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Answers to Readers' Questions on Chemistry:
Chemical Bases
The following 16 comments and questions have been sent in. They are listed according to date.
List of first 10 items
- Creating a buckyball molecule
- Does a buckyball conduct electricity?
- Impacts of diamond, graphite and buckyball
- Formation of the buckyball molecule
- What happens when a base mixes with a metal?
- How do I remove salt from soap?
- In simple english what is a base/alkali?
- What is the importance of acid and bases?
- Site was a great help for my report
- kkk
Creating a buckyball molecule
Question
October 15, 2008
can you example what are 12-step method to create a buckyball? please
Ming - Australia
16650
Answer
I am sorry, but the method to create a buckyball molecule is something done in laboratories by research scientists. Their methods are not readily available to the public.
Does a buckyball conduct electricity?
Question
October 14, 2008
It buckyball has a single bond between each carbon atom?
Does buckball conduct electrcity?
How does a buckyball has been created?
Ming - Australia
16645
Answer
The carbon buckyball molecules allow free electrons to easily pass through them. Nonconducting materials do not let free electrons to pass through.
There is a 12-step method to create a buckyball. It is complex. For more information, see:
http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17681
Impacts of diamond, graphite and buckyball
Question
October 11, 2008
What are the impacts of diamond, graphite and buckyball on the society and sicence
Ming - Australia
16626
Answer
Certainly, you can think of how the uses of diamonds are different than graphite both in society and science.
The buckyball form of carbon really has not had an impact in society, and its uses are just being studied in science.
Formation of the buckyball molecule
Question
October 11, 2008
What are the formation of grahite and buckyball. how did they for in nutral and are created by factory?
Ming - Australia
16624
Answer
See the shape of the buckyball molecule at:
http://www.seed.slb.com/en/scictr/lab/buckyball/index.htm
The molecule does not occur in nature. Rather, it is man-made.
Graphite occurs in nature. It is often found with coal.
What happens when a base mixes with a metal?
Question
December 16, 2007
In the schoolbook, it says that when an acid mixes with magnesium, zinc, or iron, it makes hydrogen bubbles. But you don't say what happens when a base mixes with these metals. What happens?
Laura - USA
14982
Answer
The problem is that the front part of most bases, such as sodium hydroxide, is a metal. Thus, there is little if any reaction between a base and another metal.
How do I remove salt from soap?
Question
January 3, 2007
Hello, I am making soap with potassium hydroxide and removed the left over lye, glycerin and impurities. Trouble is, I am trying to remove all the salt from the soap. I have tried looking everywhere with no luck. How do I remove the left over salt from my soap?
Thank You Very Much!
David
David - USA
12732
Answer
It seems that salt is often used to harden the soap. A couple of good sites on soap-making are:
http://waltonfeed.com/old/soap/soap.html
http://www.madsci.org/experiments/archive/854443814.Ch.html
In simple english what is a base/alkali?
Question
November 20, 2005
in simple english what is a base/alkali?
lisa - UK
9027
Answer
It is a material that can burn the skin or eat away at materials. It combines with acids to form salts. It usually has a formula then ends in "OH".
What is the importance of acid and bases?
Question
September 13, 2005
what is the importance of acid and bases?
why should we be studying this thing?
please answer me
nobe may - philippines
8105
Answer
Acids and bases are used in industry and in your home. Soft drinks are acidic, soap is a base. Acids and bases combine to form salts used in foods. Soil is tested for whether it is too acidic or too alkaline, so that ajustments can be made to help growing.
Site was a great help for my report
Question
May 15, 2005
hi,
im julia and i've just started studying chemistry. im doing a lab report and was asked to write about the uses of acids and bases. I found this site very useful. thanks a lot it was a great help
Sincerely,
Julia - Malta
6983
Answer
Thanks for the feedback. I'm glad the material is useful to you. I hope you get top grades in your reports.
kkk
Question
April 29, 2005
Your site is very exciting as well as informative! About how much soap(dish liquid)would you put in a gallon of hard water(I live in SE Pennsylvania)to counteract the precipitation(caused by steaming it)of the calcium salts? I usually sit a pot of water on the heat vents in our home to add some humidity to the air and the white salts are always left in the bottom of the pot.
Rae - USA
6821
Answer
The soap wouldn't really counteract the precipitation of the calcuim salts, as far as I know. Certainly, if you had a water softener it would help, but you still would get some salt left over after the evaporation. But having the salt on the bottom of a pot or pan is probably only a nusiance, as opposed to something that causes problems.
Having a number of plants in the house is a good way to increase the humidiy in winter.
Best wishes in your efforts.
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