Out of the 118 elements on the periodic table, Aluminum, Scandium, Titanium, and Tungsten are my favorites.  Maybe it’s because they sound cool, or just that they have some cool properties. Starting with Aluminum:
Symbol: Al
Atomic number: 13
Atomic weight: 26.981538
Standard state: solid at 298 K
Classification: Metallic
Brief description: pure aluminum is a silvery-white metal with many desirable characteristics. It is light, nontoxic (as the metal), nonmagnetic and nonsparking. It is somewhat decorative. It is easily formed, machined, and cast. Aluminum is an abundant element in the earth's crust, but it is not found free in nature. The Bayer process is used to refine aluminum from bauxite, an aluminum ore.

Next we have Scandium:
Name: Scandium
Symbol: Sc
Atomic number: 21
Atomic weight: 44.955912
Standard state: solid at 298 K
Classification: Metallic
Brief description: scandium is a silvery-white metal which develops a slightly yellowish or pinkish cast upon exposure to air. It is relatively soft, and resembles yttrium and the rare-earth metals more than it resembles aluminum or titanium. Scandium reacts rapidly with many acids. Cool fact! Scandium is apparently a much more of an abundant element in the sun and certain stars than on earth.

Next up is Titanium (it just sounds so cool):
Name: Titanium
Symbol: Ti
Atomic number: 22
Atomic weight: 47.867
Standard states: solid at 298 K
Classification: Metallic
Brief description: titanium is a lustrous, white metal when pure. Titanium minerals are quite common. The metal has a low density, good strength, is easily fabricated, and has excellent corrosion resistance. The metal burns in air and is the only element that burns in nitrogen. It is marvelous in fireworks. Titanium is resistant to dilute sulphuric and hydrochloric acid, most organic acids, damp chlorine gas, and chloride solutions. Titanium metal is considered to be physiologically inert. Titanium is present in meteorites and in the sun. Some lunar rocks contain high concentrations of the dioxide, TiO2. Titanium oxide bands are prominent in the spectra of M-type stars. (Hey! That’s just like Scandium)

Lastly we have Tungsten (breaking the trend of light metals):
Name: Tungsten
Symbol: W
Atomic number: 74
Atomic weight: 183.84
Standard state: solid at 298 K
Classification: Metallic
Brief description: pure tungsten is a steel-gray to tin-white metal. Tungsten has the highest melting point and lowest vapor pressure of all metals, and at temperatures over 1650°C has the highest tensile strength! The metal oxidizes in air and must be protected at elevated temperatures. It has excellent corrosion resistance and is attacked only slightly by most mineral acids.

It seems that all of my favorite elements have some things in common. They are all metals, they are silver like in appearance, and many of them are present in stars and in meteorites. They also are resistant to corrosion and have properties that make them excellent building materials. Hope you liked my Blog!

Atomic Era

All substance is made of atoms. These have electrons (e) around the outside, and a nucleus in the center. The nucleus consists of protons (p) and neutrons (n), and is extremely small (Atoms are mostly made of empty space). In some atoms, the nucleus is unstable, and will decay into a more stable form. This type of radioactive decay is completely natural, unlike that of a nuclear power station (where neutrons speed around and hit uranium nuclei, causing them to split). You can heat the substance up, subject it to high pressure or powerful magnetic fields - basically, you can do pretty much whatever you like to it - and you won't affect the rate of decay.

Alpha particles are made of 2 protons and 2 neutrons. This means that they have a charge of +2, and a mass of 4 (measured in "atomic mass units") (each proton & neutron=1).Alpha particles are relatively slow and heavy. They have a low penetrating power, so even just a sheet of paper can stop them. Because they have a large charge, alpha particles ionize other atoms intensely.

Beta particles have a charge of minus 1, and a mass of about 1/2000th of a proton. This means that beta particles are the same as an electron, fast and light. Beta particles have a medium penetrating power, and can be stopped by a sheet of aluminum or plastics. Beta particles ionize atoms that they pass, but not as strongly as alpha particles do.

Gamma rays are waves, not particles. This means that they have no mass and no charge. Gamma rays have a high penetrating power; it takes a heavy sheet of metal such as lead, or concrete to reduce them significantly. Gamma rays do not directly ionize other atoms, although they may cause atoms to emit other particles which will then cause ionization. Pure gamma sources are not to be found seeing as gamma rays are emitted alongside alpha or beta particles. Strictly speaking, gamma emission isn't “radioactive decay” because it doesn't change the state of the nucleus; it just takes away some energy.

Fusion power is power generated by nuclear fusion processes. During fusion reactions, two light, atomic nuclei fuse together to form a heavier nucleus (in contrast with fission power). In doing so they release a comparatively large amounts of energy, as a byproduct, from the binding energy due to the strong nuclear force which is expressed as an increase in temperature of the reactants.

Nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts (lighter nuclei), often producing free neutrons and photons (in the form of gamma rays), and releasing a tremendous amount of energy. Most fission is binary fissions, but occasionally, three positively charged fragments are produced in a ternary fission. Fission is usually an energetic nuclear reaction induced by a neutron. The unpredictable make-up of the products (which vary in a broad probabilistic and somewhat chaotic manner) distinguishes fission from fusion.

Nuclear Fission 

Nuclear Fusion

View form inside a nuclear fusion reactor

View from inside a fission reactor



The Recycling Factory

Dear Mr. Smith,

I have found the solution to your problem. I have, in my possession, the facility's necessary to separate the four materials contained within your truck. First I will utilize my conveyor belt and magnetic separators to remove the steel cans from the pile. Then, using a water tank (1g/cm³), I will separate the  aluminum cans (2.7g/cm³) and soda bottles (1.4g/cm³)  from the remaining, and less dense milk jugs (0.95g/cm³). After that, the jumbled aluminum and soda cans will be put into a large tank of Concentrated Sugar Water (1.5g/cm³). The Aluminum cans, which are denser, will sink to the bottom of the tank where they will be collected. As for the soda bottles, they are less dense than the sugar water and will float to the surface where they will be skimmed off for collection.

Yours truly,
Connor

Magnets

Separation Tank's

Why Chemistry is the most important science

 Chemistry is absolutely essential to science. It deals with the structure, composition, properties, and reactive characteristics of substances, especially at the atomic and molecular levels. All scientific areas, whether it be botany or astrology, deals with chemistry on some level. This is because no matter what science you are studying, it is based on things that go on in the real world, and what is the real world made of? Matter! The real world is made of matter, and what does chemistry encompass? Matter!  Now that that has been explained, is there possibly any science that does not deal with chemistry? The only one that comes to mind is experimental physics, but then again the purpose of it is to explore the reasons for strange phenomena, which eventually relates back to chemistry.