Like the good old days…

This reminds me of high school

I remember building a laser targeted chalk gun.  We used an old He-Ne laser, a glass tube (just the right diameter for chalk), surgical tubing, and an air compressor.  Zap!  Clouds of chalk dust.  That was time well-spent.

Catalysts & Wiseguys

Before I get into this post, I’d first like to ask any wiseguys out there to please not hurt me. Thanks. My wife, daughter and dog all appreciate that. I hope.

I was talking with one of my colleagues yesterday about catalysts. The general chemistry students have been studying the temperature dependence of reaction rates [1],which lead into catalysis. One of the students was really bothered by the collision factor.  I’m not sure why, because I really like collisions, unless I am personally involved, in which case I am generally opposed to them.