Adventure Ausrama Blog

The chemistry of lighting a match. If you want to see in a dark room, light a match. It's simple isn't it? Not so fast, it is actually quite complex. A slow motion video at 40,000 frames per second shows the process. The completed video spreads out 0.10 of a second into one and a half minutes. Ignition takes place inside the "live" head of the match. It is just a little explosion followed by "slow" burn. The chemical blob does not burst into pieces. I holds together with small bits rolling to the outside surface.  It looks a planet exploding. The main ingredient of a match head is antimony trisulfide : potassium chlorate makes this burn. Ammonium phosphate is also there to reduce particles from escaping, but some smoke is inevitable. Paraffin wax coats the match down to the halfway mark to ensure the flame continues on down the matchstick. Powdered glass and red phosphate in the strike strip on the side of the matchbox ignites by f...

A long, long time ago there was a supercontinent on the planet Earth called Rodinia. The continent broke up and gigantic rivers flowed across its landscape. Consequently, the chemistry of the sea was changed. High CO2 levels in the atmosphere fell. Heat was no longer trapped by the greenhouse effect. A very long iceage began with temperatures falling to -50°C. The iceage went on for a long time because the now white planet reflected the sun's energy. Time stood still for rocks. Weathering did not occur. Volcanic activity began but it did not increase C02 by very much. Sea ice stopped sea water from taking up CO2 as it continued to reflect heat away. Some explosive activity must have happened: the change from iceage to greenhouse was sudden. glassy hyaloclastite fell into the ocean releasing phosphorus. This released oxygen into the ocean and the atmosphere. Cataclysms destroy life so life can begin anew. ◆ Chemistry by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Australi...

It is amazing how people will see something new, then run with it to the extreme saying this will change the world. This is true for virtually all non-fossil energy producing systems, but all of them have drawbacks and none have revolutionized the power sector. The two major problems have been high cost and non constant energy production during the 24 hour period. Scientists have worked on hydrogen systems for decades and success seems very distant. It is not being accepted for widespread use. Actually, hydrogen is a "byproduct" of energy production. When electricity is generated by any method the excess not used at a point in time is passed through water. It splits into oxygen and hydrogen via electrolysis with the fuel stored to be used in the future. When hydrogen is recombined with oxygen, electricity is generate. Heat from the process can also be used directly for heating purposes. As with other environmentally friendly electricity producing methods time will tell if...

The number of oceanic dead zones in the world is increasing. In the zones oxygen levels are too low to sustain life. It is widely know that a monster area in the south Atlantic is growing in size, but there are hundreds more smaller dead zones. They are caused by overfishing and the nutrient rich residue in fertilizer runoff. Climate change also plays a part. As oceans warm up layers form and some become stagnant with low oxygen levels. Long standing currents and wind directions have changed which has reduced layer intermixing. Since 2000 over 400 dead zones have been identified. In the 1980s there were little more than a hundred. Some are huge, more than 70,00 sq kilometers, while many are less than a square kilometer. The lack of oxygen not only causes death. Offspring are born deformed. They do not survive, or produce fewer young. Danger of a mass extinction is now very high. Dead zones are forming on continental shelves where most fishing is done. The mere presence of humans is dee...

Griffith University is to construct a building that for the first time in the world has hydrogen power generation integrated into the structure itself. The sun will separate hydrogen from water by electrolysis. Later when the sun goes down the hydrogen will power fuel cells to generate the required electricity for air conditioning and other uses. A proven method of storing hydrogen in metal hydride powder will be deployed. This is safer than keeping hydrogen in tanks which can explode. Initial energy requirements will be met by photovoltaic solar panels on the roof and walls, as well as photovoltaic film on the windows. The hydrogen fuel cell technology has been available for quite some time. It will be fully tested in this new structure. The building itself will be substantial, being "home base" for 80 staff members and 40 PHD students. Eight seminar rooms and two 120-seat lecture theatres will be in use in the six level building. Construction begins in 2011. It will be op...