5656
The importance of practical work
This year's ChemEd-Ireland takes another look at 'Practical Work in Chemistry'. This is a perennial topic of interest which lies at the heart of chemistry teaching. The Proceedings of the conference will be published in issue #57, although these are no substitute for being there. This issue is a taster for those Proceedings with an emphasis on demonstrations. As well as continuing Michael Faraday's lecture series The Chemical History of a Candle (which I hope you are enjoying), this issue also includes Renato Schibeci's useful guide to using chemical demonstrations. If you have a favourite demonstration, why not write it up and send it in for publication in Chemistry in Action!?
Declining numbers
Earlier this year Matt Moran of the (Irish Pharmaceutical and Chemical Manufacturers Federation (IPCMF) highlighted the concern of the chemical industry about falling numbers in chemistry in particular, and the physical sciences in general. The decline in numbers is of concern not only to industry, who can see potential recruitment problems in the future, but also to third level institutions. The same pool of second-level students (those doing maths and the sciences) provide the students for courses in medicine, engineering, science and computing. This year there has been a large increase in the number of university places in computing (over 1000). This must inevitably reduce demand on other courses which require a maths and science background. If the universities have trouble filling their courses, then the new Institute's of Technology have even greater trouble. Their problem is of finding enough students of adequate quality to fill their courses. Although I haven't done a proper analysis of this problem it would seem that we now have more places on offer in chemistry than we have suitably qualified students to fill them. The same pool of students is being spread out over several areas, three of which are not represented in schools - medical, engineering and computing. This is not as true in any other subject area done in schools. Therefore we need a larger and increasing pool of science students to fill all the available places; what we actually have is a small and decreasing number of students. It is a recipe for future economic disaster. Already we are reaching the situation where there are more actual and projected jobs in computing (hardware and software, and languages) than there are qualified people to fill them. The same is true or will soon be the case in the chemical industry given the rapid growth in employment in the last few years.
At UL we are trying to do something about encouraging more people to take chemistry in schools through actively promoting chemistry to 3rd. year and transition students. The Promotion of Chemistry Project (PCP) involves a travelling Chemistry Magic Show presented this year by Ms. Elaine Regan, a Science Education graduate of UL. This project is supported by IPCMF and the Dept. of Chemical and Environmental Sciences at UL. A circular has already been sent out via Chemistry in Action! and we have a good number of replies already. Ms. Regan will visit schools and put on a Chemistry Magic Show for groups of 1-2 classes, fitting within a single class period. We also hope to distribute to students as a backup to the show a tabloid-style magazine, plus background notes for the teachers. To evaluate the project properly we asking schools involved to administer a questionnaire to their students before and after an interval after the show. We also want to track enrolments into chemistry the following year. We want to see if making chemistry more attractive and providing more accurate information on courses and careers, we can encourage more students - particularly girls - to study chemistry for their Leaving Certificate, and hence widen their options and also increase the pool of qualified science students. We hope that many schools and teachers will cooperate in this and that if the project is successful, that funding will be available to continue it in future years.
Peter E. Childs
Hon Editor
Disclaimer
The views expressed in Chemistry in Action! are the views of the authors and the Editor is not responsible for any views expressed. Chemistry in Action! does not represent the official views of any institution, organisation or body. Any unsigned articles or items are the responsibility of the Editor and if reprinted the Editor should be credited. If any errors of fact are published or anyone's views are misrepresented, then the Editor will be glad to publish a correction or a reply.
The Editor is not responsible for any actions taken as a result of material published in Chemistry in Action!. Any experiments or demonstrations are done at your own risk and you should take all necessary precautions, including eye protection.
Teachers may copy materials from Chemistry in Action! freely, without permission, for use in their schools. Articles and other material in Chemistry in Action!, except those originating in other publications, may be used freely in other educational publications without prior permission. Please acknowledge the source and author and send a copy of the publication to the Editor. Prior permission is needed if material is being used in commercial publications.
Contributions on any matter of interest to second-level chemistry teachers is welcome. Normally the results of research are not published.
News and views about chemical education
Reg Friesen (1937-1998) : in memoriam
Reg Friesen died on September 17th. in Canada after fighting serious illness for some years. For anyone who met Reg - in connection with the ChemEd or BCCE conferences at Waterloo, or in connection with other chemical education conferences, or in relation to Chem13 News which he started - he was a character larger than life. He had immense enthusiasm for teaching chemistry and a great rapport with chemistry teachers. His sense of humour was illustrated by his ChemSmiles bumper stickers, such as: Old chemists never die, they merely fail to react. Most of my contact with Reg was by post, although I did meet him on a couple of occasions - in Waterloo in 1989 and in York in 1991. When I wanted to start a chemistry teacher's newsletter, A Modern Approach to Chemistry, in Uganda in 1972, Chem13 News was my inspiration and I sought advice from Reg. I kept in contact ever since. My last note from him was in late t, when with characteristic generosityhe sent me materials from the 15th. BCCE, which I wasn't able to get to. I am glad that I wrote back at once to thank him for his thoughtfulness. He has left behind many good memories and a great legacy in Chem13 News, now ably carried on by his friend and colleague Lew Brubacker. I know he will be missed by many people in Canada, the USA and around the world.
*****
The end of an era ..
Randal Henly and Mount Temple School have been linked for many years. Starting this September Randal has taken early retirement from teaching after 36 years, but not from his involvement in chemical education and in the ISTA, particularly editing their journal Science. He is also involved in collecting information on science teaching resources for Forf s. We hope to carry an article from him in a future issue on "36 years in the lab".
I also hear that Declan Kennedy has also put down his chalk, and after finishing off a Master's degree in Chemical Education at York, will be taking up the post of Lecturer in Science Education on the H.Dip.Ed. course at NUI Cork from September 1999. (He has already been doing this job for several years part-time.) The loss of his students at Colaiste Muire, Cobh will be the gain of the science teaching profession.
Dr. Roy Brown took early retirement from Trinity College a few years ago, and at the last ISTA Annual Meeting in Limerick in March 1998 he was honoured for his contribution to the Association by the award of the Lodge Medal. He was President twice during his career and led many in-service courses and gave demonstration lectures to every branch in the country. His Presidential lecture in 1986 on "Chemistry and the Bible" (see Chemistry in Action! #23, Autumn 1987 6-12 ) was a tour de force, which will be long remembered by everyone who was there. It was a pleasure to see Roy and his wife in Limerick at the ISTA Conference, after several year's absence and the Lodge Medal was a well-deserved recognition of his work over the years.
Photo of Roy getting his medal
(L to R: Frank Turpin, Roy Brown, Jim Barry)
New President for UL
Dr. Edward Walsh retired from the Presidency of the University of Limerick at the end of August and Professor Roger Downer took over as President on September 1st. Professor Downer is a biologist, originally from N. Ireland, who has had a distinguished career in teaching, research and administration - in the University of Waterloo, Canada and for the last two years in Thailand. Chemistry in Action! wishes him well in his new post.
*****
New Chemistry Inspector
Tim Desmond, formerly of Carrigaline Community School, has taken up an appointment as a Chemistry Inspector at the Department of Education. Tim has been very active in the ISTA and in helping produce booklets for the Intervention Project, and has many years of teaching science and chemistry. He brings a breadth of experience to his new job and we wish him well.
*****
The new syllabus and the millennium
The latest news is that the 'new' LC chemistry and physics syllabuses will not be introduced until 2000. The work on the syllabii were completed in 1994! I also hear that despite the successful pilot project to evaluate an in-school assessment of practical work, the new syllabuses will be introduced without any school-based assessment of practical work. Presumably it will continue to be 'examined' through written questions on the exam paper.
*****
Alec Johnstone: 1998 FECS Lecturer
The Federation of European Chemical Societies (FECS) links the chemical societies across Europe and the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland is the Irish member-organisation. Dr. Childs (UL) is currently the representative of Ireland on the Division's Council. In 1997 the Working Party on Chemical Education became a full Division of Chemical Education, and organised the 1st. European Conference on Chemical Education (ECCE) in Budapest in August 1998. This conference focused on the practice of chemical education, mainly at third level. Each year a distinguished chemist is selected as the FECS lecturer and in 1998 Professor Alec Johnstone, of Glasgow University, was awarded this honour. He gave his FECS lecture in Budapest as the closing plenary lecture of the conference. Alec Johnstone has been to Ireland several times and his lectures are always practical, persuasive and pungent with Scottish wit. Alec Johnstone is officially retired but says he has never been as busy, although Dr. Norman Reid has taken over as Director of the Science Education Centre at Glasgow. (See report on the 1st. ECCE, p.27)
*****
Scienceshirts moves location
Ever wanted a T-shirt, tie, tea-towel or tote bag decorated with a Periodic Table? You may have seen these on sale at the ISTA meeting in Cork in 1997 and on the Chemistry in Action! bookstall. These are produced by Gordon Woods, formerly a chemistry teacher at Monmouth School, Monmouth. He has now retired and moved to:
Gordon Woods,
Osbaston,
3 Peterborough Avenue,
OAKHAM, Rutland LE15 6EB.
Write for his catalogue of science novelties. The tote bags and tea-cloths are available from the Chemistry in Action! bookstall, but he has many more items for sale.
*****
From the archives:
Hives of deviance "Science departments in secondary schools are sure to be hives of deviance. Tea and coffee are permanently available, freshly-stewed on bunsen burners and retort-stand, in every prep room I've ever visited, though not all enjoy the luxury of a private fractionating column used to distil spirits for consumption at the staff Christmas 'do' that I found at one enterprising suburban school. Here the study of the action of yeast upon various combinations of fruit, sugar and other ingredients was popular with staff and students alike. It seemed to be a central feature of the science curriculum and the adjacent room was filled with a selection of fermenting vessels .. carboys, plastic dustbins and the like, all carefully labelled, bubbling away gently and selling more like a cave cooperative des vins than your typical senior bio lab."
Axegrinder TES 19/11/82
But not in your lab I'm sure!
A quest for passion
".. expertise in teaching method, should, as a matter of urgent public policy, come second to the teacher's passion for his/her subject. Too many teachers already enter the profession as Philistines, reading little and thinking less. There is a strong case for providing demanding subject-centred (in-service) courses to keep teacher's minds open, receptive and questing."
Derek Rusk TES 19/11/82
Please send in any good quotations (however ancient) regarding the teaching and learning of chemistry.
Michael Casey: an appreciation
Professor Martin Quinn
Department of Chemistry, St. Patrick's College, Maynooth
Michael Casey, M.Sc., Ph.D., O.P. Emeritus Professor of Chemistry in the University died in his 96th year on Christmas Day 1997. Before his final illness in March of last year, Michael was to be found every afternoon at work, at his laboratory bench, in the Department of Chemistry at NUI Maynooth. His dedication to Chemistry was and will remain an inspiration to all his colleagues and the generations of postgraduate students, who came to know him well as they worked side-by-side with him each day, benefiting greatly in their own researches, through his advice and example.
Michael was born on the 13th of April 1902 in the City of Waterford. It was soon clear that he was destined to be a remarkable human being. In his School Certificate in 1919, he was placed second in Chemistry in examinations then encompassing the whole Island and he distinguished himself, too, in languages. This academic ability carried through to his studies in University College, Dublin, where he obtained his B.Sc. in Chemistry and other subjects in 1922, again scoring high marks in each examination of the degree course.
His lifelong interest in Chemistry developed rapidly in those early years and he was awarded an M.Sc. for his thesis on his studies concerning the action of nitric esters on aromatic amines.
From U.C.D. Michael entered the Civil Service as assistant to the State Chemist in 1924 and spent the next four years applying his chemical skills in the field of Forensic Science.
But there was another developing side to Michael which sustained him, too, throughout the whole of his long life. In 1928, he resigned from his position in the State Laboratory and entered the Dominican Order to study for his ordination as a Dominican priest in 1934. By the time of his ordination in Rome in that year, Michael also had received his Ph.D. in Chemistry for research completed in U.C.D. in 1931 under the direction of Professor Hugh Ryan.
For the next twenty years, Michael followed his vocation as a Dominican, teaching Science in Newbridge College and devoting whatever spare time he had after long days of teaching and early mornings of devout prayer to the study of his beloved Chemistry. Stories abound of the contributions he made to generations of Newbridge men and the help he gave to local industry, to sustain them during the difficult days of 'The Emergency' in the 1940s, when chemicals could not be had from suppliers in England.
In 1952, Michael was asked by the then Trustees of St. Patrick's College, Maynooth to teach General Science to the Seminarians and, for the next five years, he commuted every day from Newbridge to Maynooth. In 1957, he was appointed Resident Lecturer in Chemistry and, for some time, was the sole lecturer in the degree courses taught for the NUI B.Sc. in Chemistry. In 1960, he was appointed Professor of Chemistry, which position he held until 1977, by which time he was still a young man of seventy five.
The Reverend Professor Michael T. Casey published his first paper in the Proceedings of the Royal Dublin Society in 1926. His most recent paper on the co-ordination chemistry of transition metals appeared in Inorganica Chimica Acta in October 1997, and two further manuscripts will be published in leading chemistry journals in the near future. In 1995, he and his co-workers, Dr. McCann and Dr. Devereux were awarded patent rights for the oxidizing capacities of particular manganese carboxylates, which patent has been the subject of considerable interest by detergent manufacturers.
After retiring from his Professorship, Michael devoted much time, also, to the cataloguing and ordering of the Maynooth Museum and especially to the collection and preservation of the artifacts remaining from Nicolas Callan's pioneering studies on electricity when he was Professor of Natural Philosophy in Maynooth in the 19th Century. That Callan has been recognized, in recent years, as the inventor of the induction coil is due to Michael Casey's single-minded work to establish the proper reputation of another great priest scientist.
With the death of Linus Pauling in 1994, Michael became, in the past few years, the oldest actively working chemist in the World. It is very fitting that, towards the end of his long life, his contributions to Science and Education were recognised with his elections to Honorary Fellowships of the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland and the Institute of Electrical Engineers. Honorary Life Membership of the Royal Dublin Society was conferred on him, too, in 1996.
We shall not see his like again. He will be missed greatly but at least we are consoled by the privilege of having known him.
The above article is the formal obituary that I wrote for the 1998 Faculty of Science Report of the NUI Maynooth. I am indebted to Rev. Raymond O'Donovan of Newbridge College for the following charming reminiscences of this wonderful man.
***
"In the forties, Michael was the Science teacher at Newbridge College responsible for the introduction of the new subject 'General Science' into the Certificate Syllabus. One pupil of that generation has told Fr. Donovan that 'Botany came alive when Michael taught it. Anything he taught me I never forgot. I still remember clearly his definition of boiling; when the pressure within the liquid becomes higher that the pressure without. Consequently, water boils at a lower temperature on a mountaintop. Every class for me was an experience.'
Michael was an early pioneer in the use of slides as teaching aids. He would acquire from printing houses old slides, remove the photographic coating by means of some alchemy of his own and then reuse the plates for his slides. At a time when money was scarce and equipment was simply not available he was quick to make his own and there are many reports of this work in the School Science Review of that era. He became an expert glassblower and developed many pieces with moving parts after the manner of Heath Robinson.
Various stories about Michael's somewhat unorthodox use of electricity were mentioned by Fr. Donovan's correspondent. To keep discipline and attention up to the mark, it is said that he would stand the class in a circle and require the pupils to hold hands so that each would experience the attenuated tremor of a mild electric shock as part of a lesson in matters other than physics! Apparently, it did not take long for a suitable counter procedure to be devised by his classes. His boys learned quickly to break the circle, but to jump together at the appropriate time.
Michael kept regular meteorological measurements with miniature stations set up in different areas of the College grounds. Boys were selected to read take regular measurements and develop a local weather
profile.
Fr. O'Donovan recalls too Michael's work with bees. He seemed to be an expert on this as on many other of his practical activities. He looked after several hives and was always ready to capture an errant swarm or to deal with an infestation of wasps.
Another memory mentioned by Fr. O'Donovan is the pleasure of walking with Michael in the countryside and the ease with which Michael identified all flora and fauna encountered about Newbridge. In fact, one particular clump of Wild Hop pointed out by Michael many years ago still flourishes, perhaps to mark his passing."
Front page of an article on Bog Butter based on a talk to the Co. Kildare Archaeological Society in the 1940s, showing the range of Michael Casey's interest.
Publications of Michael Casey:
Books
Casey, M.T., 'Questions in general Science' 1946
Casey, M.T., 'A Course in Elementary Biology' 1960
Papers
Casey, M.T. and Ryan, H. 'Action of Nitric esters on Aromatic Amines', Proc. of Royal Dublin Society 1928
Casey, M.T. and Nolan, T.J., 'The Colouring Matter of the Berry of the Elder Tree (Sambucus nigra)', Part I, Proc. of Royal Irish Academy 1928.
Casey, M.T. and Nolan, T.J., 'The Colouring Matter of the Berry of the Elder Tree (Sambucus nigra)', Part II, Proc. of Royal Irish Academy 1930.
Casey, M.T., 'Scientific Work of Albertus Magnus', Irish Ecclesiastical record, 1930.
Casey, M.T., 'An improved type of pneumatic trough and gas-jar', School Science Review (1950)401
Casey, M.T., 'Seeds will not germinate in an oxygen-free atmosphere', School Science review (1950)403
Casey, M.T., 'Glass at high temperature is a good conductor of electricity', School Science Review (1954)429
Casey, M.T., 'Simple apparatus for demonstration of osmosis - for use with a microprojector', School Science review (1954)408
Casey, M.T., 'Simple apparatus for demonstration of osmosis', School Science review (1954) 428
Casey, M.T., 'Simple micro-chemical apparatus for demonstration of osmosis', School Science review (1954)429
Casey, M.T., 'To show that glass befins to conduct electricity at ordinary temperatures', School Science Review (1957)424
Casey, M.T., 'A device for safely dissolving sodium in water and for collecting the hydrogen evolved', School Science Review (1957)424
Casey, M.T., 'Potometer for use with a microprojector', School Science Review 91957)423
Casey, M.T., 'Apparatus for showing transpiration' School Science review (1964)473
Casey, M.T., 'Apparatus for determining the hydrogen equivalent of magnesium, zinc and aluminium', School Science Review (1961)413
Casey, M.T., 'A simple demonstration of electron transfer during redox reactions', School Science Review (1963)413
Casey, M.T., 'A device for circulating water at constant temperature from a thermostatic bath through some external apparatus, e.g. the jacket of a polarimeter tube', School Science Review (1963)445
Casey, M.T., 'The hydrogen equivalent of sodium or potassium by direct measurement', School Science Review (1964)111
Casey, M.T., 'An inexpensive apparatus for electrophoresis' School Science Review (1964)410
Casey, M.T., 'The post office box as a potentiometer', School Science Review (1964)417
Casey, M.T., 'Apparatus for determination of transport numbers by the moving boundary method', School Science review (1965)161
Casey, M.T., 'Experiment to show the common-ion effect', school Science Review (1965)417
Casey, M.T., 'To show that a flame conducts electricity', School Science review (1965)455
Casey, M.T., 'Two simple experiments to show that a solution has a lower vapour pressure than the pure solvent', School Science review (1966)497
Casey, M.T., 'Nicholas Callan and his induction coil', Physics Education (1982)
Casey, M.T., 'Electromagnetic induction and Nicholas Callan', Proc. of the Institute of Electrical Engineers, 132(1985)1001
M. McCann, M.T. Casey, M. Devereux, M. Curran and V. McKee, 'Synthesis, X-Ray Crystal Structure and Catalytic Activity of the Manganese(II) E-Urocanic Acid (E-uroH) Complex [Mn(E-uro)2(H20)4]', Polyhedron, 15(1996)2321.
M. McCann, M.T. Casey, M. Devereux, M. Curran, C. Cardin and A. Todd, 'Synthesis X-Ray Crystal Structure and Catalytic Activity of the Manganese(II) Complex [Mn(bdoa)(H2O)3] (bdaoH2 = Benzene-1,2-dioxyacetic acid)', Polyhedron, 15(1996)2117
M. Devereux, M. Jackman, M. McCann, and M.T. Casey, 'preparation and Catalasetype Activity of Manganese(II) Amino Acid Complexes', polyhedron 17 (1998)153
M. McCann, M.T. Casey, M. Devereux, M. Curran, and V. McKee, Manganese(II) 'Complexes of Hexanedioic and Heptanedioic Acids: X-Ray Crystal Structures of [Mn(O2C(CH2)4CO2)(phen)2H2O].7H2O) and [Mn(phen)2(H2O)2][Mn(O2C(CH2)5CO2)(phen)2H2O](O2C(CH2)5CO2).12.5H2O', Polyhedron 16(1997)2741
M. McCann, M.T. Casey, M. Devereux, M. Curran, and G. Ferguson, 'Synthesis, X-Ray Crystal Structures and Catalytic Activities of the Manganese(II) Butanedioic Acid complexes [Mn2(O2C(CH2)2CO2)2(phen)2(H2O)4].2H2O and {[Mn(O2C(CH2)2CO2)(bipy)(H2O)2].H2O}n', Polyhedron 16 (1997)2547
M. Geraghty, M. McCann, M. Devereux, M. Curran, M.T. Casey, and V. McKee, 'Synthesis, and X-Ray Crystal Structure and Catalytic Activity of cis-[Mn(phen)2(H2O)2]penda.5H2O (pendaH2 = Pentanedioic Acid; phen = 1,10-Phenanthroline)', Inorg.Chim.Acta, in press
S. McCann, M. McCann, M.T. Casey, M. Devereux, M. Jackman and V. McKee, 'Synthesis and X-Ray crystal structure of [Mn(bipy)2Cl2].2H2O.EtOH and [Mn(phen)2Cl2] (bipy = 2,2'-Bipyridine; phen = 1,10-Phenanthroline); Catalysts for the disproportionation of Hydrogen Peroxide', Inorg.Chim.Acta, in press.
S. McCann, M. McCann, M.T. Casey, M. Devereux, and V. McKee, 'Manganese(II) Complexes of 3,6,9-trioxaundecanedioic Acid (3,6,9-tdaH2): X-Ray Crystal Strucutres of [Mn(3,6,9-tda)(H2O)2].2H2O and [Mn(3,6,9-tda)(phen)2].3H2O.EtOH', Polyhedron, in press.
M. McCann, M. Devereux, F.J. Cronin, G. Ferguson, and V. McKee, 'Synthesis and X-Ray Crystal Structures of [Cu2(pda)(phen)4](ClO4)2.5H2O).C2H5OH and [Cu2(oda)(phen)4](ClO4)22.67H2O.C2H5OH (pdaH2 = Pentanedioic Acid; odaH2 = Octanedioic acid; phen = 1,10-Phenanthroline)', Polyhedron, in press.
Public Lectures
Casey, M.T., 'Bog Butter' Co. Kildare Archaelogical Society(~1940)
Casey, M.T., 'Science in our Schools', British Association for the Advancement of Science (1957)
Casey, M.T., 'Electromagnetic induction and Nicholas Callan', Institute of Electrical Engineers at Savoy Place, London (1985)
Reprinted by permission from the ASE's Science Teacher Education, 21, December 1997, p. 18
Dr. Tim Smyth and his team of researchers made the headlines on October 9th. when the ACS put out a press release about their work on new forms of penicillin, based on an article in the internet edition of the Journal of Organic Chemistry. This was picked up by the Press Association and appeared in the Irish Times. Tim was later interviewed on Sky News and on RTE.
Penicillin has been around since the 1940s, when it was developed as a new 'wonder drug' under the pressure of World War II, following its accidental discovery by Alexander Fleming in 1928. He didn't pursue the idea and it had to wait until Howard Florey and Ernest Chain isolated and purified penicillin in 1939. They published their work in 1940 and then the race was on to scale-up production. This was done by large-scale fermentation and Pfizer in the USA was the principal company involved in producing the first commercial batches of penicillin.
Penicillin was the first of the modern antibiotics and since then many natural and synthetic antibiotics have been introduced to combat bacterial infection. (Contrary to popular opinion antibiotics do not work on viruses and so are ineffective for colds and flus!) At present 160 antibiotics are available but there is great concern because superbugs have arisen through adaptation which are resistant to most common antibiotics, including penicillin. The chemists are always trying to keep one step ahead of the superbugs, so that we are not plunged back into the pre-antibiotic age when many people died from bacterial infections.
One new antibiotic in the pipeline is called Linezolid and is produced by Pharmacia and Upjohn (a company with a new plant at Little Island, Cork.) The 160 antibiotics available are variations on 16 basic chemicals and work in five different ways. In 1941 every strain of Staphylococcus aureus was killed by penicillin; now 95% are penicillin-resistant. Antibiotics didn't kill all the world's bacteria, only the susceptible ones - and the resistant ones have multiplied and mutated to produce today's superbugs. To kill superbugs one needs, of course, superdrugs! :
Linezolid works by a totally new method and belongs to a new chemical class of antibiotics, the oxazolidinones. It has a unique action and disrupts protein synthesis in bacteria early in their development. It offers hope of a new weapon in the doctor's armoury when it finishes its clinical trials.
Leader of the UL penicillin research team, Dr. Timothy Smyth (centre), with organic chemistry postgraduates James O'Connor (left) and James St. Ledger.
Tim Smyth's group stumbled on a new version of penicillin with a novel side-chain with an unexpected reaction, in the course of their work on penicillin derivatives. Bacteria which have built up immunity deactivate the penicillin by opening the b -lactam ring, using the enzyme b -lactamase. In Tim Smyth's 'booby-trapped molecule' the enzyme attacks the structure and in so doing releases a toxic fragment which destroys the 'resistant' bacteria. The modified penicillin also has the potential to destroy bacteria which do not produce these b -lactamase enzymes. The new molecule thus has a double-action and offers a new approach to antibiotic design which should be very fruitful in the future.
The structure of peniclllin was determined in 1942 and confirmed by X-ray analysis by Dorothy Hodgkin in 1946 (Figure 1). The important features are the 4-membered b -lactam ring and the side-chain attached to it.
Tim Smith explains the significance of their work: "Our research has led us to develop a unique modification to the penicillin structure which would allow the the b -lactamase enzymes present in resistant bacteria to be exploited. Until now this has not been possible with any of the known penicillins. So far we have prepared a prototype structure and studied its behaviour with an isolated b -lactamase enzyme.
Our prototype behaves as a substrate for this enzyme just like other penicillins, but this one carries a sting in its tail - literally. Every time the b -lactamase cleaves that critical 4-membered ring in our penicillin (Figure 2), a unique fragment of the molecule is released, which can be designed to be fatal to the bacterium - but only when it is cleaved off.
Our work points the way to building this capacity into the penicillin molecule. You could say that our penicillin behaves like a 'transformer' molecule - in chemical terms it would be called a 'prodrug' - and the b -lactamase enzyme is the trigger which unleashes the transformation."
The modified pencillin (Figure 2) has a novel side-chain, which is released as a toxic entity when the b -lactamase opens the b -lactam ring (Figure 3).
This work was serendipitous in that they stumbled on the synthesis of an unusual molecular fragment as part of a long-standing research project on penicillins, and then realised its potential. Thus the UL team have now found themselves opening a new approach to combating the rise of pencillin-resistant bacteria. There is, of course, a long way to go between this first step in modifying penicillin and a useful new drug, but Tim Smyth and his team have made an important start to this process. The new penicillin has shown activity in the test-tube but hasn't been tested in vivo, and it is a long way from the chemist's bench to the doctor's surgery. However, it is a very exciting piece of work and one which has brought the UL team international recognition.
Further reading:
The original ACS press release, the Irish Times articles, the original article in the Journal of organic Chemistry and Tim Smyth's own account of the breakthrough:
'A new drug to beat superbugs', The Times, 22/10/98
Figure 3 Two modes of antibiotic action from the modified penicillin
Science, Technology and Innovation Culture
An increasing number of the opportunities and challenges facing our society revolve around the application of science and technology. Many of the jobs being created in Ireland come, for example, from new uses of sophisticated telecommunications. But difficult issues, alongside business and employment opportunities, can also arise from developments in technology, for example, from advances in genetic engineering. In order to sustain a viable economy and develop a vibrant culture into the 21st. century, Irish society needs to develop greater confidence in dealing with the opportunities and challenges which science and technology present.
Science, engineering and technology make major contributions to economic, social and cultural development. Government, business, education and the wider community need to be more aware of that contribution and policy-makers, legislators and administrators from all sectors need to ensure they have access to the best available scientific and technical information.
To this end, it is vital that scientists and technologists increase their efforts to explain their work to the public and become more involved in policy development. Increasingly, they have to face the social, ethical and cultural implications of their work. Irish society needs to find the means for scientists and technologists to discuss the significance of their work and to allow citizens to learn about the latest developments in science and technology.
The public needs also to understand how science is done, so that they can appreciate how scientists reach their conclusions. Progress in solving scientific problems is usually slow; it takes time for scientific ideas to be tested and either accepted or rejected by the international community of scientists. The public is often caught in the middle of rows between scientists and may find it difficult to distinguish one scientific finding or viewpoint from another. An understanding of the scientific method can help distinguish good and bad science and promote the public's confidence in dealing with science.
Exchanges between scientists, engineers and technologists and the wider community can happen in many different ways - through committees and consultations, through 'open days' and exhibitions and in schools and colleges. The media have an especially important role to play in facilitating mutual understanding between scientists and the public. While media coverage of science and technology has increased in recent times, there is a continuing need - and demand - for more information and discussion on science and technology.
Public debate of some issues arising from the application of science and technology has been sharply polarised, reflecting a low level of trust between those involved. Irish society needs to develop mechanisms for public consultation which acknowledge both the concerns of the public and the contribution of science and technology. Government and media can both contribute to ensuring that the relevant information is available and that opinions are expressed openly.
The education system can play a larger part in developing the public's interest in and engagement with science and technology. ICSTI welcomes the revised primary school curriculum's increased emphasis on science and urges teachers, parents and the scientific and technological community to ensure the change is effective.
Major changes are needed in the content, teaching methods and assessment of science and technology subjects at second level, in order to reverse the decline in the numbers taking some of those subjects, and to improve the performance of those who do take them. ICSTI recommends that this be addressed as a high priority by educational interests.
Almost every country in Europe, with exception of Ireland, has science centres, through whose exhibits children and adults can explore developments in science and the products and processes of technology and engineering. A network of science centres around the country, each with its own specialist area and with its own outreach activities for schools, would be an invaluable support for science education and for the promotion of greater awareness of science and technology. ICTSI recommends an allocation of œ0.5 million should be made in 1999 to support the development of a plan for a network of science centres (including a feasibility study, consultancy etc.) with a view to securing EU, private sector and government funding for its implementation.
Professional organisations, companies and state organisations all take initiatives aimed at raising public awareness of science and technology. These efforts need to be further intensified. ICSTI urges, in particular, the professional bodies representing scientists, engineers and technologists to establish a forum which can co-ordinate such efforts.
We will shortly be celebrating the beginning of a new millennium in which many of the most pressing questions will be raised or resolved through the application of science and technology. In recognition of their contribution to the shaping of the 20th. century and of their likely impact on the 21st. century, science and technology should be represented in the cultural activities being organised to mark the new millennium.
Science and technology are an integral part of contemporary culture and will play an even more important part in the culture of the next century. This reality should be reflected in Ireland's educational and cultural policy and activities.
ICSTI can be contacted via Forf s at Wilton Park House,
Wilton Place, Dublin 2.
Email: icsti@forfas.ie
This statement was issued 3/11/98 to mark Science Week Ireland, Nov. 1-8th. 1998, and makes a number of important suggestions and recommendations regarding science teaching and the public awareness of science.
What element do the following pairs have in common?
1. Epsom salts and dolomite?
2. Toothpaste and non-stick pans?
3. Rubber bands and matches?
4. Explosives and fertilisers?
5. Lightbulbs and cutting tools?
6. Leather tanning and stainless steel?
7. Antacids and aircraft?
8. Glass and bath sealant?
9. Blood and blueprints?
10. Fungicides and waterpipes?
Give this out as a homework test. Get your students to find out what's involved in making each object or each process, and why the element is important.
Periodic Tables
Copies of the illustrated, full-colour Periodic Table giving uses of the elements are available again from SICICI. They are punched to go in an A4 ring binder and are suitable for use at Junior and Leaving Certificate level. They can also be used as small posters. The costs are given below:
| Cost | Cost + p&p | |
| 10 copies | £5.00 | £6.00 |
| 50 copies | £20.00 | £24.00 |
| 100 copies | £35.00 | £40.00 |
A laminated version is available at £1.00 or £1.50+p&p. Prices without p&p apply to sales at conferences from the Chemistry in Action!/SICICI bookstall.
The smaller Periodic Tables are also being reprinted in A5 size on glossy card, suitable for sticking inside books etc. The costs of these will probably be £3.00 per 10 inc. p&p.
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The Aluminium Story, 3rd. edition
The 3rd. revised edition of The Aluminium Story has just been produced by Aughinish Alumina Ltd. The booklet was written by Dr. Peter Childs and designed by Austin Bovenizer. A copy is enclosed with this issue and further copies can be obtained by writing to:
Pat Lynch,
AAL, Aughinish Island,
Co. Limerick
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The Irish Scientist 1998 Yearbook
The 1998 edition of the Irish Scientist Yearbook is now available at a cost of £5. Copies have been sent to all Irish schools. It is produced by Dr. Charles Mollan and consists of short articles describing many facets of irish science and runs to 180 pages. Once again it is an excellent read and should give students and the general public an idea of what Irish scientists are doing.It is available from bookshops or from:
Dr. Charles Mollan,
17 Pine Lawn, Newtownpark Avenue,
Blackrock, Co. Dublin
E-mail: cmol@iol.ie
Demonstrating the Romance of Chemistry
Renato Schibeci
Murdoch University, Western Australia 6150
Romance ... passion ... exhilaration! How can we convey this side of chemistry to others?
...teachers must realise ... that chemistry is relatively boring to read and work problems about, unless the student has some vivid mental images of the experimental side of the science! Good demonstrations not only spice up a class session, but they also help teach principles, and they help build up general experimental knowledge of a sort that makes chemistry seem less abstract.
Romance .. passion .. exhilaration ... These are words that apply to the beautiful science of chemistry. All practising chemists have, at some stage, experienced the intellectual pleasure of grappling with chemical problems. Some have wanted to communicate the enjoyment and stimulation of chemical practice to others.
One way in which the beauty of chemistry can be shared with others is through the chemical demonstration. An experiment can appeal to the sense of sight as we delight in an observed colour change; sometimes we can hear the result of an experiment; on occasions we can smell it (not always a pleasant sensation); very occasionally, we can feel it (the beaker is becoming very cold); and, on very rare occasions (if it is safe to do so), we can taste the results.
Demonstrating chemistry
Chemical demonstrations can be used both to entertain and to educate. These, of course, are not mutually exclusive purposes. Sometimes we have a dilute solution of education (entertainment is uppermost in our minds: an open day, a display for the community); and at other times we have a concentrated solution (education is uppermost: we want to demonstrate chemical facts or principles).
I personally doubt the value of demonstrations as 'pure' entertainment where the education function is virtually non-existent. This is because such demonstrations are likely to reinforce stereotypes: the 'mad' chemist demonstrating once again alchemical whizzes, bangs and smells. There are enough stereotyped images portrayed in the media1 without our contributing to them!
I would certainly not recommend dangerous demonstrations of the kind I came across recently. Kauffmann and Jackson2 suggested a variation of the sodium and water demonstration which I believe is downright dangerous. They suggested that you take sodium (32g), cut it into small pieces and dry it with paper towels. next, they suggest that you crumple the paper towel with the sodium and drop it into a container, such as a pneumatic trough, filled with hot (>600C) water. The next step is to run immediately to a safe distance (at least 12 metres). They continued:"In 5-10 seconds the sodium explodes with a loud report, sometimes hurling particles of yellow-orange flaming sodium higher than a two-storey building and creating a large cloud of choking white smoke (DANGER!)."
The purpose of the paper towel, according to the authors, is to delay the explosion, giving you enough time to run to a safe distance! This kind of demonstration, I believe, merely reinforces 'mad scientist' stereotypes in students' minds, as well as being potentially dangerous.
The safety issue is a critical one, and is worth considering in a little more detail.
Demonstrating safely
It's obvious, but important, to emphasise the safety aspects of demonstrations. This is especially true if the demonstrations are to be carried out in a general purpose room (such as a public hall) where there may be inadequate ventilation or inadequate facilities for disposal of wastes. In those circumstances, the choice of demonstrations is not as wide as is possible in a properly equipped laboratory.
At the school level, this is especially important. A science teacher once told me after a series of demonstrations we had presented that a colleague, a geography teacher, wanted to demonstrate the ammonium dichromate 'volcano' in a geography lesson. One of the products of this demonstration is the green chromium(III) oxide which is a suspected carcinogen. This experiment has in fact been discouraged in science classes by some education authorities; the possibility of a geography teacher (who probably knows very little about the possible hazards of this experiment) demonstrating this experiment in a general purpose area is certainly to be avoided.
Bodner4 has pointed out some specific problems which have occurred in some well-known demonstrations. His aim is not to discourage us from demonstrating, but to encourage us to pay more attention to safety issues. His article categorises demonstrations into those which should not be done (such as the 'permanganate volcano'), those which are 'questionable' (such as hydrogen/acetylene generators) and those which should be done with care (such as alkali metal/water explosions - an example of which was described above).
Sources of demonstrations
There is no shortage of sources of demonstrations for the chemical educator. Earlier I produced an annotated bibliography of sources of chemical demonstrations for science teachers5 . Since then, a number of other sources have come to light, some of which have been reviewed in this magazine. It is appropriate, therefore, to review critically some of the main sources of demonstrations and evaluate their worth for the chemical educator.
The magic of chemistry
Brian Iddon's publication6 The Magic of Chemistry is based on a 90 minute lecture demonstration, in the words of the author, "illustrated by numerous slides, about some aspects of polymer ... and colour ... chemistry combined with the occasional flash and bang". The book contains a total of 28 demonstrations which have been used in various versions of this lecture demonstration. Those demonstrations which should be carried out by 'an experienced, qualified chemist' only are asterisked.
There is an introductory page on safety issues. The format of the rest of the book is unusual; there is the description of each demonstration, interspersed with brief summaries of the background chemistry of the demonstration concerned. Finally, there is a list of materials required; most of the chemicals are given a BDH product number (BDH supported the publication of the booklet).
This booklet would be much more useful if there were a summary of the demonstrations which described what the demonstrations were about. At the moment, the reader has to work through each description to get this information. To indicate that the experiments are about 'polymers and colour', I believe, is not specific enough. Where, for example, is the standard 'nylon rope trick'? After some searching, I located it on page 23 (as Demonstration 14).
Still, if these two topics (polymers and colour
chemistry) interest you, and you are prepared to read through the 58-page booklet, this could be a useful source.
Chemical Demonstrations
By far the most useful single source is the series of books of demonstrations by Shakhashiri and others7-10. Four volumes have so far appeared. The topics covered, with the number of experiments in parentheses, are as follows. Volume one deals with thermochemistry (45), chemiluminescence (11), polymers (14), colour and equilibria of metal ion precipitates and complexes (11). Volume two deals with the physical behaviour of gases (26), the chemical behaviour of gases (29) and oscillating chemical reactions (14). Volume three deals with acids and bases (32) and liquids, solutions and coloids (52). Volume four deals with clock reactions (15) and electrochemistry (33).
Each experiment is described briefly, then presented via a number of headings: 'Materials', 'Procedure', 'Hazards', 'Disposal', 'Discussion' and 'References'. Experiments are dealt with thoroughly from both a practical and theoretical point of view. The discussion and references provide a comprehensive treatment of the chemistry for each demonstration.
An important feature is the section on hazards and disposal. Many of the older sources of demonstrations pay inadequate attention to safety issues. The Shakhashiri volumes deal with the safety issues very thoroughly.
Overall, for the university chemistry teacher, these books are excellent. For the high school teacher, there are some drawbacks: some of the demonstrations are dangerous for non-specialist teachers to do; some of the demonstrations would not be recommended by education authorities, even when done by experienced chemistry teachers; and, finally, some of the chemicals are not readily available in most schools.
Chemical demonstrations and learning
Chemists may not be aware that the scientific study of chemical demonstrations has culminated in the four laws of 'charmodynamics' by Ramette:1
_ Any chemical change, particularly one that is thermodynamically and kinetically spontaneous, is inherently exocharmic and possess a significant amount of latent charm.
_ When the reaction occurs, the fraction of the latent charm evolved depends directly on the technical and histrionic skills of the person performing the experiment.
_ The fraction of the evolved charm that is reabsorbed (the free charm) is directly dependent upon the intellectual and psychological preparation of the person viewing the experiment.
_ Charm is not conserved in the transfer process. Even though the amount liberated is restricted by the second law, each viewer absorbs according to the third law. Thus, a demonstration before a large class is particularly, well, charming.
These laws, like any scientific laws, are subject to continuing empirical verification.
Alyea and Dutton11
This is a comprehensive collection of demonstrations from the pages of the Journal of Chemical Education. Although it's a rich source of ideas, its use is very much restricted by its poor layout. A user has to be very dedicated to wade through this collection! One specific problem is that many of the entries are quite dated; one consequence is that safety issues are inadequately highlighted. A revised version of this book would be very useful, if it had experiments grouped into themes, and had a first-class index. The 'Tested demonstrations' section of the Journal of Chemical Education is, of course, a continuing source of demonstrations.
Summerlin and Ealy12
This publication of the American Chemical Society for chemistry teachers presents 108 demonstrations in all. There is a summary of each demonstration from the viewpoint of the observer, followed by a treatment of the experiment under the following headings: 'Procedure', 'Reactions', Solutions', Teaching tips' and 'Questions for students'; not all headings are used for all demonstrations.
The demonstrations are grouped into the following headings (with the number of experiments in parentheses): 'Properties of atoms' (1), 'Gases' (1), 'Solubility and solutions' (10), 'Acids and bases' (4), 'Energy changes' (5), 'Equilibrium' (11), 'Kinetics' (31), 'Electrochemistry' (2), 'Other chemical reactions' (25) and, 'Smoke, fire and explosions' (9).
_he book begins with 'A word of caution', pointing out that the simplest demonstration is potentially dangerous when performed by someone lacking the manipulative skills and knowledge of chemistry necessary to understand the reactions involved. Some demonstrations (such as the thermite reaction) were considered too dangerous by the authors to be included in the book. Still on safety, there is an appendix (number 4) which has specific suggestions for the disposal of chemicals.
The book may appeal to teachers because of its clear lay-out, together with suggested questions for students. There is an index which allowed me to locate quickly the 'nylon rope trick' (under 'nylon, synthesis'. demonstration 78). There are four appendices: (i) the periodic table, with data on electronegativity, atomic diameters and ionization energy; (ii) a table of information for the preparation of laboratory acids and bases, which would be useful for a laboratory technician; (iii) an equipment and reagent list; and, (iv) a 'safety and disposal list', already referred to. The information in this last appendix probably would be more useful if it were given with individual experiments. Although this may have meant some repetition of information, it would be more likely to be used, and contribute to safety!
There are some drawbacks to this book: the nomenclature is not systematic; the price is excessive; and safety advice is inadequate for high school teachers.
Other sources
In addition to the sources described above, there are a number of booklets produced by individuals in various institutions which are inexpensive. For example, in Australia the following two booklets have appeared.
Interesting Chemistry Demonstrations by D. Ammon, D. Clarke, F. Farrell, R. Schibeci, M. Trotman and J. Webb (Science Teachers Association of Western Australia, 1985) has 39 experiments in nine groups; 16 references are given.
Colourful chemistry by J. Gipps and E. Friedman (Science Teacher's Association of Victoria) gives 24 experiments in nine groups; 29 specific and five general references; 33 pages.
The following two booklets have appeared in Canada:
D. Humphreys' Demonstrating chemistry: 160 experiments to show your students (Hamilton, Ontario: McMaster University, 1983) provides 160 experiments in 18 groups, together with a description of 'The Demobile', a 'low cost' demonstration bench; 70 unnumbered pages.
The whole of issue 81 of Chem13 News (1976) was a special issue with a miscellaneous collection of chemical demonstrations; 20 pp.
A number of journal articles containing collections of demonstrations have appeared recently, some of which are of particular interest to UK readers13-15.
For the sake of completeness, a collection of other sources is given below.
Chemistry as theatre
There is no shortage of sources of interesting and spectacular chemistry demonstrations. These exocharmic experiments can help us to communicate to our students the beauty and romance of chemistry. A brief article by Szydlo16 points to a dimension of chemistry as theatre which perhaps sometimes we neglect as we educate.
Of the various sources, the four volumes from Shakashiri are by far the most complete. For the average high school teacher, however, they may be too comprehensive. A volume which had all the important features of demonstrations, but concentrated on experiments which the typical school could do, would be very useful.
In any case, we do not have an excuse for not communicating the romance of chemistry. Chemistry is a fascinating subject; let's continue to demonstrate it to our students.
References
1. R.W. Ramette, J. Chem. Educ.,1980, 57, 58.
2. R.A. Schibeci, Sci. Educ., 1986, 70, 139.
3. G.B. Kauffman and J.D. Jackson, J. Coll. Sci. Teach., 1985, 14, 432.
4. G.M. Bodner, J. Chem. Educ., 1986, 62, 1105.
5. R.A Schibeci, Austral. Sci. Teach. J.,1982, 28, 89.
6. B. Iddon, The magic of chemistry. Letchworth, Hertfordshire: Garden City Press, 1985.
7. B.Z. Shakhashiri, Chemical Demonstrations: a handbook for teachers of chemistry, Vol. 1. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1983.
8. B.Z. Shakhashiri, Chemical Demonstrations: a handbook for teachers of chemistry, Vol. 2. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1985.
9. B.Z. Shakhashiri, Chemical Demonstrations: a handbook for teachers of chemistry, Vol. 3. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1989.
10. B.Z. Shakhashiri, Chemical Demonstrations: a handbook for teachers of chemistry, Vol. 4. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1992.
11. H.N. Alyea and F.B. Dutton (Eds.) Tested Demonstrations in Chemistry, 6th. edn. Easton, Pennsylvania: Journal of Chemical Education, 1965.
12. L.R.Summerlin and J.L. Ealy, Chemical Demonstrations: a sourcebook for teachers, Washington, DC: ACS, 1985.
13. B. Iddon, Sch. Sci. Rev., 1986, 67, 704.
14. I.J. McNaught and C.M. McNaught, Sch. Sci. Rev., 1981, 62, 655-66.
15. R.A. Schibeci, et al, Sch. Sci. Rev., 1982/3. 64, 311-16.
16. A.Z. Szydlo, Sch. Sci. Rev., 1966, 67, 618.
Bibliography
This list has been collated from a number of sources, but especially Iddon6 and Shakhashiri7. Those references which I have not personally sighted have been indicated by an asterisk; I cannot comment on the usefulness or otherwise of these sources.
Books
H.N. Alyea, TOPS in General Chemistry, 3rd. edn. Easton, Pennsylvania: J. Chem. Ed., 1967.
* P.Arthur, Lecture Demonstrations in General Chemistry, New York: McGrawHill, 1981.
* Chemical Demonstrations, (1978) Western Illinois University and Quincy-Keokuk Section of the American Chemical Society, Macomb, Illinois, May 5-6.
* Chemical Demonstrations Proceedings, (1979) Western Illinois University and Quincy-Keokuk Section of the American Chemical Society, Macomb, Illinois, May 4-5.
* Chemical Demonstrations, (1978) Western Illinois University and Quincy-Keokuk Section of the American Chemical Society, Macomb, Illinois, May 1-2.
* Proceedings. (1979) Western Illinois University and Quincy-Keokuk Section of the American Chemical Society, Macomb, Illinois, June 8.
S. Chen, Entertaining and Educational Chemical Demonstrations, Carmarillo, California: Chemical Elements Publishing, 1974.
* M.Faraday, The Chemical History of a Candle: a course of lectures delivered before a juvenile audience at the Royal Institution, New York: The Viking Press, 1960.
(being serialised in Chemistry in Action! #53-58)
L.A. Ford, Chemical Magic, Minneapolis, Minnesota: T.S. Denison, 1959 (also London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1961).
* G. Fowles, Lecture Experiments in Chemistry, 5th. edn. New York: Basic Books, 1969.
* J.O. Frank, assisted by G.J. Barlow, Mystery Experiments and Problems for Science Classes and Science Clubs, 2nd. edn. Oshkosh, Wisconsin: J.O. Grank, 1936.
* G.D. Freier and F.J. Anderson, A Demonstration Handbook for Physics, 2nd edn. Stony Brook, New York: American Association of Physics Teachers, 1981.
R. Gardner, Magic through Science, Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1978.
E.H. Hartung, The Screen Projection of Chemical Experiments, Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press, 1953.
D. Herbert, Mr. Wizard's Supermarket Science, New York: Random House, 1980.
D. Herbert and R. Ruchlis, Mr. Wizard's 400 Experiments in Science, revised edn. North Bergen, new Jersey: Book-Lab, 1983.
A. Joseph et al. A Source Book for the Physical Sciences, New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1961.
* J.D. Lippy Jr. and E. L. Palder, Modern Chemical Magic, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Stcakpole Co., 1959.
* H. F. Meiners, (ed), Physics Demonstration Experiments, Vols 1& 2. New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1970.
* My Favourite Lecture Demonstrations, A Symposium at the Science Teachers Short Course, W. Hutton, Chairman; Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, pp 6-7, march 1977.
* G.S. Newth, Chemical Lecture Experiments, New York: Longmans, Green and Co, 1928.
* S. Sharpe, (ed) The Alchemist's Cookbook: 80 Demonstrations, (Shell Canada Centre for Science Teachers). Hamilton, Ontarion: McMaster University, undated.
* J. Walker, The Flying Circus of Physics - with answers, New York: Interscience Publishers, 1977.
* J.W. Wilson, J.W. Wilson Jr and T. F. Gardner, Chemical Magic, Los Alamitos, California: J.W. Wilson, 1977.
* G.W. Weingart, Pyrotechnics, 2nd edn. New York: Chemical Publishing Co, 1947.
Articles/Book chapters
P.S. Bailey et al, 'Producing a chemistry magic show' J.Chem. Educ., 1975, 52, 524.
B.D. Bergmeier and S.R. Saunders, 'The chemistry magic and safety show', J.Chem.Educ., 1982, 59, 529.
L.H. Berka, 'Chemistry and Magic', J.Chem.Educ., 1974, 51, 262.
S.C. Bunce and H.F. Hammer, 'A Demonstration of the Chemistry of Colour', J.Chem.Educ., 1951, 28, 546.
J.F. Castka, 'Demonstrations for high school chemistry', J.Chem.Educ., 1975, 52, 394.
R.H. Hanson, 'Chemistry is fun, not magic', J.Chem.Educ., 1976, 53, 577.
G. Harris et al, 'Science magic show', in New Trends in Chemistry Teaching, pp196-198. UNESCO Press, 1981.
K.C. Hughes, 'Some more intriging demonstrations', Chem. Austral., 1980,47,458.
* M.K. Kemp and J. Joyce, 'Whizbang chemistry', ChemTech, 1979, 210.
R. Rada Kovitz, 'The SSP syndrome', J.Chem.Educ., 1975, 52, 426.
J.T. Riley, 'Flashy Solutions', J.Chem.Educ., 1977, 53, 577.
R.A. Schibeci et al, 'Some intriging demonstrations'. Chem Austral., 1980, 47, 246.
A.T. Schwartz and G.B. Kaufman, 'Experiments in alchemy, Part II: Medieval discoveries and'transmutations', J.Chem.Educ., 1976, 53, 235.
B.Z. Shakhashiri et al, 'Lecture demonstrations', in Sourcebook for Chemistry Teachers, W.T. Lippincott (ed): Washington, DC: ACS, 1981.
Dissertations
* B.A. Siggins, A survey of lecture demonstrations/experiments in organic chemistry, MSc Thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1978 (cited in Iddon6).
Renato A. Schibeci is senior lecturer in science education at Murdoch University, Western Australia 6150.
Reprinted by permission from Education in Chemistry, vol. 25, 1988.
Editor's note:
This article has been waiting for publication for some time and so the bibliography is somewhat dated and incomplete. However, many of these books are still available. Many more journal references could be included as there are many demonstrations in Joural of Chemical Education, School Science Review, Education in Chemistry etc.
Older books and articles should be treated with some caution, as mentioned above, as safety wasn't always a first priority and many old favourites are banned today.
Investigations in Chemistry:1
David A.Katz
Slime, a product of the Mattel Toy Corporation, was marketed from 1976 to about 1979. Slime was described by Dr. Maki Papavasiliou, of the Mattel Materials Laboratory, as a reversible cross-linking gel made from guar gum, a vegetable gum used as a protective colloid, stabiliser and thickening agent for foods, cosmetics and lotions. The cross-linking is accomplished by the addition of borax, Na2B4O7.10H2O.
Slime is a non-Newtonian fluid that is a dilatant, that is, under stress, the material dilates or expands. Other stress-thickening materials are quicksand, wet sand on the beach, some printer's inks, starch solutions and Silly Putty. Dilatant materials tend to exhibit some unusual properties:
a) under low stress, such as slowly pulling on the material, it will flow and stretch. If careful, you can form a thin film.
b) Pull sharply (high stress) and the material breaks.
c) Pour the material from its container then tip the container upward slightly, the gel will self-siphon.
d) Put a small amount of the material on a table top and hit it with your hand, there is no splashing or splattering.
e) Throw a small piece onto a hard surface, it will bounce slightly.
f) Stuff the material through a tube, die swell occurs as it emerges.
This investigation uses a substance called polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in place of guar gum since solutions can be prepared in advance and weighing of materials is not required. Polyvinyl alcohol is used as a thickener, stabiliser and binder in cosmetics, paper cloths, films, cements and mortars. Polyvinyl alcohol solution dries to leave a thin plastic film that is finding use in packaging materials. This film, if left in the environment, will break down rather than persist as some plastics do requiring clean-up.
The Structure of Polyvinyl Alcohol
The polyvinyl alcohol is cross-linked using borax to make crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol gel:
Preparation of Solutions
1. Preparation of Polyvinyl Alcohol Solution
Materials Needed:
Polyvinyl alcohol, 99-100% hydrolysed; Water (distilled or deionised preferred but not essential): 100mL (or larger) flask or beaker (a pot can be used - glass is preferred): Heat source (hot plate, gas or electric range); Stirring rod; 1 Litre (or larger) plastic bottle to hold solution; Aluminium foil; Label for bottle
To prepare one litre of 4% polyvinyl alcohol solution:
Measure 960mL of water into a large flask or beaker (or pot).
Weigh out 40g of polyvinyl alcohol. Add the polyvinyl alcohol to the water slowly, with stirring. Heat the mixture, stirring occasionally, until a clear solution is obtained. Avoid boiling the solution. Remove from heat, cover with aluminium foil, and allow the solution to cool. Pour the solution into a properly labelled bottle and seal. The solution can be stored indefinitely.
2. Preparation of Borax Solution
Materials Needed:
Borax (sodium tetraborate decahydrate); Na2B4O7.10H2O (20 Mule Team Borax or equivalent); Water (distilled or deionised preferred but not essential); 1-Litre plastic bottle to hold solution; Label for bottle.
To prepare one litre of 4wt% borax solution:
Measure 960mL of water into a 1-Litre bottle. Weigh out 40g of borax. Add the borax to the water. Close the bottle and shake. The solution can be stored indefinitely.
Preparation of Polyvinyl Alcohol Slime
Materials Needed:
Paper cup, 5 oz.; Stirring rod; Polyvinyl alcohol, 4% in water; Borax, 4wt% solution in water; Food colour to colour the slime (optional); Plastic bag to store the slime (zip-lock type or bag with twist tie); Felt-tip pen; Paper.
Safety Precautions:
Wear safety goggles or glasses in the laboratory at all times. There are no hazards associated with the polyvinyl alcohol. Sodium borate (borax) is toxic by ingestion. Take care that this material is not placed in the mouth. Take care to keep the chemicals and the Slime away from your clothes or cloth-covered furniture as they may produce permanent stains. The Slime will get dirty from handling and may become mouldy after several days. When this occurs the Slime will be discarded.
Disposal:
Dispose of any Slime poduced in the rubbish. Do not put it down the drain as it will clog the drain.
Experimental procedure:
Measure out 20mL of 4% polyvinyl alcohol solution into a paper cup. Examine the solution.
Does it have any odour? Is it sticky?
If desired, one or two drops of food colouring can be added to the polyvinyl alcohol solution. Stir the mixture. Measure 5mL of 4% borax solution. Pour the borax solution into the cup of polyvinyl alcohol and stir well. Describe what happens. Remove the material from the cup and knead it with your hand. The material will become firm and lose some of its stickiness.
Test the properties of the "Slime".
a) Can you stretch it if you pull the Slime slowly?
b) What happens if you pull the Slime hard?
c) Roll a piece of Slime into a ball and drop it. What happens?
d) Place a small piece of Slime on the table top. Hit it with your hand. What happens?
e) Write your name on a piece of paper with a felt-tip pen. Place the Slime on your name. Lift it up. Did anything happen? Can you explain why?
(This investigation using polyvinyl alcohol is based on David R. Weill,III 'Colloids, Slime and Some Non-Newtonian Fluids: Some Demonstrations', Sixth International Conference on Chemical Education, University of Maryland, August 1981.) Reprinted by permission of David Katz. Further investigations will be printed in subsequent issues.
Note:
This is a fun experiment and would be a good end-of-term or Science Club activity.
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Chemicles: stories from the world of chemistry
Deodorants can kill!
Headlines like: 'Deodorant killed boy' (D.Tel. 29/10/98) and 'Two men hurt as exploding aerosol can damages house' (Guardian 27/10/98) make one think again when performing one's routine morning spray. Deodorants used to be powered by CFCs, which are non-toxic and non-flammable, but unfortunately destroy stratospheric ozone. CFCs in aerosols were banned in the USA in the mid-70s and in Europe in the early 90s. Most aerosols now use butane or propane, flammable hydrocarbons, as the propellant. They are ozone-friendly but are greenhouse gases, and they highly flammable. A risky teenage behaviour involves lighting an aerosol spray to form a flame-thrower. Highly dangerous at both ends of the flame. Aerosols carry the warning that they should not be punctured (as they are pressurised) or thrown on a fire or exposed to sunlight or near a heat source. Burning domestic rubbish on a bonfire can be hazardous and dramatic if an aerosol can is in the waste. A recent case shows the value of this advice. Two men in Swanage, Dorset were hospitalised with shock and burns after an aerosol can exploded in a bedroom. The can was left near a convector heater and over-heated. It exploded bringing down a wall and lifting the ceiling off the walls. The can heated up, the pressure rose and it exploded and the hot gas then caught fire. Obviously one would have to very careful using an aerosol when smoking or near a naked flame, though most people are probably not aware that they are holding a potential flame-thrower or incendiary bomb!
A second case which appeared in the papers in the same week was even more disturbing. A 16 year-old boy obsessed with personal hygiene, died on July 29th. from hydrocarbon poisoning after over-use of deodorants in a small bathroom. There was no evidence of solvent abuse but he over-dosed on deodorant spray by using them in an enclosed space. His blood contained 0.37mg of butane per litre and a similar concentration of propane. The toxic level for either gas is only 0.1mg/L. Researchers into solvent abuse at St. George's Hospital medical School in London said: "Between 1971 and 1996, we do not know of a single case of the normal use of a deodorant or antiperspirant." Poisoning from solvent abuse caused by deliberately inhaling solvents has been the cause of many deaths among young people.
AS science/chemistry teachers we need to be aware of the dangers so that we can give appropriate warnings without encouraging dangerous behaviour, a difficult line to walk with teenagers.
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The man in the white suit
Ever seen the film where a research chemist discovers a wonder fibre which can make clothes that never get dirty or wear out? Well it looks like it made be prophetic. Chemists at the University of Durham claim to have developed a treatment for clothes which uses a plasma to produce a thin non-stick surface coating that repels water, grease and dirt. Jas Pal Badyal, director of the research programme said: "This process has many advantages over existing methods. It works at room temperature with a low amount of energy."
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The woad ahead
(Guardian 19/11/98)
Jeans could get a new lease of life
"It is one of history's ironies that - sartorially speaking - communism failed to impose uniformity but capitalism, which never sought it, achieved it. Man is born free but everywhere is in jeans.This is true even in China whewre Chairman Mao suits have ben yielding to the historically inevitable progress of Vevis, Lee Coopers, Wranglers under the true cultural revolution. Jeans can trace their origin back at least to the 16th. century, where there are literary allusions to "yerdes of geanes fustion" referring to material from Genoa, where the Italians were busy making garments from a French material we now know as denim (de Nimes). But it was the Americans who adopted them as their birthright in the last century.
Sales of jeans are now approaching 600 million. In America the average person has 7.2 pairs of jeans (with women owning more than men.) They now seem to be so deeply entrenched as a classless fashion item that it is difficult to see what might replace them. Mayne there should be a millennium competition to discover a new idea for the next century. But if it is difficult to see any radical improvements in the future, maybe it is time to look into the distant past for the next development. Yesterday a team from the University of Reading's School of Plant Sciences urged manufacturers of jeans to revert to medieval techniques of extracting indigo from anasty-smelling stew of woad (used for colouring by the anceint Britons) and bran. The scientists, led by professor Philip John, described how they duplicvated a technique used by textile dyers hundreds of years before the modern chemical industry existed. They claim that not only do the old techniques still work but that, unlike the chemical methods currently used, they are environmentally friendly as well, being based on natural fermentation driven by bacteria. If the 2oth. century was indelibly fashioned by that celebrated blue denim apparel, there is no reason why the 21st. century couldn't become the era of green jeans."
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Cranberry juice and cystitis
A traditional remedy for urinary infections is to drink cranberry juice. A trial in 1994 at Harvard University among elderly women showed that a glass of cranberry juice a day reduced urinary tract infections (UTI) by half, a dramatic improvement for a very painful complaint. But how does it work? Scientists at Rutgers University, New York have now shown how the treatment works. UTI is caused by bacteria which stick to the walls of the bladder and kidney and cause infection. Compounds in the cranberry juice called proanthocyanidins prevent bacteria sticking and thus they are washed away in the urine. Blueberries, which are related to cranberries, contain the same compound and are also effective against UTIs. 300mL of cranberry juice a day is a good preventative and several glasses a day, plus water, may help to ameliorate an attack.
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TBT in the news again
TriButylTin (TBT) is used as an anti-foulant on ship's bottoms but a few years ago it was shown to have harmful effects on sea life and it was banned for use by small boats. The dog-whelk at Chichester, West Sussex has now died out due to pollution of the harbour by TBT. Its effect was to masculinize the females with the result that the species has died out. The Marine Conservation Society said: "The dog-whelk is a predator and when it dies out it has an effect on a whole range of other species."
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Arsenic cures not kills
Arsenic is well-known to everyone as a favourite of poisoners, both in fact and fiction. Recent trials have shown that arsenic trioxide in low does can also be a life-saver for leukaemia patients. The effect was first reported by Chinese researchers and confirmed by a study in New York. 12 patients who had relapsed after conventional therapy were treated with low does of arsenic trioxide. 11 went into remission after a period ranging from 12 to 39 days, with only minor side-effects. After further courses of treatment 3 relapsed but 8 showed no sign of the disease after 10 months. These results are much better than that of the previously-used drug, all-trans retinoic acid, used in chemotherapy. The report appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine (5/11/98) and the senior author, Raymond P. Warrell Jr. said: "We now know that arsenic can safely bring patients with this form of leukaemia into remission, which may ultimately give them a second chance at life."
They don't know how it works yet and it may not cure the disease only halt it, but the researchers are going to test it on other forms of cancer. All drugs are poisons to greater or lesser extents and it may be that arsenic trioxide, which is fatal in large does, kills the cancer cells in smaller does without harming the person.
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The history of penicillin
When Dr. Alexander Fleming discovered the penicillin mould in 1929 by accident, a chance discovery following some work on staphylcocci. One petri dish was contaminated and gave unusual results. Instead of throwing it away and starting the experiment again, he looked into it further and identified that the mould Penicllium notatum had produced an inhibitory substance and killed the bacteria. He dropped the project after a few months extra work and a paper on their anti-bacterial action, and one contemporary sceptic wrote:
"The penicillium moulds are pleasant enough and we are content to use them to bring our Camembert and Roquefort cheeses into a pleasant condition of ripeness, and in that respect I would not like to miss them. But beyond that, and, especially with a view to therapy in medicine, these moulds are completely useless." He was, of course, completely wrong in his assessment but the true potential of penicillin as an anti-biotic wasn't realised until H. Florey and E. Chain, working at Oxford University, extended Fleming's work in 1939. They found a way to purify penicillin and to grow the mould (in porcelain bed-pans), enabling it to be developed as an effective drug. All three men shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1945 for their work on penicillin which has saved millions of lives. Gunshot wounds in the stomach in WWII were 70% fatal, in the Korean war the fatality rate had dropped to less than 1% - thanks to penicillin.
It's all in the soil
To see heaven in a wild flower, and history in a grain of peat ..The secrets of history are locked up in ice and peat deposits laid down over millennia. A peat bog in Switzerland at tang de la Gruy‚re in the Jura mountains has given environmental data going back 12,000 years (New Scientist, 15/11/97). As moss grows it traps pollutants in the air, which are then buried as the successive layers of peat form. The layers can be dated by carbon-14 dating and the metal contents of each layer can be analysed. At the end of the last ice ages the moss records an atmospheric lead concentration of 0.28 ppm. 8,000 years ago a volcanic eruption in France and the start of agriculture in Europe around 3,000 BC were indicated by an increase of lead levels. The Phoenicians started mining and trading lead from Spain about 1000 BC and left their visiting card in the moss. The Greek and Roman civilisations mined lead intensively and lead levels rose, then fell again in the Middle Ages. The start of the industrial revolution caused another increase in atmospheric lead, peaking in 1905; it dropped and then rose again to a peak in 1967 of 85 ppm., due to leaded petrol. From the early 70s unleaded petrol has become more and more significant and atmospheric lead levels in the moss have dropped again.
"A Chemical History of a Candle"
Michael Faraday (1861)
In this issue we present the third of Michael Faraday's famous lectures on "A Chemical History of A Candle". The first lecture appeared in issue #54 and the other lectures will be presented in subsequent issues. The notes are numbered sequentially from Letter I onwards and are given at the end of each letter.
LECTURE III
PRODUCTS: WATER FROM THE COMBUSTION -
NATURE OF WATER - A COMPOUND -
HYDROGEN
I dare say you well remember that when we parted we had just mentioned the word 'products' from the candle. For when a candle burns we found we were able, by nice adjustment, to get various products from it. There was one substance which was not obtained when the candle was burning properly, which was charcoal or smoke, and there was some other substance that went upwards from the flame which did not appear as smoke, but took some other form, and made part of that general current which, ascending from the candle upwards, becomes invisible, and escapes. There were also other products to mention. You remember that in that rising current having its origin at the candle, we found that one part was condensable against a cold spoon, or against a clean plate, or any other cold thing, and another part was incondensable.
We will first take the condensable part, and examine it, and, strange to say, we find that that part of the product is just water - nothing but water. On the last occasion I spoke of it incidentally, merely saying that water was produced among the condensable products of the candle; but, today, I wish to draw your attention to water, that we may examine it carefully, especially in relation to this subject, and also with respect to its general existence on the surface of the globe.
Now, having previously arranged an experiment for the purpose of condensing water from the products of the candle, my next point will be to show you this water; and perhaps one of the best means that I can adopt for showing its presence to so many at once is, to exhibit a very visible action of water, and then to apply that test to what is collected as a drop at the bottom of that vessel. I have here a chemical substance, discovered by Sir Humphry Davy, which has a very energetic action upon water, which I shall use as a test of the presence of water. If I take a little piece of it - it is called potassium, as coming from potash - if I take a little piece of it, and throw it into that basin, you see how it shows the presence of water by lighting up and floating about, burning with a violet flame.
I am now going to take away the candle which has been burning beneath the vessel containing ice and salt, and you see a drop of water - a condensed product of the candle - hanging from the under surface of the dish. I will show you that potassium has the same action upon it as upon the water in that basin in the experiment we have just tried. See! it takes fire, and burns in just the same manner. I will take another drop upon this glass slab, and when I put the potassium on to it, you see at once, from its taking fire, that there is water present. Now, that water was produced by the candle. In the same manner, if I put this spirit-lamp under that jar, you will soon see the latter become damp, from the dew which is deposited upon it - that dew being the result of combustion; and I have no doubt you will shortly see, by the drops of water which fall upon the paper below, that there is a good deal of water produced from the combustion of the lamp. I will let it remain, and you can afterwards see how much water has been collected. So, if I take a gas-lamp, and put any cooling arrangement over it, I shall get water -perfectly pure, distilled water, produced from the combustion of the gas-lamp - in no point different from the water that you distil from the river, or ocean, or spring, but exactly the same thing. Water is one individual thing, it never changes. We can add to it by careful adjustment, for a little while, or we can take it apart and get other things from it; but water, as water, remains always the same, either in solid, liquid, or fluid state. Here again [holding another bottle] is some water produced by the combustion of an oil-lamp. A pint of oil, when burnt fairly and properly, produces rather more than a pint of water. Here, again, is some water, produced by a rather long experiment, from a wax candle. And so we can go on with almost all combustible substances, and find that if they burn with a flame, as a candle, they produce water. You may make these experiments yourselves: the head of a poker is a very good thing to try with, and if it remains cold long enough over the candle, you may get water condensed in drops on it; or a spoon or ladle, or anything else may be used, provided it be clean, and can carry off the heat, and so condense the water.
And now - to go into the history of this wonderful production of water from combustibles, and by combustion - I must first of all tell you that this water may exist in different conditions, and although you may now be acquainted with all its forms, they still require us to give a little attention to them for the present; so that we may perceive how the water, whilst it goes through its Protean changes, is entirely and absolutely the same thing, whether it is produced from a candle, by combustion, or from the rivers or ocean.
First of all, water, when at the coldest, is ice. Now, we philosophers - I hope that I may class you and myself together in this case - speak of water as water, whether it be in its solid, or liquid, or gaseous state - we speak of it chemically as water. Water is a thing compounded of two substances, one of which we have derived from the candle; and the other we shall find elsewhere. Water may occur as ice; and you have had the most excellent opportunities lately of seeing this. Ice changes back to water - for we had on our last Sabbath a strong instance of this change, by the sad catastrophe which occurred in our own house, as well as in the houses of many of our friends - ice changes back into water when the temperature is raised: water also changes into steam when it is warmed enough. The water which we have here before us, is in its densest state,11 and although it changes in weight, in condition, in form, and in many other qualities, it is still water; and whether we alter it into ice by cooling, or whether we change it into steam by heat, it increases in volume - in the one case very strangely and powerfully, and in the other case very largely and wonderfully. For instance, I will now take this tin cylinder, and pour a little water into it, and seeing how much water I pour in, you may easily estimate for yourselves how high it will rise in the vessel: it will cover the bottom about two inches. I am now about to convert the water into steam, for the purpose of showing you the different volumes which water occupies in its different states of water and steam.
Let us now take the case of water changing into ice: we can effect that by cooling it in a mixture of salt and pounded ice12 - and I shall do so to show you the expansion of water into a thing of larger bulk when it is so changed. These bottles [holding one] are made of strong cast iron, very strong and very thick - I suppose they are the third of an inch in thickness; they are very carefully filled with water, so as to exclude all air, and then they are screwed down tight. We shall see that when we freeze the water in these iron vessels, they will not be able to hold the ice, and the expansion within them will break them in pieces as these [pointing to some fragments] are broken, which have been bottles of exactly the same kind. I am about to put these two bottles into that mixture of ice and salt, for the purpose of showing that when water becomes ice, it changes in volume in this extraordinary way.
In the meantime look at the change which has taken place in the water to which we have applied heat; it is losing its fluid state. You may tell this by two or three circumstances. I have covered the mouth of this glass flask, in which water is boiling, with a watch-glass. Do you see what happens? It rattles away like a valve chattering, because the steam rising from the boiling water sends the valve up and down, and forces itself out, and so makes it clatter. You can very easily perceive that the flask is quite full of steam, or else it would not force its way out. You see also that the flask contains a substance very much larger than the water, for it fills the whole of the flask over and over again, and there it is blowing away into the air; and yet you cannot observe any great diminution in the bulk of the water, which shows you that its change of bulk is very great when it becomes steam.
I have put our iron bottles containing water into this freezing mixture, that you may see what happens. No communication will take place, you observe, between the water in the bottles and the ice in the outer vessel. But there will be a conveyance of heat from the one to the other, and if we are successful - we are making our experiment in very great haste - I expect you will by and by, so soon as the cold has taken possession of the bottles and their contents, hear a pop on the occasion of the bursting of the one bottle or the other, and, when we come to examine the bottles, we shall find their contents masses of ice, partly enclosed by the covering of iron which is too small for them, because the ice is larger in bulk than the water. You know very well that ice floats upon water; if a boy falls through a hole into the water, he tries to get on the ice again to float him up. Why does the ice float? - think of that, and philosophize. Because the ice is larger than the quantity of water which can produce it, and therefore the ice weighs the lighter and the water is the heavier.
To return now to the action of heat on water. See what a stream of vapour is issuing from this tin vessel. You observe, we must have made it quite full of steam to have it sent out in that great quantity. And now, as we can convert the water into steam by heat, we convert it back into liquid water by the application of cold. And if we take a glass, or any other cold thing, and hold it over this steam, see how soon it gets damp with water; it will condense it until the glass is warm - it condenses the water which is now running down the sides of it. I have here another experiment to show the condensation of water from a vaporous state back into a liquid state, in the same way as the vapour, one of the products of the candle, was condensed against the bottom of the dish and obtained in the form of water; and to show you how truly and thoroughly these changes take place, I will take this tin flask, which is now full of steam, and close the top. We shall see what takes place when we cause this water or steam to return back to the fluid state by pouring some cold water on the outside. [The Lecturer poured the cold water over the vessel, when it immediately collapsed.] You see what has happened. If I had closed the stopper, and still kept the heat applied to it, it would have burst the vessel; yet when the steam returns to the state of water, the vessel collapses, there being a vacuum produced inside by the condensation of the steam. I show you these experiments for the purpose of pointing out that in all these occurrences there is nothing that changes the water into any other thing, it still remains water; and so the vessel is obliged to give way, and is crushed inwards, as, in the other case, by the further application of heat, it would have blown outwards.
And what do you think the bulk of that water is when it assumes the vapour condition? You see that cube [pointing to a cubic foot]. There, by its side, is a cubic inch, exactly the same shape as the cubic foot, and that bulk of water [the cubic inch] is sufficient to expand into that bulk[the cubic foot] of steam; and, on the contrary, the application of cold will contract that large quantity of steam into this small quantity of water. [One of the iron bottles burst at that moment.] Ah! There is one of our bottles burst, and here you see is a crack down one side an eighth of an inch in width. [The other now exploded, sending the freezing mixture in all directions.] This other bottle is also broken; although the iron was nearly half an inch thick, the ice has burst it asunder. These changes always take place in water; they do not require to be always produced by artificial means - we only use them here because we want to produce a small winter round that little bottle instead of a long and severe one. But if you go to Canada, or to the North, you will find the temperature there out of doors will do the same thing as has been done here by the freezing mixture.
To return to our quiet philosophy. We shall not in future be deceived, therefore, by any changes that are produced in water. Water is the same everywhere, whether produced from the ocean or from the flame of the candle. Where, then, is this water which we get from a candle? I must anticipate a little, and tell you. It evidently comes, as to part of it, from the candle; but is it within the candle beforehand? No. It is not in the candle; and it is not in the air around about the candle which is necessary for its combustion. It is neither in one nor the other, but it comes from their conjoint action, a part from the candle, a part from the air; and this we have now to trace, so that we may understand thoroughly what is the chemical history of a candle when we have it burning on our table. How shall we get at this? I myself know plenty of ways, but I want you to get at it from the association in your own minds of what I have already told you.
I think you can see a little in this way. We just had now the case of a substance which acted upon the water in the way that Sir Humphry Davy showed us,13 and which I am now going to recall to your minds by making again an experiment upon that dish. It is a thing which we have to handle very carefully, for you see, if I allow a little splash of water to come upon this mass it sets fire to part of it; and if there were free access of air, it would quickly set fire to the whole. Now this is a metal - a beautiful and bright metal - which rapidly changes in the air, and, as you know, rapidly changes in water. I will put a piece on the water, and you see it burns beautifully, making a floating lamp, using the water in the place of air. Again, if we take a few iron filings or turnings and put them in water, we find that they likewise undergo an alteration. They do not change so much as the potassium does, but they change somewhat in the same way; they become rusty, and show an action upon the water, though in a different degree of intensity to what this beautiful metal does; but they act upon the water in the same manner generally as this potassium. I want you to put these different facts together in your minds. I have another metal here [zinc], and when we examined it with regard to the solid substance produced by its combustion, we had an opportunity of seeing that it burned; and I suppose, if I take a little strip of this zinc and put it over the candle, you will see something half way, as it were, between the combustion of potassium on the water and the action of iron - you see there is a sort of combustion. It has burned, leaving a white ash or residuum, and here also we find that the metal has a certain amount of action upon water.
By degrees we have learned how to modify the action of these different substances, and to make them tell us what we want to know. And now, first of all, I take iron. It is a common thing in all chemical reactions, where we get any result of this kind, to find that it is increased by the action of heat; and if we want to examine minutely and carefully the action of bodies one upon another, we often have to refer to the action of heat. You are aware, I believe, that iron filings burn beautifully in the air; but I am about to show you an experiment of this kind, because it will impress upon you what I am going to say about iron in its action on water. If I take a flame and make it hollow - you know why, because I want to get air to it and into it, and therefore I make it hollow - and then take a few iron filings and drop them into the flame, you see how well they burn. That combustion results from the chemical action which is going on when we ignite those particles. And so we proceed to consider these different effects, and ascertain what iron will do when it meets with water. It will tell us the story so beautifully, so gradually and regularly, that I think it will please you very much.
I have here a furnace with a pipe going through it like an iron gun-barrel, and I have stuffed that barrel full of bright iron turnings, and placed it across the fire to be made red-hot. We can either send air through the barrel to come in contact with the iron, or we can send steam from this little boiler at the end of the barrel. Here is a stop-cock which shuts off the steam from the barrel until we wish to admit it. There is some water in these glass jars, which I have coloured blue so that you may see what happens. Now you know very well that any steam I might send through that barrel, if it went through into the water, would be condensed; for you have seen that steam cannot retain its gaseous form if it be cooled down. You saw it here [pointing to the tin flask] crushing itself into a small bulk, and causing the flask holding it to collapse; so that if I were to send steam through that barrel it would be condensed - supposing the barrel were cold; it is, therefore, heated to perform the experiment I am now about to show you. I am going to send the steam through the barrel in small quantities, and you shall judge for yourselves when you see it issue from the other end, whether it still remains steam. Steam is condensible into water, and when you lower the temperature of steam you convert it back into fluid water; but I have lowered the temperature of the gas which I have collected in this jar by passing it through water after it has traversed the iron barrel, and still it does not change back into water.
I will take another test and apply it to this gas. (I hold the jar in an inverted position, or my substance would escape.) If I now apply a light to the mouth of the jar it ignites with a slight noise. That tells you that it is not steam; steam puts out a fire, it does not burn; but you saw that what I had in that jar burnt. We may obtain this substance equally from water produced from the candle flame as from any other source. When it is obtained by the action of the iron upon the aqueous vapour, it leaves the iron in a state very similar to that in which these filings were after they were burnt. It makes the iron heavier than it was before. So long as the iron remains in the tube and is heated, and is cooled again without the access of air or water, it does not change in its weight; but after having had this current of steam passes over it, it then comes out heavier than it was before, having taken something out of the steam, and having allowed something else to pass forth, which we see here. And now, as we have another jar full, I will show you something most interesting. It is a combustible gas; and I might at once take this jar and set fire to its contents, and show you that it is combustible; but I intend to show you more if I can. It is also a very light substance. Steam will condense; this body will rise in the air, and not condense.
Suppose I take another glass jar, empty of all but air; if I examine it with a taper, I shall find that it contains nothing but air. I will now take this jar full of the gas that I am speaking of, and deal with it as though it were a light body; I will hold both upside down, and turn the one up under the other; and that which did contain the gas procured from the steam, what does it contain now? You will find it now only contains air. But look! Here is the combustible substance [taking the other jar] which I have poured out of the one jar into the other. It still preserves its quality and condition and independence, and therefore is the more worthy of our consideration, as belonging to the products of a candle.
Now, this substance which we have just prepared by the action of iron on the steam or water, we can also get by means of those other things which you have already seen act so well upon the water. If I take a piece of potassium, and make the necessary arrangements, it will produce this gas; and if instead a piece of zinc, I find, when I come to examine it carefully, that the main reason why this zinc cannot act upon the water continuously as the other metal does, is because the result of the action of the water envelops the zinc in a kind of protecting coat. We have learned in consequence, that if we put into our vessel only the zinc and water, they, by themselves, do not give rise to much action, and we get no result.
But suppose I proceed to dissolve off this varnish - this encumbering substance - which I can do by a little acid; the moment I do this I find the zinc acting upon the water exactly as the iron did, but at the common temperature. The acid in no way is altered, except in its combination with the zinc of oxide, which is produced. I have now poured the acid into the glass, and the effect is as though I were applying heat to cause this boiling up. There is something coming off from the zinc very abundantly, which is not steam. There is a jar full of it; and you will find that I have exactly the same combustible substance remaining in the vessel, when I hold it upside down, that I produced during the experiment with the iron barrel. This is what we get from water, the same substance which is contained in the candle.
Let us now trace distinctly the connexion between these two points. This is hydrogen - a body classed among those things which in Chemistry we call elements, because we can get nothing else out of them. A candle is not an elementary body, because we can get carbon out of it, we can get this hydrogen out of it, or at least out of the water which it supplies. And this gas has been so named hydrogen, because it is that element which, in association with another, generates water.* Mr. Anderson having now been able to get two or three jars of gas, we shall have a few experiments to make, and I want to show you the best way of making these experiments. I am not afraid to show you, for I wish you to make experiments, if you will only make them with care and attention, and the assent of those around you. As we advance in Chemistry, we are obliged to deal with substances which are rather injurious if in their wrong places; the acids, and heat, and combustible things we use, might do harm if carelessly employed. If you want to make hydrogen, you can make it easily from bits of zinc, and sulphuric, or muriatic acid. Here is what in former times was called the 'philosopher's candle'. It is a little phial with a cork and a tube or pipe passing through it. And I am now putting a few little pieces of zinc into it. This little instrument I am going to apply to a useful purpose in our demonstrations, for I want to show you that you can prepare hydrogen, and make some experiments with it as you please, at your own homes. Let me here tell you why I am so careful to fill this phial nearly, and yet not quite, full. I do it because the evolved gas, which as you have seen is very combustible, is explosive to a considerable extent when mixed with air, and might lead to harm if you were to apply a light to the end of that pipe before all the air had been swept out of the space above the water. I am now about to pour in the sulphuric acid. I have used very little zinc and more sulphuric acid and water, because I want to keep it at work for some time. I therefore take care in this way to modify the proportions of the ingredients so that I may have a regular supply - not too quick, and not too slow. Supposing I now, take a glass and put it upside down over the end of the tube, because the hydrogen is light I expect that it will remain in that vessel a little while. We will now test the contents of our glass to see if there be hydrogen in it - I think I am safe in saying we have caught some [applying a light].
There it is, you see. I will now apply a light to the top of the tube. There is the hydrogen burning. There is our philosophical candle. It is a foolish, feeble sort of flame, you may say, but it so hot that scarcely any common flame gives out so much heat. It goes on burning regularly, and I am now about to put that flame to burn under a certain arrangement, in order that we may examine its results and make use of the information which we may thereby acquire. Inasmuch as the candle produces water, and this gas comes out of the water, let us see what this gives us by the same process of combustion that the candle went through when it burnt in the atmosphere, and for that purpose I am going to put the lamp under this apparatus, in order to condense whatever may arise from the combustion within it. In the course of a short time you will see moisture appearing in the cylinder, and you will get the water running down the side, and the water from this hydrogen flame will have absolutely the same effect upon all our tests, being obtained by the same general process as in the former case. This hydrogen is a very beautiful substance. It is so light that it carries things up; it is far lighter than the atmosphere, and I dare say I can show you this by an experiment which, if you are very clever, some of you may even have skill enough to repeat.
Here is our generator of hydrogen, and here are some soap-suds. I have an india-rubber tube connected with the hydrogen generator, and at the end of the tube is a tobacco-pipe. I can thus put the pipe into the suds and blow bubbles by means of the hydrogen. You observe how the bubbles fall downwards when I blow them with my warm breath; but notice the difference when I blow them with hydrogen. [The Lecturer here blew bubbles with hydrogen, which rose to the roof of the theatre.] It shows you how light this gas must be in order to carry with it not merely the ordinary soap-bubble, but the larger portion of a drop hanging to the bottom of it. I can show its lightness in a better way than this; larger bubbles than these may be so lifted up; indeed, in former times balloons used to be filled with this gas. Mr. Anderson will fasten this tube on to our generator, and we shall have a stream of hydrogen here with which we can charge this balloon made of collodion. I need not even be very careful to get all the air out, for I know the power of this gas to carry it up. [Two collodion balloons were inflated and sent up, one being held by a string.] Here is another larger one made of thin membrane, which we will fill and allow to ascend; you will see they will all remain floating about until the gas escapes.
What, then, are the comparative weights of these substances? I have a table here which will show you the proportion which their weights bear to each other. I have taken a pint and a cubic foot as the measures, and have placed opposite to them the respective figures. A pint measure of this hydrogen weighs three-quarters of our smallest weight, a grain, and a cubic foot weighs one-fifth of an ounce; whereas a pint of water weighs 8,750 grains, and a cubic foot of water weighs almost 1,000 ounces. You see, therefore, what a vast difference there is between the weight of a cubic foot of water and a cubic foot of hydrogen.
Hydrogen gives rise to no substance that can become solid, either during combustion or afterwards as a product of its combustion; but when it burns it produces water only; and if we take a cold glass and put it over the flame, it becomes damp, and you have water produced immediately in appreciable quantity; and nothing is produced by its combustion but the same water which you have seen the flame of the candle produce. It is important to remember that this hydrogen is the only thing in nature which furnishes water as the sole product of combustion.
And now we must endeavour to find some additional proof of the general character and composition of water, and for this purpose I will keep you a little longer, so that at our next meeting we may be better prepared for the subject. We have the power of arranging the zinc which you have seen acting upon the water by the assistance of an acid, in such a manner as to cause all the power to be evolved in the place where we require it. I have behind me a voltaic pile, and I am just about to show you, at the end of this lecture, its character and power, that you may see what we shall have to deal with when next we meet. I hold here the extremities of the wires which transport the power from behind me, and which I shall cause to act on the water.
We have previously seen what a power of combustion is possessed by the potassium, or the zinc, or the iron filings; but none of them show such energy as this. [The Lecturer here made contact between the two terminal wires of the battery, when a brilliant flash of light was produced.] This light is, in fact, produced by a forty-zinc power of burning; it is a power that I can carry about in my hands through these wires at pleasure, although if I applied it wrongly to myself it would destroy me in an instant, for it is a most intense thing, and the power you see here put forth while you count five [bringing the poles in contact and exhibiting the electric light] is equivalent to the power of several thunder-storms, so great is its force.14 And that you may see what intense energy it has I will take the ends of the wires which convey the power from the battery, and with it I dare say I can burn this iron file. Now this is a chemical power, and one which, when we next meet, I shall apply to water, and show you what results we are able to produce.
*U d w V , 'water', and g e u u a w , 'I generate.'
Notes:
11. Water is in its densest state at a temperature of 39ù1øFahrenheit.
12. A mixture of salt and pounded ice reduces the temperature from 32øF. to zero. The ice at the same time becoming fluid.
13. Potassium, the metallic basis of potash, was discovered by Sir Humphry Davy in 1807, who succeeded in separating it from potash by means of a powerful voltaic battery. Its great affinity for oxygen causes it to decompose water with evolution of hydrogen, which takes fire with the least heat produced.
14. Professor Faraday has calculated that there is as much electricity required to decompose one grain of water, as there is in a very powerful flash of lightning.
1st. ECCE, Budapest
The 1st. European Conference on Chemical Education was held this summer in Budapest at the Technological University from August 25-28. This conference was organised by the Education Division of the Federation of European Chemical Societies, to which the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland belongs. Dr. Peter Childs is the Irish delegate to the Education Division Council. The same group also sponsors the ECRICE conferences which focus on chemical education research; the aim of the ECCE is to focus on chemical education practice, mainly at third level. (The next ECRICE will be held in Greece in 1999.) The ECCE was planned to be a European-wide conference to encourage the sharing of good practice in chemical education, and the 1st. conference targeted third-level education. It was run in parallel with a conference for Hungarian Chemistry teachers and they were encouraged to attend the plenary lectures.
"Even the chemist is more familiar with Shakespeare than with Berzelius."
F. Szabadvary
The conference consisted of plenary lectures, seminars, workshops and poster papers. A great variety of material was covered and many themes were explored. Attendance was around 150 from outside Hungary and 220 Hungarians. From 2001 the ECRICE and ECCE conferences will merge to cover research and practice in the same conference, as the Education Division Council (chaired by Dr. Michael Gagan of the Open University) felt that running two separate conferences in successive years was unnecessary duplication. Combining the two should encourage cross-fertilisation between researchers and practioners.
"Those we teach merit priority over what we teach."
Bill Byers
The highlight of the conference for me was Alec Johnstone's FECS lecture on "Chemical Education Research: a logical basis for innovation". It was also the last event of the conference and definitely a case of keeping the best wine until last. This was also the first time that the annual FECS lecture has been in chemical education, and marks the change of the Chemical Education Working Party to a full Division of FECS. Although Alec's lecture covered many familiar themes from the Johnstone 'school', it was delivered in his inimitable and iconoclastic style.
"We need to prepare our students' minds for what we are going to teach them."
Alec Johnstone
The standard of the other plenary lectures was rather variable, and a bit disappointing, and the seminars were the most profitable part of the conference. There was some very interesting poster papers from Hungarian teachers. One evening featured a lecture demonstration on catalysis by Professor R. Halle given to a packed audience.
Budapest is a lovely city and the organisation of the conference was excellent. The next International Conference on Chemical Education will be held in Budapest (August 21-27) 2000, and this would be a good opportunity to attend an ICCE and see Hungary at the same time.
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17th. ChemEd-Ireland Conference
This was one of the best-attended and one of the most successful ChemEd-Ireland conferences yet. It looked as though it would be a capacity crowd but several teachers couldn't come at the last minute, and left spare places. If you can't come please give as much notice as possible and please cancel any accommodation bookings in good time. The theme of the conference was 'Practical Work in Chemistry', a topic first covered in 1983 when Alec Johnstone was the keynote speaker. This year Roger Maskill was the guest lecturer from the University of East Anglia, and he spoke on Problems of Practical Work from a UK perspective. The expected speaker on Laboratory Management wasn't able to come and Philip Mathews (TCD) and Bridget Ryan (Scoil P¢l, Kilfinane) stepped into the slot to talk about The Chemistry Club. Paul Priest from Academy Equipment Ltd. in the UK then introduced
the idea of microscale chemistry using plastic kits. Each participant received a sample kit in their conference packs and a copy of the RSC book on Microscale Chemistry (courtesy of the RSC). (This year there were so many freebies that teachers got a conference file and a bulging plastic bag as well.) A new feature this year, which seemed to work well, was a workshop during the extended lunch break. Half the teachers went to lunch and the other half did a 45 minute workshop; after a short break the second group did the workshop, and the others went to lunch. Thanks are due to Paul and Leo Kirby (a UL chemistry technician) for organising and conducting the workshops. This gave teachers to sample the equipment and approach of microscale chemistry, which will be distributed in Ireland by Shaws. There will be another chance to sample the workshops at the ISTA Annual Conference in Galway, April 16-18th. 1999.
The afternoon session opened with a short presentation on UL chemistry courses by Dr. Tim Smyth, who had recently been in the news because of his breakthrough in superbug-resistant penicillin .
The rest of the afternoon was devoted to the practical aspects of practical work! Randal Henly (newly retired after 36 years teaching) presented a number of eye-catching demonstrations, followed by Frank Roden with some more demonstrations for LC chemistry. The conference finished with two excellent presentations by two recent UL science education graduates. Bernadette ni Chathain described her package for integrating safety into the junior science course. This aroused great interest and a number of teachers wanted to try out the materials. (After refining the package it is hoped to make it available to teachers.) Elaine Regan closed the day with some fireworks, as she introduced and demonstrated some of the experiments she will be using in her Chemical Magic Show, as part of the Promotion of Chemistry in Schools Project (PCSP). More details of this project are given on.
It was long day but most teachers stayed to the end and went away laden down under a weight of free materials. The value of the conference package was greater than the cost of the conference, which you have agree was good value for money!
Next year's ChemEd-Ireland conference will be held on Mole day, October 23rd. 1999, as part of International Chemistry Week. The topic will be "Information Technology in Chemistry" and it is hoped that this conference will also feature a hands-on computer workshop. Places will be limited as usual and application forms will be sent out in mid-1999.
It was great to see many 'old' faces back again for their annual ChemEd 'fix', and some new ones. I would like to thank Marie Walsh for her efficient organisation and Ivana, Juliet and Veronica who helped with refreshments and the bookstall. This year's conference was supported by the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland and by the Royal Society of Chemistry's Education Division - Ireland Region, and their help is acknowledged in helping to keep the cost down.
With the cooperation of the speakers it is hoped to publish the Proceedings in Chemistry in Action! issue #57, Spring 1999.
P.E. Childs
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ISTA Junior Science Workshops
The ISTA is to be congratulated for a series of in-service workshops held around the country during the first term. These were run by a team of presenters on Saturdays, in conjunction with local ISTA branches. The course was developed and presented by Tom Bolger, John Daly, Fiona Desmond and Philippa Moran. As well as taking part in a day's workshop on selected Chemistry and Physics practicals, participants were also able to take away an excellent 120 page book containing 13 chemistry practicals and 6 demonstrations, and 6 physics practicals and 7 demonstrations. This is an invaluable resource especially after a hands-on workshop to try them out. I know the course was very popular and extra courses had to be arranged in some areas. Congratulations to the ISTA and the organising team.
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International Chemistry Celebration 1999
The American Chemical Society is coordinating worldwide activities for the International Chemistry Celebration which started in October 1998. Details are available from ichc99@acs.org and www.. October 23rd. 1999 has been designated International Chemistry Day and ChemEd-Ireland 99 will be held on that day. The ACS is producing various promotional items (pencils, highlighters, fridge magnets, lapel badges etc.) and a newsletter. Some of these items are available from the Chemistry in Action! bookstall (see order form in this issue).
Declan Kennedy has got into action early with his contribution to International Chemistry Celebration. he is hosting a workshop in Cobh on "Chemistry in Our Lives" on November 19-20th., with two places available to every ISTA branch. We hope to have a report in the next issue.
An Irish organising committee has yet to be launched but you might like to think what events or activities you could run in 1999 to promote chemistry, and particularly during International Chemistry Week (October 23-30), although this is likely to be the mid-term break in most Irish schools. Watch this space for details. ChemEd-Ireland 1999 will be held on International Mole Day, October 23rd.!
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The Chemistry Club Festival of Chemistry is held every two years. Individual schools 'sign' up and get œ100 to launch a club to encourage 1st/2nd. year students' interest in chemistry by doing experiments and projects, at lunchtime or after school. In 1996 there was one Irish centre at TCD and in 1998 there were
two, with an additional one at NUI Cork. The individual schools enter their best team with a project for the regional finals. The finalist then goes to the UK and Ireland finals in the UK. This year there were 25 regional festivals and two teams went from Ireland to London for the grand finals. A team of 4 plus the organising teacher had an all-expenses paid trip to London for the final which ran over two days, 30th. June and 1st. July. The Irish participants were Pembroke School, Dublin and Scoil Pol, Kilfinane, Co. Limerick. The regional festivals also had prizes so that every team went away with something, and the IPCMF and Irish chemical industries supported the two Irish events. In the event neither of the two Irish schools won a top prize, but the experience and the trip were worth the effort. The final was sponsored by Glaxo Wellcome.
(More details on The Chemistry Club will be given in the next issue, as part of the Proceedings of ChemEd-Ireland 1998.) The next Festival of Chemistry will be held in 2000, with the work being done during the 1999-2000 school year.
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Science Week Ireland
November 1st. - 8th.
This year's Science Week Ireland was unfortunately timed just after the schools' mid-term break. This didn't make it easy to get the publicity into teacher's hands in time for them to get involved. A programme of events was run all over the country and a Calendar of Events was widely circulated, as well as being available at the Forf s website, www.forfas.ie
A good number of these events were chemistry-based and Chemistry in Action! would be interested in getting reports, plus photos, of 'chemical' events around the country. Andrew Mills and Peter Douglas from the University of Swansea gave their "Photochemistry in Action" lecture and they was a great picture in the Irish Times.
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Industry Study Tour to Cork, June 1998
- photo of some of the party visiting IFIs ammonia plant at Marino Point, Cork
CHYMISTS: that strange class of mortals
Caricatures of famous chemists #4:
Amadeo Avogadro (1776-1856): "Counting the Marbles in Equal Volumes"
Dr. William B. Jensen, Oesper Collection, University of Cincinnati
Diary 1999-2000
1999
4th. ECRICE
21-25 September
Ioannina, Greece
International Chemistry Week 1999
17-23 October
18th. ChemEd-Ireland
"Information Technology and Chemistry
Saturday, October 23rd.
(also International Chemistry Day)
International Mole Day
23 October
2000
ASE Annual Meeting
January
16th. BCCE
"Lighting the Way to the Future"
30 July - 3 August
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
16th. International Conference on Chemical Education
"Healthy Living World and Applied Chemistry"
21-27 August
Budapest, Hungary
19th. ChemEd-Ireland Conference
October
Please send in items for the diary of interest to Chemistry teachers.
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MORE DETAILS
4th. ECRICE (European Conference on Research in Chemical Education)
21-25 September
Ioannina, Greece
This conference aims to bring together people involved in Europe in research into chemical education at all levels. It is sponsored by the Education Division of the Federation of European Chemical Societies (FECS)> For more information contact:
Dr. George Tsaparlis,
University of Ioannina,
Ioannina, Greece
(E-mail: gtseper@cc.uoi.gr)From the year 2001 it is likely that the ECRICE and ECCE conferences will be combined into one conference looking at both research into and the practice of chemical education. It is scheduled to be in Portugal.
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ChemEd-Ireland 1999
"Information Technology in Chemistry"
Saturday, October 23rd.
University of Limerick
The annual ChemEd-Ireland in 1998 will look at the use of information technology in chemistry - CDROMs, the internet, software, interfacing experiments etc. including demonstrations and a hands-on workshop. Places are limited to 90. The cost is œ17.50 for the day including lunch, refeshments, conference file etc., booking fee is œ7.50. Sponsored by RSCEDIR and the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland. Booking form available at www.ul.ie/~childsp
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International Chemistry Celebration (ICHC) 1999
The American Chemical Society is coordinating an International Chemistry Celebration. It is a year long event from 23rd. October 1998 (Mole Day!), including an International Chemistry Week (17-23 October 1999) and an International Chemistry Day (23rd. October 1999). It's aim is: To enhance the public appreciation of chemistry and its contribution to everyday life throughout the world, and to enhance communication among the chemical societies and organisations worldwide.
(www.acs.org/memgen/meetings/ichc/ichc.htm)
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16th. BCCE
"Lighting the Way to the Future"
30 July - 3 August, 2000
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
For information contact:
16th. BCCE, Dept. of Chemistry,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
MI 48109-1055, USA
http://www.umich.edu/~bcce/
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16th. ICCE
"Healthy Living World and Applied Chemistry"
21-27 August, 2000
Budapest, Hungary
This is the latest in the series of International Conferences in Chemical Education. The 5th. one was in Dublin in 1979 and the last one was held in Cairo in August 1998. The venue will be the conference centre of the E"tv"s University, Budapest, Hungary. Budapest is a fantastic place to visit and still relatively cheap. Start saving now! For information contact:
Hungarian Chemical Society,
16th. ICCE Secretariat, Theresa Mih lyi,
Budapest, Fo u. 68,
H-1027, Hungary
(Email: mail2.mke@mtesz.hu;
Internet: www.mtesz.hu)
The Chronology of the Discovery of the Elements (1650-1998)
Each point indicates the date of discovery of an element, and the total number discovered is plotted on the vertical axis. At present the total number of elements known is 112 and the last three have not yet received official names.
Compiled by Marie Walsh, SICICI
Conroy finds Irish gold
Financial Times 23/1/98
Conroy Diamonds and Gold announced the discovery of significant gold in the area around an old antimony mine near Clontibret, Co. Monaghan. Richard Conroy claims that the find has the potential to host the first major gold mine in Ireland and Britain in recent times. The company is to continue exploration and land acquisition in the area before planning the actual mine.
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Irish Steel halves workforce, but doubles output
Sunday Business Post 22/3/98
Since the takeover by Ispat International in 1996, production at Irish Steel's Haulbowline plant has doubled and it looks as though the plant will break even financially this year after a number of years recording losses - this is in spite of the fact that the numbers employed at the plant halved following the takeover.
Ispat International was only established in the 1980s but is now the eighth largest producer of steel in the world, with interests in London, Mexico, Trinidad, Germany and Ireland and 12.5 million tonnes of production in 1997. In a major announcement in March, Ispat agreed to buy Inland Steel, the sixth largest producer of steel in the US.
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210 jobs for Waterford,
Irish Times 3/3/98
The Minister for Enterprise, Ms Harney announced that a French pharmaceutical company Arkopharma Laboratoire Pharmaceutiques, a leading producer of alternative medicines, is to establish a formulation plant in Waterford with the creation of 135 jobs.
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200 new jobs for Clonmel
Irish Times 9/4/98
It has been announced that 200 new jobs will be created in a £17.7 million IDA-supported expansion of Clonmel Healthcare, which was at one time the largest Irish-owned manufacturer of human pharmaceuticals.
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Male impotence drug made in Cork breaks US sales records
Irish Times 27/4/98
A male impotence drug which is made at the Pfizer Pharmaceutical plant in Ringaskiddy has broken records in the first week of its introduction into the US market. The Ringaskiddy plant (which has a workforce of 300) manufactures Sildenafil, the active ingredient for the drug. It was first developed as a means of improving blood supply to the heart, but its positive side-effect in causing erections has proven to be a very effective and relatively safe method for the treatment of impotence. At the moment financial projections show that the drug could net $1 billion by the year 2000, but there are no implications for the workforce in Cork at present.
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Elan in surprise US takeover worth £498m
Irish Times 30/4/98
Elan Corporation has said that it will acquire Neurex, a US-based biopharmaceuticals company which develops products for pain management and the acute care market. The deal is worth over $700 million and is the largest in Elan's history. It also comes only one week after Elan's announcement of the takeover of Carnick Laboratories. The company now plans to establish a consolidated pharmaceuticals products division in addition to its long established development of drug delivery systems.
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Galen Holdings in merger talks with Dutch group
Irish Times 24/6/98
Galen Holdins, the rapidly growing pharmaceutical company based at Craigavon near Belfast, has had merger talks with a privately-owned Dutch group Ferring pharmaceuticals. The merger of the companies will not take place before the end of 1998 when the two have finished exploring the potential for product links between Galen, which employs some 700 people and Ferring which has a workforce at its Swedish manufacturing facility of 1,700. Ferring was set up in 1951 following the discovery of the peptide hormone ACTH. Its products today include hormones, fertility drugs, enzyme inhibitors and oxytocin receptor blockers. These talks later broke down and the merger is now off, for the moment.
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Grants approval for 320 jobs in Cork
Irish Times 21/10/98
The Cabinet has approved an IDA Ireland grants package for a 320 job development at the SmithKline Beecham (SKB) plant at Carrigaline. A total investment of £219 million over 5 years will see a significant increase in the company's manufacturing capacity, as well as a major research and development initiative., including a development pilot plant.
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Jobs for 310 in Abbott growth
Irish Times 12/3/98
The Chicago-based multinational Abbott laboratories announced two new projects which will require an investment of some £33 million in Sligo. The company plans to build a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility which will create 150 jobs. An additional 160 jobs will be created by the planned expansion of Abbott's existing diagnostics facility at Sligo.
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Bristol Myers Squibb to provide 500 new jobs for Dublin
Horizons July 1998
Bristol Myers Squibb announced a £300 million investment for the construction of a new plant near Mulhuddart, Co. Dublin, which will employ 400 people in the manufacture of bulk active ingredients for pharmaceuticals. An additional 100 jobs mainly linked to research and development will be created at the company's existing plant at Swords.
A revolutionary product of the Swords plant is the anti-cancer drug Taxol. The results of a survey published in May 1998 showed that Taxol has been shown to significantly increase the survival rate of women with ovarian cancer. In the largest ever clinical trial for patients with the disease it was shown that the drug also increases the chance of a cure for certain patients. Over 280 new cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed each year in Ireland, with a high rate of mortality. This most aggressive of all gynaecological cancers affects over 25,000 women in western Europe each year, killing 17,000. The new trial used Taxol in combination with cisplatin, a platinum compound. It was shown to significantly increase the survival time of patients and is predicted that it would be more useful again for people diagnosed at an early stage of the disease.
VEC fined over 'miraculous escape' science lab explosion
Irish Times 24/3/98
A court in Co. Galway heard how a school caretaker and students had what was described as a miraculous escape when a gas explosion set their school science laboratory ablaze. The caretaker received extensive burns to his hands and face and two students were also injured in the accident on January 9th 1997. Doors were blown from their frames, windows shattered and the ceiling lifted six inches when leaking gas ignited in the science room. It appeared that three manually operated gas valves in the room seemed to be in the "on" position all the time. Galway VEC was fined a total of œ2,400 at the court sitting. The fines related to the caretaker's injury, failure of the school to provide him with proper instruction, training and supervision under the Health and Safety Act, and failure to prepare and submit a "safety statement" identifying hazards at the school.
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School survey finds hazardous chemicals
Irish Times 27/3/98
A report commissioned by the Department of Education and Science and compiled by the City of Dublin VEC's Curriculum Development Unit (CDU), has found an accumulation of 826 potentially hazardous chemicals in nearly 500 second level schools. Almost 400 schools hold chemicals, in "varying" quantities, which are unlabelled. In addition a helpline set up by Forbairt last year to advise schools on the disposal of chemicals reported that some schools had chemicals which were not in Forbairt's advisory manual and "should not have been in a school laboratory for current curricular purposes".
The CDU report found that the range of chemicals reported as unwanted by schools was far greater than anticipated. Of the 826 chemicals reported approximately 160 are listed in the publication Safety in the School Science Laboratory. Mercury was reported in 280 schools. The report points out that many schools had reported unwanted chemicals which could in fact be disposed of locally, and also that some schools had listed as "unwanted" chemicals required for the Leaving Certificate Chemistry syllabus. One science teacher from each second level school is to be offered in-service training in the safe disposal of chemicals as part of the Department initiative. Two of these in-service days have already been delivered at Limerick Institute of Technology.
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Coming to a school near you...
Science Time Trek, a schools education programme sponsored by Bayer Ltd., has begun a trek through schools in Ireland. The programme was launched by Dublin's Lord Mayor in late April 1998. For further information contact Bayer Ltd.
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IPCMF highlights fall in chemistry numbers
The drop in numbers taking L.C. chemistry from 10,287 in 198 to 7,669 in 1998 was highlighted by IBEC and the chemical industry's federation IPCMF in June. This fall-off represents a drop from 21% to only 11% of the L.C. cohort, over a period where the numbers staying on to do their L.C. has risen by 17%. IBEC warned that the drop in the number studying chemistry could have a detrimental effect on technology-based development in Ireland, as it would mean that qualified personnel would not be available to continue or expand such industry in the future. Padraig O'Grady, head of the Education Links Programme at IBEC said:
"It is crucial to Ireland's sustained economic development that school leavers be attracted into appropriate courses."
At the same time as student interest in chemistry has been waning employment in the industry in Ireland, mainly making bulk pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals, has seen a boom of 85% over the same period. In the last 18 months numbers employed have increased by 12%. IPCMF Director, Matt Moran, identified student misconceptions of chemistry as a difficult subject as one reason for its declining popularity. Students are voting with their feet for what they see as easier options and easier points. He made the point that:
"Science subjects keep career options open in expanding sectors while students benefit from the mental development which comes from studying science."
There is a real danger that because the drop in numbers doing chemistry is coupled with an emphasis on IT courses and jobs, even fewer students will sign up for science/chemistry courses exacerbating an already serious situation. There are worrying signs in this year's third entry to universities and Institutes of Technology that there has been a major slump in science numbers. This may mean four years or more down the line that the number of chemically/technically qualified personnel is inadequate to meet the needs of a steadily exapnding chemical and pharmaceutical industry. There is some indication that may already be true.
Change in chemistry numbers
| Year | Chem. | %cohort |
| 1987 | 10,287 | 20.8 |
| 1988 | 9,795 | 19.6 |
| 1989 | 9,564 | 18.2 |
| 1990 | 9,339 | 17.4 |
| 1991 | 6,538 | 15.7 |
| 1992 | 7,541 | 14.0 |
| 1993 | 7,511 | 13.3 |
| 1994 | 7,952 | 13.6 |
| 1995 | 8,462 | 13.6 |
| 1996 | 7,316 | 13.4 |
| 1997 | 6,970 | 12.0 |
From 1970 to 1983 there was virtually no change in the % of the L.C. cohort doing Chemistry: it hovered around 20% throughout this period, with Physics was about 15% over this period.
% doing science 1970-1983
In 1971 the % doing Biology and Chemistry was the same! This is shown in the diagram above (from an article by Henry Lyons in the Proceedings of the first ChemEd-Ireland Conference, Limerick, 1982.)
A comparison of the chemistry figures for 1980 and 1997 is interesting.
| 1980 | 1997 | |
| H.L. | ||
| Boys | 2,827 | 2,694 |
| Girls | 1,519 | 3,014 |
| Total | 4,346 | 5,708 |
| % | 68.4 | 81.9 |
| O.L. | ||
| Boys | 1,546 | 752 |
| Girls | 555 | 510 |
| Total | 2,001 | 1,262 |
| % | 31.6 | 18.1 |
| Totals | ||
| Boys | 4,373 | 3,446 |
| % | 67.8 | 49.4 |
| Girls | 2,074 | 3,524 |
| % | 32.2 | 51.6 |
| Total | 6,447 | 6,970 |
| % cohort | 17.8 | 12.0 |
1980 figures are for the old syllabus and 1997 12 years after the first introduction of the 'new' syllabus. These figures are very interesting. They show a number of things.
1. A marked shift from OL to HL i.e. OL students have deserted the subject.
2. A marked loss of boys over this period of (-21%).
3. A significant gain of girls over this period (+70%)
4. Overall an actual increase in numbers of +523 (1980-1997), but a marked decrease in the % of the LC cohort taking chemistry (17.8 to 12.0%). Overall numbers doing the LC have increased but the % doing Chemistry has declined from a peak of around 20%.
What conclusions can we draw?
Chemistry has actually been successful in attracting girls to study Chemistry, to the extent that they now constitute over 50% of those doing chemistry, compared to only 32% in 1980. The actual numbers of girls have increased over the years, while the number of boys has dropped, particularly in the lower level course.
Over the same period the numbers doing L.C. physics increased from 4,963 (14%) to 9,223 (15.9%). The % of boys in physics has changed from 87% (1980) to 73.6% (1997) and has stayed almost constant since 1992, and since 1992 the % of the total cohort doing physics has changed from 20.5 to 15.9%.. In contrast over that period the % of boys doing chemistry has dropped from 57.2% to 49.4%, while the % of the total cohort doing chemistry dropped from 14.0 to 12.0%. If the % boys had stayed constant at the 1992 level the 1997 figures would have been 4699, instead of 3446, giving a total chemistry cohort of 8223 (14.2%). Physics has also lost numbers over the period 1992-1997 but the ratio of boys: girls has stayed almost constant at 1: 0.34+/-0.02. Physics lost 1460 boys and 341 girls (total 1801), while chemistry lost 871 boys and gained 300 girls, a net loss of 571. By contrast over the same period biology gained 1235 boys and 2054 girls, a total of 3289.
Chemistry and Physics have both been losing in numbers and market share, while Biology is gaining in numbers and market share in the period 1992-1997. However, Chemistry has lost less students than Physics overall and has actually gained girls. Thus most of the loss in Chemistry has been boys and students doing the lower level course. If this trend carries on both Physics and Chemistry are in trouble.
Other factors that might have influenced the situation since 1987 are:
introduction of Junior Science in 1989 (first LC cohort 1994)
increasing adoption of the Transition Year Option (especially since 1995)
growth of external candidates and grinds schools
changing perceptions of 'hot' subjects, from business to computers
closure and merger of schools
increasing exam pressure and the 'points race' leading to students choosing 'safer' subjects
The jury is still out on the causes of the decline in Physics and Chemistry, and on methods of arresting or reversing the decline. However, it is clear even from the superficial analysis above that we need to address the attractiveness to boys and to lower level students of the current chemistry course. Whether the new syllabus will do anything remains to be seen, but having been about to launch since 1994 it ought to be reviewed and revised in the light of comments since then, before actually being introduced. The Promotion of Chemistry in Schools Project described below is one attempt to redress the balance.
I'd be interested in comments from teachers on the attractiveness of chemistry and the issues involved. If colleges recruiting into courses requiring physics and/or chemistry were to give bonus points for these subjects (similar to those for HL Maths in the University of Limerick), would this tip the balance? If students are voting for subjects with supposedly easier points, then we need to level the pitch. Your comments are welcome on this issue.
PEC
Promotion of Chemistry in Schools Project (PCSP)
By now a number of Irish schools will have had a visit from Elaine Regan and the Chemical Magic Show. This activity is part of the Promotion of Chemistry in Schools Project, directed by Dr. Peter Childs at the University of Limerick. This is building on the successful venture last year spearheaded by Michael Davis (see Chemistry in Action! #53 , p.35). The project has been funded for 1998-99 by a grant from the IPCMF and is also supported by the Department of Chemical & Environmental Sciences at UL. The idea is to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention before students make their L.C. choices (i.e. 3rd. or 4th. year) which aims to make chemistry interesting and also give some accurate careers information. The aim of the Chemical Magic Show is to get pupils interested in chemistry. The attitudes of students and their knowledge of chemistry and careers will be evaluated before and after the show, and by liaising with their teachers the effect or not on L.C. numbers will be monitored. The show has proved very popular and Elaine's diary for this school year is already full! This will involve visiting nearly 70 schools, giving over a 100 shows to over 5,000 students. There is small charge per visit (and per additional show) to cover expenses. Elaine also put on the Chemical Magic Show for transition year students visiting UL during Science Week Ireland. It is hoped to produce a student newspaper as part of the project. If the intervention is successful (and it is too early to say) it would need to be extended to every school and made available every year.
New EPA website
One of the latest updates from the US Environmental Protection Agency is their EnviroFacts warehouse, where you can search their databases on a multitude of environmental topics. This site can be found at www.epa.gov/enviro/index_java.html
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UK Drinking water better than ever
Grapevine August 1998
The UK Drinking Water Inspectorate's eighth annual report has confirmed the high quality of drinking water in England and Wales. Of 3 million tests carried out by the Inspectorate in 1997,99.75% complied with national and EU standards. Particularly of interest was the encouraging level of compliance with the pesticide standard. 99.96% of all tests for pesticide residue in the water met the standard, which is less than one part per ten billion.
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Proposed mountain site for landfill challenged
Irish Times 21/4/98
Opponents of a proposed landfill site which would serve Limerick city and much of the county have issued an environmental report which suggests that the location in a remote part of the Slieve Felim mountains is "inherently unsuitable". The group is to submit its scientific report to the EPA in the hope of blocking the 180 acre development in a remote mountain location, which one expert has likened to "building a septic tank on top of a house".
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Nitrates in Drainage Water
Teagasc Today Spring 1998
Two directives from the EC were specifically introduced to protect drinking water quality. The first requires that nitrate-N concentrations in water for human consumption do not exceed 11.3mgl-1. The recommended guideline is half that amount. A further directive concerned with the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrate from agricultural sources has led to a voluntary Code of Good Practice to Protect Water From Pollution by Nitrates. The code include guidelines on restricting stocking rates and fertiliser N use should these be needed in vulnerable zones. The effects of lower Nitrogen inputs on soil drainage are currently being researched by Teagasc at Johnstown Castle, but results to date imply that the timing of fertiliser application in conjunction with pig slurry application may have a crucial effect on leaching.
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Irish Steel says lead issue being dealt with
Irish Times 1/4/98
Irish Ispat Ltd., owner of the Irish Steel plant at Haulbowline, Co. Cork has said that it is rectifying environmental problems due to high levels of lead found there. In a report supplied for the company by Forbairt, it was found that the atmospheric ground-level concentrations of lead at one monitoring point in the plant were significantly higher than the accepted norm. The steel plant is under the jurisdiction of Cork County Council, and it has agreed with the council that two additional emission monitoring points be set up in the vicinity of the plant. It could be at least a year before the company becomes licensable by the EPA.
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Research station shows continuing rise in CO2 levels
Irish Times 4/4/98
Scientists have expressed concern over rising levels of CO2 which have been recorded at Mace Head atmospheric research station near Carna in Co. Galway. CO2 levels have been increasing annually at the station at a rate of 0.5% since measurements began in 1992. However, the station's records also show that international political efforts such as the Montreal Protocol are also taking effect, especially with a decrease in the CFC levels.
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Dublin Bus may opt to step on the gas
Irish Times 8/4/98
An 18 month trial by Dublin Bus of a colourful single-decker, experimentally powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), and with low floor to increase disabled access, has been initiated. The innovative project will reduce both exhaust and noise pollution as well as creating an increased environmental awareness amongst the commuting public.
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No room for complacency over Cork's air quality
Irish Times 24/6/98
While the first scientific study of air quality in Cork has determined that EU limits have not been breached, particularly since the introduction of smokeless fuels in 1995, the Green party have said that some of the figures suggest that the city may be close to going over the permitted limits.
The study looked at smoke particles and sulphur dioxide levels in the smoke free zones in Cork city and neighbouring Ballincollig. The findings were that overall Cork was within EU limits, but that there were danger signs. Between 1988 and 1993, Cork had a serious smog problem, which appears to have diminished somewhat. There is also continuing evidence that there appears to be a high incidence of asthma in the city, which may be linked to pollution in the area as well as prevalent weather conditions.
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Greenhouse gas emission limits fixed
Irish Times 27/6/98
The Government has fixed greenhouse gas emission limits and released a consultant's report as to how emissions could be reduced. The collective EU target is to reduce output by 8% below the 1990 baseline, to be achieved in 2008-2012. During this period, however, Ireland's emissions will continue to rise, with an allowable 13% above the 1990 baseline. The Minister for the Environment said the 13% ceiling "is now a firm objective for Ireland, reflecting our continuing need for sustainable economic growth".
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EPA Report clears AAL
On 2/10/98 the EPA issued a statement refuting the suggestion in the Sunday Business Post (27/9/98) that the deaths of horses near Askeaton were related to acidification and aluminium pollution. Intensive studies of rainfall before and after 1995 show that the area is NOT subject to acid rain and air quality is similar unpolluted areas in Ireland and Europe. There is no evidence of the release of aluminium-containing dust into the air from AAL. Animal studies on other farms in the area show no evidence of aluminium toxicity and analyses of aluminium levels show no difference from other areas of Ireland. Aluminium is, of course, the third major constituent of the earth's crust (soils and rocks) after oxygen and silicon and it is there present everywhere in soils and foodstuffs.
Stuff: the materials the world is made of
Ivan Amato
Basic Books 1997 £20 hb.;ISBN 0-465-08328-5
Chemists have been trying for years to find a replacement word that doesn't have the bad connotations of 'chemical'. Substance has been suggested as in 'substance abuse' but hardly inspires confidence. Ivan Amato has got away with talking about 'Stuff' - what the world is made of. It is an introduction to materials and their uses and is more popular than Philip Ball's excellent Designing the Molecular World - less formulae and graphs, with just a few illustrations. It is a good read and is full of interesting information, as it swings from the stone age up to silicon chip and superconductors. If chemistry is the hidden science, because it is the world of the invisible, materials are its visible front. Listen to Amato's introduction:
"Train your attention on the stuff of things rather than their function. What you see is a rich medley of materials: the liquid crystal display of your lap-top computer; the gritty concrete sidewalk on which you are strolling; the nylon of your raincoat's zipper; the carbon-fibre-reinforced epoxy polymer of your tennis racket; the Kevlar polymer in your police force's bullet-proof vests; the oak of your dresser; the diamond in your engagement ring ..." (p.2-3)
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The 2nd. Law: Energy, Chaos and Form
Peter Atkins
1994 £14.95 pb.;ISBN 0-7167-6006-1
W.H.Freeman & Co. Ltd.
Some of the most attractively presented and well-written science books around come from W.H. Freeman, publishers of Scientific American, and their main drawback has been their cost. They have now started to reissue some of their titles in paperback at a lower price. For most of us, I'm sure, thermodynamics and the second law were not the easiest or most popular part of chemistry. Indeed it is thermodynamics that has given physical chemistry (P-Chem to the Americans) such a bad name among students. George Porter tried to demystify "The Laws of Thermodynamics" many years back in a series of films (then videotapes) from ICI. Peter Atkins did the same in print with the first edition of his book on The Second Law, published in hardback in 1984. He has revised the text and refreshed the illustrations in this paperback edition and the book is a delight to read and to look at. One of the great strengths of Scientific American and W.H.Freeman books is the quality of their illustrations. This book is no exception and within its 200 pages (excluding the appendices, index etc.) it has 104 illustrations most of them in colour. It is a visual treat and the photographs and diagrams complement and reinforce the clarity of the text. All chemists, all scientists and indeed all citizens should understand the second law of thermodynamics, C.P. Snow's touchstone of general scientific literacy. Years since its formulation and nearly half a century since C.P.Snow coined his aphorism, public understanding of the second law is still abysmal, even though it underlies the whole structure and mechanism of the world. Peter Atkins' book should fill the bill, if only people would read it, and he aims to convey its meaning without using mathematics to any great extent. The quality of production and the small production run has resulted in an expensive paperback: at œ14.95 it's hardly likely to knock the latest blockbuster off the aiport bookstall or even to compete with the profusion of popular science books available now at less than half the cost. This is a pity as it will discourage casual reading by the general public and it is more likely to be found in a library.
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Honey, Mud, Maggots and other medical marvels
R. and M. Root-Bernstein
Houghton-Mifflin 1997 US$24.00 HB;
ISBN 039582298XX
This is a book to read after the Christmas dinner! It is a look at the science behind folk remedies such as eating clay for indigestion, drinking urine for medicinal purposes, using leeches for blood-letting etc. There has been a revival in the use of some of these remedies in recent years as scientists have realised their efficacy and found out how they work. Leeches secrete hirudin, an anti-coagulant- they removed old blood and improve blood circulation, facilitating healing. It may be disgusting but it works! This book is full of fascinating information and the science behind the various treatments. A great read - but maybe not when you're too full!
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The best way to get hold of books published in the USA is through one of the internet booksellers - Amazon or Bookstacks. Although sea-mail takes 4-6 weeks to come, the discounts they offer offset the postage and you usually still pay less than the price in £. Check it out.
1. Magnesium
2. Fluorine
3. Sulphur
4. Nitrogen
5. Tungsten
6. Chromium
7. Aluminium (or magnesium)
8. Silicon
9. Iron
10. Copper
Original Page Design & Layout by Stephen Childs
Web Site Maintained By Darina Slattery,
Dept. of Computer Science & Information Systems,
University of Limerick.
(November 2000)
