

as a fire retardant.

in many forms of cruel animal research.

in the distribution of pesticides. Even after washing, produce remains contaminated by this chemical.

as an additive in certain “junk-foods” and other food products.

Companies dump waste DHMO into rivers and the ocean, and nothing can be done to stop them because this practice is still legal. The impact on wildlife is extreme, and we cannot afford to ignore it any longer!

The American government has refused to ban the production, distribution, or use of this damaging chemical due to its “importance to the economic health of this nation.” In fact, the navy and other military organizations are conducting experiments with DHMO, and designing multi-billion dollar devices to control and utilize it during warfare situations. Hundreds of military research facilities receive tons of it through a highly sophisticated underground distribution network. Many store large quantities for later use.

Source: [x]

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Concrete vs. Cement

Concrete and cement are (mostly) two different materials. Why mostly? Because concrete is made using cement. Though cement can (technically) be used on its own, concrete cannot be made without first making cement.

Classified as a ceramic, cement starts as a powder, a mixture of limestone and other minerals, which is heated and mixed with gypsum to form what we know of as cement. Still a powder in this form, once water is added and mixed the cement then hardens. 

Portland cement, probably the most well known and commonly used cement, is classified as a hydraulic cement. This essentially means that once water has been added the chemical reaction, called hydration, that hardens the cement is not dependent on how much water is added. Hydraulic cements can harden underwater and remain strong even in wet conditions. As a side note, Portland cement is not a brand name, but a particular type of cement.

On the other hand, concrete is composed of cement, aggregate, and water, and is thus classified as a composite. Composites are defined as consisting of a matrix or binder that has a reinforcement within it. In the case of concrete, the cement water mixture is the matrix in which the reinforcement, or aggregate exists. 

The aggregate is typically comprised of stones, rocks, and sand and its addition increases the durability of the concrete. The amount of the aggregate or the size of the aggregate added can also effect the water-to-cement ratio required to harden the material, strengthening the final product. The hardening process continues for years, meaning that concrete only gets stronger with age.

Though most concretes are lime-based, asphalt concrete uses asphalt as the cement material and polymer concretes also exist. Another common type of concrete is reinforced concrete, in which rebar, or reinforcing bars, are embedded within to add to the strength of the concrete.

Sources: ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 5 )

A portal to another universe ?

That my dear friends is a CT scan machine. Stripped off all the body parts, you can see clearly see what goes on inside.

A computerized tomography (CT) or computerized axial tomography (CAT) scan combines data from several X-rays to produce a detailed image of structures inside the body.

                                            CT scan of Brain

Pretty cool, don’t you think ?

Extras

Difference between MRI and CT scan

Why dont you spin the patient instead ? - Awesome reddit thread

Better quality gifs : here

Source Video: Micheal Jonnson