Review: Water Concepts
I'll never drink a glass of water the same again! This page had helpful images as well as description of events. It's very cool that water's polar property is why it can dissolve so many substances. Also, it is very interesting to note how even though hydrogen bonds are so much weaker than covalent bonds, it is their 'strong contributory effect' that gives the 'tightness' of water. Strength in numbers.
Cheers!

Molecular Structure of Different Forms of Carbon
Carbon can form very different substances, all by itself, depending on the way its atoms bond. In diamond, one of the hardest substances known to man, carbon atoms are fixed in a rigid 3-D network of covalent bonds. In graphite, a soft and slippery manifestation of carbon, strong covalent bonds exist in layers. (and only a weak force exists between the layers, allowing them to move, resulting in graphite being a lubricant)
In addition to graphite and diamond, there are some fairly new carbon structures on the scene, including the 'buckyball,' which consists of 60 carbon atoms, bound together in hexagonal and pentagonal shapes ,to form a hollow sphere. There are also carbon materials, called Fullerenes, which are being constructed to form larger spheres, ellipsoids, and nanotubes to be used as microscopic filters and catalysts.

Transitional metal- Tantalum

Meet #73 in the PT of E. It's Tantalum (Ta), weighing in with an atomic mass of 181. This rare, heavy, hard, grey metal is renown for its corrosion resistance. (It 'tantalizes' scientists with its general non-reactivity.) In fact, its bodily-fluid resistance and non-irritating qualities lend its use in surgical applications. It has a very high melting point (exceeded only by tungsten, rhenium, and carbon) and thus, high heat and electricity conductivity. Ta is used mainly in electronic components (capacitors, resistors.) Tantalum carbide (TaC) is one of the hardest man-made substances and can be used as turbine blades, cutting edges of high speed tools, nuclear reactors, and aircraft and missle parts.
Tantalum was discovered in 1802 in Sweden, but it was not until 1844 that it was actually proven to be different from Niobium (positioned directly above Ta in the Table, found in the same ores, and chemically very similar.) Ta is found primarily in the mineral columbite-tantalite in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Zaire, Nigeria, Portugal.
Ta-da!

Ozone
Well, most people I talked to about ozone knew of the layer in the stratosphere, how it protects us from UV rays, how it is thinning as a result of pollution. My husband attempted some stats- miles from Earth, % of atmosphere. He was off quite a bit, but he was a good sport for playing! Fewer comments were made about the "bad ozone" in our troposphere.
Review
The Atomic Properties Menu is a wonderful tool for learning all about electronic structures, ionizations, affinities, etc. It's step by step (in fact the author will encourage you to go back- or he'll offer up more links- until you're comfortable with particular concepts.) Equally helpful, he'll assure you when something doesn't have to be (or can't be) fully understood or explained.
Great resource!

And now introducing...

Rubidium! Call her Rubi, for short. (actually, Rb) This sexy siren of an element, #37, is very soft BUT highly reactive (sound familiar?) Like the other alkali metals in her group #1, Rb rapidly oxidizes- and can possibly ignite- when exposed to air, and reacts violently in water. She may look silvery/grey/white at first, but hold her up to a flame or spectroscope and you'll see the color that lends its name, L. rubidus "deepest red."

Rubidium was discovered in 1861, in Germany, by Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff in the mineral lepidolite (which is also the same mineral from which cesium is extracted- and both are used in atomic clocks.) Rb is the 16th most abundant metal on Earth, and 23rd most abundant element, overall (on Earth.)

Rubidium is also used- this is cool- to produce the Bose-Einstein Condensate which was predicted by Einstein in 1925, building on the work of Bose, and finally demonstrated 70 years later in '95 by Cornell and Wieman @ UC Boulder. The condensate occurs when groups of rubidium atoms are supercooled to near Absolute Zero (170 nanokelvin) and the atoms merge together- collapse- making an "atom blob"... and start behaving less like particles and more like waves! A quantum mechanical effect! No practical applications yet, but physicists are having fun with it. :)

Rare Earth

Great band name... I hope not the direction we're headed.
So, I was staring at the Periodic Table of Elements for about an hour (we'd been out of touch for so long) and I was wondering what is significant about, and responsible for, the number and ratio of each energy level's max number of electrons- 2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 18, 2, respectively?
Also, in the Rare Earth class, the 19th electron of the 4th energy level is skipped over in the Lanthanide series, and the 19th electron of the 5th energy level is skipped over in the Actinide series. Seeing as how the electrons are arranged fairly orderly (with the exception of the transition metals changing it up a little bit) I'm wondering about these mysterious electrons #19??

Quiz

1) check
2) Is Trader Joe's Sea Salt pure?
3) Got caught on whether coffee was homogenous or not. "It is not non-homogenous if it has been stirred." What if it wasn't stirred or there were some grounds settling on the bottom, etc.? Am I thinking about this too much?
4) check

Introducing...

My name is Alison Ruy. Married mother of a 3 yr. old. Oakland resident for almost 8 years. I've also lived in England and most of the states between Boston and Miami. I'm definitely grounded now. Well, almost. I'm a flight attendant for UAL. Keeps me in the air a couple of days a week, but I always love coming home to the Bay Area. I'm happy to be in school now, studying energy and life- and working toward a new career. Working for a big, inefficient company, experiencing the negative attitudes of management and labor toward each other, and working in a rather unhealthy environment (fresh air is my favorite) has directed me toward what I do want. Knowledge and training to encourage and promote health using traditional methods. Ability to work in a variety of settings- private and intregrative. A respectful and caring workplace. Mind you, I'll keep my foot in the door at United just long enough to keep those flight benefits and badge. (employee security lines rule) I'll have to get a few Asia trips in during our breaks!

I love playing guitar with my hubby, going to the beach, hiking, camping, gardening (I'm in an apt. but this year I am going to fill pots and baskets with herbs and veggies- my resolution!) and all kinds of sports. I aspire to draw more, finish writing a song, and apply a "use it or lose it" rule to the various collections inhabiting my closets and cupboards. (fabrics, beads, articles, magazines, sticks and stones)

Peace.