week 6 assignments

Be

Beryllium

Atomic Number: 4

Atomic Weight: 9.012182

Melting Point: 1560 K (1287°C or 2349°F)

Boiling Point: 2744 K (2471°C or 4480°F)

Density: 1.85 grams per cubic centimeter

Phase at Room Temperature: Solid

Element Classification: Metal

Period Number: 2    

Group Number: 2    

Group Name: Alkaline Earth Metal

History:

The mineral beryl has been used at least since the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt. In the first century CE, Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder (not the beer) mentioned in his encyclopedia Natural History that beryl and emerald were similar.

Beryllium was once known as ‘glucinum’, meaning sweet, since beryllium and many of its compounds have a sugary taste. Unfortunately, beryllium and its compounds are poisonous and should never be tasted or ingested.

Uses:

Beryllium (Be) is one of the lightest of all metals and has one of the highest melting points of any light metal.  Beryllium metal is used in aerospace and defense applications because it is light weight and has great dimensional stability over a wide temperature range.  Beryllium-copper alloys are used in a wide variety of applications because of their electrical and thermal conductivity, high strength and hardness, good corrosion and fatigue resistance, and nonmagnetic properties.  Additionally, beryllium is used to make windows for X-ray tubes because it is realativly transparent. When exposed to alpha particles beryllium emits neutrons and is used as a neutron source. Don't be fooled though, its not all that fancy- other beryllium alloys are used for many of the parts on your car.

Avogadro's Hypothesis

1. Which of the following is not a characteristic of an hypothesis?

a. like a theory, it may be revised

2. Consider the following combining gas volumes:  Chlorine 50 mL   Oxygen 25 mL. What formula is suggested by the combining ratio of these gases?

a. Cl2O

3. Which of the following statements is true?

a. Equal volumes of gases contain equal numbers of particles

Avogadro's law states that, "equal volumes of all gases, at the same temperature and pressure, have the same number of molecules".

Molecular Medicine

     After reading last week's articles I was really repelled by the concept of “Molecular Medicine.” It seems that the technology used thus far is primarily focused on dealing with symptoms and not actual healing. I understand that one of the promises of Molecular Medicine is patient compliance, but this is a type of passive compliance and does not engage the patient as the primary actor in their own health. This way of thinking about health and medicine affirms that individuals do not have the capacity to take care of their own bodies and reinforces a culture of domination through the expertise of doctors and scientists. 

An additional Link that I explored after visiting some of the recommended sites….

This link has great historical information regarding Alchemy and Female Alchemists!

http://www.womenalchemists.com/