Periodic Table of Elements

**xlxBigSexyxlx** · 11-02-2006, 12:15 PM

So I gotta do this thing by picking 1 element, and telling about it.

But it has to have some cool interesting facts, what its used for, pretty much anything about the element. So I can wow the room.

Does anyone by any chance know any cool things about any of the elements, to maybe give me a jumpstart in this?

Thanks.

**goodcents** · 11-02-2006, 12:19 PM

Duuurrr, dirt is cool

you can grow stuffs ins it

(oh man, I crack myself up

)

**xlxBigSexyxlx** · 11-02-2006, 12:21 PM

Originally Posted by goodcents

Duuurrr, dirt is cool

you can grow stuffs ins it

(oh man, I crack myself up

)

lol, I dont think dirt is on the periodic table, but thanks!
ha its not even an element, its a mixture.

***BajanBastard*** · 11-02-2006, 12:23 PM

O2 keeps me alive.

***perfectbeast2001*** · 11-02-2006, 12:23 PM

You could say "Lithium is good, I have to take some every morning"

**goodcents** · 11-02-2006, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by xlxBigSexyxlx

lol, I dont think dirt is on the periodic table, but thanks!
ha its not even an element, its a mixture.

No shlt?

(just for the record, I knew that, I'm just in one of those moods

)

**xlxBigSexyxlx** · 11-02-2006, 12:28 PM

Originally Posted by goodcents

No shlt?

(just for the record, I knew that, I'm just in one of those moods

)

hahaha I get ya, thats why I put the lol, it was funny.

**goodcents** · 11-02-2006, 12:30 PM

For real though, titanium is one of the best metals around. One of the only metals that the body will not reject. Aerospace and aviation would be behind without it.

Jewelry is made from it, lighter than steel and stronger

**Kärnfysikern** · 11-02-2006, 12:31 PM

Go with thorium and tell them about the thorium fuel cycle for nuclear power plants. Its interesting because we have alot more thorium than uranium on earth so its a very promising way to get a heck of alot of energy.

Plutonium is offcourse also cool. Weapons ect.

uranium except beeing fuel in nuclear power plants and used in primitive a-bombs is also used in tank shells for instane because of its heavy weight. So if you have a weapons fetisch go for that.

From a theoretical point of view hydrogen is interesting because it is the only element that has a exact solution to the schrödinger equation. The groundwork of quantum mechanics was developed by experiments with hydrogen.
Hydrogen also make up something like 90% of the regular mass of the universe. You can talk about how all stars form from hydrogen and shine because of hydrogen fusion. You can talk about how hydrogen was formed in the moments after the big bang.

Or be very special and tell them about element 118. Its newly created and has not been named yet. Tell them about the chase that has been going on betwen different scientists to create it ect. its probably a semi interesting story.

**Kärnfysikern** · 11-02-2006, 12:33 PM

Helium has a nice history since it was discovered in the spectrum of the sun before we found it on earth.

All the nobel gases are interesting because they are so stable, explain why they are stable.

On what level is this? Is it chemistry or physics class? Undergrad? masters?

**goodcents** · 11-02-2006, 12:41 PM

No, dirt is much more useful.

Everything needs dirt

**Iron-man** · 11-02-2006, 12:44 PM

Just a thought, regarding H2O, when separated, the hydrogen is VERY explosive, & oxygen is a oxidizer which makes things burn very HOT. So if you have a fire fueled by Hydrogen with Oxygen as the oxidizer, you have a real problem, but the fire could be potentially put out the the 2 combined where it's H2O (water). Also as a side not, when you have a flame produced by the burning of hydrogen & oxygen, the byproduct is...you guessed it...WATER. There are some cool vid on the net that show a guy using the separated elements to fuel the flame as he cuts through steel, and has water running down the metal as he cuts

Also, think about carbon too, it is one of the most important elements. Uranium or Plutonium might be cool too.

**Bojangles69** · 11-02-2006, 12:45 PM

Originally Posted by xlxBigSexyxlx

So I gotta do this thing by picking 1 element, and telling about it.

But it has to have some cool interesting facts, what its used for, pretty much anything about the element. So I can wow the room.

Does anyone by any chance know any cool things about any of the elements, to maybe give me a jumpstart in this?

Thanks.

HYDROGEN!!!!
Talk about the hindenburg. Talk about h bombs.
Go to the supermarket and buy some red devil lye and aluminum foil.

Ask your teach for a flask. Dissolve the lye in water and add the foil than strap a ballon over the top and let it fill with pure hydrogen.

Get a long ruler or stick and tie off and tape the balloon to it.

Say to the class, this is the hindenburg. (you may want to let it float actually before you tape it just to demonstrate)

Than get a single candle and light it.

Hold the ballon over the candle (make sure stick is at least 3 feet long)
The ballon will explode and if you leave the door shut it will shake the walls a bit more. I did this EXACT experiement a few years back and everyone agreed it was the best.

Its near impossible to get hurt (unless you use a hefty bag for the H2 lol) and it demonstrates the awesome power of hydrogen exploding in air.

Ask your teacher for permission. And do it a few times before you actually do it in class, its really exciting especially when your standing next to it you can feel the reverbations bouncing off of you when it explodes. But again its not as dangerous as it seems. Its a relatively safe demonstration.

**novastepp** · 11-02-2006, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by Bojangles69

HYDROGEN!!!!
Talk about the hindenburg. Talk about h bombs.
Go to the supermarket and buy some red devil lye and aluminum foil.

Ask your teach for a flask. Dissolve the lye in water and add the foil than strap a ballon over the top and let it fill with pure hydrogen.

Get a long ruler or stick and tie off and tape the balloon to it.

Say to the class, this is the hindenburg. (you may want to let it float actually before you tape it just to demonstrate)

Than get a single candle and light it.

Hold the ballon over the candle (make sure stick is at least 3 feet long)
The ballon will explode and if you leave the door shut it will shake the walls a bit more. I did this EXACT experiement a few years back and everyone agreed it was the best.

Its near impossible to get hurt (unless you use a hefty bag for the H2 lol) and it demonstrates the awesome power of hydrogen exploding in air.

Ask your teacher for permission. And do it a few times before you actually do it in class, its really exciting especially when your standing next to it you can feel the reverbations bouncing off of you when it explodes. But again its not as dangerous as it seems. Its a relatively safe demonstration.

me and my buddy did that in chemistry! haha hands down the coolest experiment around.

**Kärnfysikern** · 11-02-2006, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by Bojangles69

Hold the ballon over the candle (make sure stick is at least 3 feet long)
The ballon will explode and if you leave the door shut it will shake the walls a bit more. I did this EXACT experiement a few years back and everyone agreed it was the best.

In high school our chemistry teacher asked a guy in the class to come forward and put a candle to a hydrogen ballon. He almost shit himself when that thing blew

**Haro3** · 11-02-2006, 01:03 PM

Originally Posted by johan

In high school our chemistry teacher asked a guy in the class to come forward and put a candle to a hydrogen ballon. He almost shit himself when that thing blew

Johan your my idol lol you make me wish i studied more

**l2elapse** · 11-02-2006, 01:10 PM

i would go with Hydrogen

**l2elapse** · 11-02-2006, 01:11 PM

just Polar bonding between Hydrogen and ozygen in water is so strong, it shows how amazing water is

**badger** · 11-02-2006, 01:46 PM

Mercury is pretty ineresting,
It was known to ancient civilazations (Egyptians and Chinese), the only metal that's liquid at room temperature, easily forms amalgams with gold, copper and silver, mercury vapor will combine with noble gases when electrically charged ( HgXe, HgNe, HgAr, HgKr )and will stay in that molecular state by Van der Waal forces, methyl mercury is one of the major polutants in sea water, rivers and lakes and accumulates in the tissues of animals high in the food chain like tuna and shark.

**xlxBigSexyxlx** · 11-02-2006, 02:26 PM

Originally Posted by johan

Helium has a nice history since it was discovered in the spectrum of the sun before we found it on earth.

All the nobel gases are interesting because they are so stable, explain why they are stable.

On what level is this? Is it chemistry or physics class? Undergrad? masters?

Its for undergrad Chem.

Thanks to ev1 for the info so far. I forgot to add, that there are no "projects". Right when I heard of it, I was thinking of doing the hydrogen one myself, but it has to be more of a really short speech. And I didnt want it being boring, so Im looking for cool, interesting facts, that will grab peoples attention. lol, too bad cant do the hydrogen act, haha that would really get ev1's attention.