Chemistry FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Chemistry.
This FAQ about Chemistry was compiled and written by Bruce Hamilton B.Hamilton@irl.cri.nz with numerous contributions by others.
Dedication
This FAQ is dedicated to the memory of the late Larry Lippman, who departed from this group ( and life ) in 1991. His superb posts on a wide range of chemical topics were both informative and entertaining. He established the sci.chem tradition of friendly, authoritative, and accurate answers to many chemistry-related questions.
5.1 What topics does sci.chem cover?- Sci.chem is an unmoderated discussion group, and it covers the discussion ...
- 5.2 What guidelines are available about posting to sci.chem?
- Sci.chem is a discussion group, not an alternative to your nearest library....
- 5.3 Should I post my homework question? (sci.chem)
- In general, definitely not. Your homework question is designed to ...
- 5.4 Should I answer an obvious homework question? (sci.chem)
- In general, definitely not. Teachers will set homework assignments ...
- 5.5 I'm offering or seeking employment. Can I post here? (sci.chem)
- Sci.chem is the most popular chemistry-related group, and thus would ...
- 5.6 Can I post here if my newsfeed doesn't include the correct group? (sci.chem)
- No. The onus is on you to obtain access to the correct group. As hard ...
- 5.7 Can I post here if my library doesn't have the specified reference? (sci.chem)
- No. Once again the onus is on you to obtain the texts. We have tried ...
- 5.8 Can I post articles I found in Usenet or on the Internet? (sci.chem)
- No. Most countries have signed the Berne Convention, and adjusted ...
- 5.9 Should I post the email address of an expert I found? (sci.chem)
- Not without their consent. Email the expert and ask if you can identify ...
- 5.10 Should I post corporate advertising material? (sci.chem)
- No. Sci.chem is a discussion group. However, if your corporate material ...
- 5.11 Should I state why I require the requested information? (sci.chem)
- Generally, yes. Knowing why somebody is requesting information often ...
- 5.12 What other chemistry-focused newsgroups exist?
- Sci.chem is the most popular group covering diverse chemistry topics....
- 5.13 What questions are best answered elsewhere in Usenet? (sci.chem)
- a. Anything concerning Usenet and Internet abuse, guidelines or behaviour....
- 5.14 Why is the sci.chem. hierarchy not rational?
- As the sci.chem group has up to 80 posts/day, some specialists believe ...
- 5.15 How do I create a sub-group for my pet topic? (sci.chem)
- First of all, discuss your idea extensively in sci.chem and other ...
- 5.16 Where are the sci.chem archives?
- Given the nature, number, and diversity of sci.chem posts, no formal ...
- 5.17 Who was Larry Lippman? (sci.chem)
- When sci.chem was formed (1988?), there were only a few posts per week, ...
- 6.1 Abbreviations used in this FAQ and sci.chem
- ACGIH = American Conference of Governmental Industrial ...
- 6.2 Common Terms used in this FAQ (sci.chem)
- These terms apply to well-known reference texts. Note that those with a * ...
- 6.3 References
- [1] Beilstein's Handbuch der Organischen Chemie - 4th ...
- 7. General Chemistry-related Information on the Internet
- Compiled by: Neil Flatter ...
- 7.1 How can I access databases such as Chemical Abstracts?
- These databases are almost all inevitably commercial, it costs ...
- 7.3 What information is available commercially on-line? (Chemistry)
- As well as the database suppliers such as Knight-Ridder's Dialog ( and ...
- 7.4 What information is available free on-line? (Chemistry)
- The best technique is to use a WWW search engine to locate ...
- 7.5 What chemical patent information is available on-line?
- Both Dialog and STN offer commercial access to US and International ...
- 7.6 Which FTP sites contain chemistry-related material?
- ftp://kekule.osc.edu/pub/chemistry/...
- 7.7 What chemistry-focused mailing lists exist?
- LISTSERV@Beaver.Bemidji.MSUS.edu ...
- 7.8 How can I contact Chemical Societies electronically?
- In general, most WWW sites will also contain email addresses that ...
- 7.10 How can I contact chemical suppliers?
- Several major chemical suppliers now have on-line catalogues on the WWW....
- 7.11 How can I contact equipment suppliers (Chemistry)
- Check out the FAQs in rec.pyrotechnics and alt.drugs, they may also list ...
- 7.12 How can I contact US government agencies? (Chemistry)
- http://www.fedworld.gov/...
- 7.13 Where can I find compilations of science humour?
- http://www.improb.com/...
- 7.14 Where can I purchase scientific software?
- Aldrich and Fisher sell software, as do some of the Chemical ...
- 8. Laboratory and Chemical Safety Information on the Internet
- Compiled by: Neil Flatter ...
- 8.1 Where can I find Material Safety Data Sheets? (Chemical Safety)
- Manufacturers are required by OSHA to provide MSDSs for the chemicals they ...
- 8.2 Where can I find detailed safety & toxicity data? (Chemical Safety)
- http://hazard.com/msds/...
- 8.3 Where can I find occupational exposure limits? (Chemical Safety)
- http://www.acgih.org/...
- 8.4 Where can I find hazard information for a chemical?
- In general, the first contact should be the safety professional at ...
- 8.5 Where can I find laboratory safety guides? (Chemical Safety)
- http://www.christie.ab.ca/safelist/ ...
- 8.6 Where can I find other safety information? (Chemical Safety)
- Many of the Chemistry Overview WWW sites in Section 7.2 also have ...
- 9.1 When can I find Chemical Abstracts?
- Chemical Abstracts is produced by the ACS and is available either in ...
- 9.2 Where can I obtain chemical patent information?
- Most governments have a patent office, and there are usually branches in ...
- 9.3 Where can I purchase chemicals?
- The chemicals usually found in home chemistry sets can usually be ...
- 9.4 Where can I purchase laboratory equipment? (Chemistry)
- As with chemicals, simple laboratory equipment can be purchased from ...
- 9.5 What reference texts should I search first? (Chemistry)
- If you require basic physical information about a chemical then many ...
- 9.6 Where can I find physical and spectral properties of chemicals?
- Some chemical suppliers catalogues ( eg Aldrich [5] ), also include ...
- 9.7 Where can I find production data for commercial chemicals
- Both Kirk Othmer and Ullmann tabulate production data, and ...
- 9.8 Where can I find the composition of a proprietary chemical?
- If it has been patented, the composition will be detailed in the patent,...
- 9.9 Where can I find out about the history of Chemistry?
- There is a soc.history.science Usenet group that is very knowledgeable ...
- 9.10 Where can I find out about the discovery of an element?
- The Rubber Handbook has a monograph on each element, including a ...
- 9.11 What inspirational books about chemistry should I read?
- Do they exist :-)? You could try The Chemical Bond: Structure and ...
- 10.1 Where can I find Material Safety Data Sheets? (Chemistry)
- Most suppliers of chemicals will provide a MSDS on request if you are ...
- 10.2 Where can I find hazard information for a chemical?
- Chemical suppliers usually include common hazard information in ...
- 10.3 Where can I find detailed safety & toxicity data? (Chemical Safety)
- The very first question you should ask is, Am I qualified to ...
- 10.3 Where can I find occupational exposure limits? (Chemical Safety)
- There are several organisations responsible for establishing ...
- 10.5 What is the most poisonous compound? (Chemical Safety)
- All substances are poisons. There is not one that is not a poison. The ...
- 10.6 Where can I find laboratory safety guides? (Chemical Safety)
- The journals Chemical Health and Safety, and Journal of Chemical ...
- 10.7 Are contact lenses a hazard in laboratories? (Chemical Safety)
- There are a lot of myths about the occupational use of contact lenses, ...
- 11.1 Where can I find spectral libraries/databases?
- The most likely place is near to an instrument. These are not ...
- 11.2 Where can I find polymer chemistry information?
- The first stop should be the multi-volume Encyclopedia of Polymer Science ...
- 11.3 Where can I find analytical chemistry information?
- There is a sci.chem.analytical group where specific questions can ...
- 11.4 Where can I find environmental chemistry information?
- There are several standard texts used by environmental chemistry classes ...
- 11.5 Where can I find physical chemistry information?
- General introductory information will be available in any technical ...
- 11.6 Where can I find inorganic chemistry information?
- General introductory information will be available in any technical ...
- 11.7 Where can I find organic chemistry information?
- General introductory information will be available in any technical ...
- 11.8 Where can I find industrial chemistry information?
- The best single volume remains Shreve's Chemical Process Industries [52]....
- 11.9 Where can I find pharmaceutical chemistry information?
- Pharmaceutical research often is initially reported in patent literature,...
- 12.1 What are CAS Registry Numbers? (Chemistry)
- When chemicals are first encountered by the Chemical Abstracts Service, ...
- 12.2 What are the correct names of recently-discovered elements? (Chemistry)
- The Transfermium Working Group was established in 1986 by the International ...
- 12.3 What is the nomenclature system for CFCs/HCFCs/HFCs? (Chemistry)
- The CFC naming system was developed by T.Midgley,Jr. and A.L.Henne in 1929, ...
- 12.4 How can I get the IUPAC chemical name from traditional names?
- It depends. Usually the quickest way is to look the name up in a ...
- 12.5 What does "omega-3 fatty acids" mean?
- Chemists recognise that they should always number carbon chains from the ...
- 12.6 What is Conjugated Linoleic Acid?
- Conjugated linoleic acid describes the group of positional and ...
- 12.7 What are "heavy" metals? (Chemistry)
- There appears to be no standard definition, however the general ...
- 12.8 What is the difference between Molarity and Normality? (Chemistry)
- A Molar solution contains one gram molecular weight ( aka mole ) of the ...
- 12.9 Where can I find the composition of common named reagents? (Chemistry)
- Often the best place to start are MSDS sheets or catalogues from commercial ...
- 13. Illicit and Government Controlled Substances (Chemistry)
- Contributed by : Yogi Shan ...
- 13.2 Where can I obtain a list of illegal drugs? (Chemistry)
- From the Law Section of the alt.drugs Clandestine Chemistry Primer/...
- 13.3 What is the chemical structure of common illegal drugs?
- See the Merck Index for the chemical structure of your favourite poison. ...
- 13.4 How do I obtain chemical information on illegal drugs?
- Merck, Heilbron and Beilstein all provide information on drugs that ...
- 13.5 Where are the synthesis instructions for illegal drugs?
- By asking the question in sci.chem, you already have signalled your level ...
- 13.6 Should I post detailed recipes for illegal chemicals?
- Well, if you do a lot of people will hate you. On the other hand many people ...
- 13.7 What newsgroups/mailing lists discuss explosives?
- Rec.pyrotechnics and alt.engr.explosives are two newsgroups that discuss ...
- 13.8 What is the chemical structure of common explosives?
- Exothermic oxidation-reduction reactions are the source of energy, and ...
- 13.9 How do I obtain chemical information on common explosives?
- There is an excellent, well-referenced Explosives and Propellants monograph ...
- 13.10 What newsgroups/mailing lists discuss pyrotechnics?
- rec.pyrotechnics is the official newsgroup for fireworks/...
- 13.11 References
- [1] The Sassafras Tree and Designer Drugs - From Herbal Tea to Ecstasy....
- 14.1 Where do I find information on US courses? (Chemistry)
- The advent of the WWW has meant that many educational institutions now have ...
- 14.2 Where do I find information on other nations' courses? (Chemistry)
- Once again, try using the WWW, as many educational institutions worldwide ...
- 15.1 Are there any good compilations of demonstrations? (Chemistry)
- Yes. Good places to start are the four volume Chemical ...
- 15.2 What are good outdoor/indoor chemistry demonstrations? p6
- From:webbb@mbf.UUCP ( Bryan Webb )...
- 15.2 What are good outdoor/indoor chemistry demonstrations? p6
- From:webbb@mbf.UUCP ( Bryan Webb )...
- 15.2 What are good outdoor/indoor chemistry demonstrations? p6
- From:webbb@mbf.UUCP ( Bryan Webb )...
- 15.2 What are good outdoor/indoor chemistry demonstrations? p6
- From:webbb@mbf.UUCP ( Bryan Webb )...
- 15.2 What are good outdoor/indoor chemistry demonstrations? p6
- From:webbb@mbf.UUCP ( Bryan Webb )...
- 15.2 What are good outdoor/indoor chemistry demonstrations? p6
- From:webbb@mbf.UUCP ( Bryan Webb )...
- 15.2 What are good outdoor/indoor chemistry demonstrations? p6
- From:webbb@mbf.UUCP ( Bryan Webb )...
- 15.6 How do I safely perform the Glowing Pickle experiment?
- This experiment consists of electrically heating a vegetable that has been ...
- 15.7 How do I make Slime? (Chemistry)
- Slime is a trademarked commodity obtained by cross-linking guar gum and ...
- 16.1 What are the best drying agents for liquids and gases? (Chemistry)
- The Rubber Handbook lists the traditional information on drying ...
- 16.2 What is the effect of oven drying on volumetric glassware? (Chemistry)
- Many older laboratory texts insist that volumetric glassware should ...
- 16.3 What does the Karl Fischer titration measure?
- In 1935 Karl Fischer used the reaction between iodine, sulfur dioxide, and ...
- 16.4 What does the Dean and Stark distillation measure?
- The Dean and Stark procedure can be used to measure the water content ...
- 16.5 What does Kjeldahl nitrogen measure?
- The Kjeldahl procedure is routinely used to measure the protein nitrogen ...
- 16.6 What does a Soxhlet extractor do?
- The soxhlet extractor enables solids to be extracted with fresh warm solvent ...
- 16.7 What is the best method for cleaning glassware? (Chemistry)
- As scientific glassware can be used for a variety of purposes, from ...
- 16.8 References
- [1] Desiccant Efficiency in Solvent Drying. A Reappraisal ...
- 17.1 Where do I find laboratory-scale procedures for organics? (Chemistry)
- The best introductory handbooks are practical textbooks, eg Organic Vogel ...
- 17.2 Where do I find laboratory-scale procedures for inorganics? (Chemistry)
- Most synthetic chemistry of inorganics appears to be devoted more to complex ...
- 17.3 Where do I find industrial chemical process details?
- The standard text for common processes remains Shreve, and I must admit that ...
- 17.4 References
- [1] Purification of Laboratory Chemicals - 4th ...
- 18.1 How do light sticks work?, and how can I make one?
- From: perks@umbc.edu (Mark Perks) Date: 15 Sep 1994 ...
- 18.2 How do hand warmers work?, and how can I make one?
- They consist of an aqueous solution of sodium acetate with a small ...
- 18.3 What are the chemicals that give fruity aromas?
- Most of the desirable food aromas come from low to medium molecular ...
- 18.4 What is the most obnoxious smelling compound? (Chemistry)
- Many low molecular weight sulfur-containing compounds tend to induce ...
- 18.5 What is the nicest smelling compound? (Chemistry)
- Aside from thinking about your stomach, when the smell of cooking ...
- 18.6 What is the most bitter compound? (Chemistry)
- Denatonium Benzoate = Bitrex, or even in some strange chemistry circles,...
- 18.7 What is the sweetest compound? (Chemistry)
- Most scales use sucrose as a sweetness of 1, and compare the ...
- 18.8 What salts change the colour of flames?
- Both Vogel ( qualitative inorganic ) and the Rubber Handbook list details of ...
- 18.9 What chemicals change colour with heat, light, or pressure?
- Compounds that visibly and reversibly change colour when subjected to a ...
- 18.10 References
- [1] Refer 15....
- 19.1 Rheological properties and terminology (Chemistry)
- Contributed by Jim ...
- 19.2 Flammability properties and terminology
- There are several properties of flammable materials that are ...
- 19.3 Supercritical properties and terminology?
- Supercritical fluids have some very unusual properties. When a compound ...
- 19.4 Formation of gaseous bubbles in liquids
- Discussions about the behaviour of dissolved gases in liquids, especially ...
- 19.5 Why is Mercury a liquid at room temperature?
- First, let's look at the melting points of some of the elements ...
- 20.1 Refractive Index properties and terminology
- When light passes between media of different density, the direction of ...
- 20.2 Polarimetry properties and terminology
- Supplied by: Vince Hamner
- 21.1 What hardware do I need to run modelling programs? (Molecular and Structural Modelling)
- Supplied by: Dave Young (young@slater.cem.msu.edu)...
- 21.2 Where can I find a free modelling program? (Molecular and Structural Modelling)
- The single best place for public domain modelling ...
- 21.4 Where can I find ChemDraw or ChemWindows
- For ChemDraw (Macintosh, Windows, UNIX)...
- 23. Chromatographic Techniques
- There are chromatography mailing lists and WWW sites available that provide ...
- 23.1 What is Paper Chromatography?
- Paper chromatography was the first analytical chromatographic technique ...
- 23.2 What is Thin Layer Chromatography?
- Thin layer chromatography involves the use of a particulate sorbant on ...
- 23.3 What is Gas Chromatography?
- Gas chromatography is the use of a carrier gas to convey the sample ( as ...
- 23.4 What is Column Chromatography?
- Column chromatography consists of a column of particulate material such as ...
- 23.5 What is High Pressure Liquid Chromatography?
- HPLC is a development of column chromatography. it was long realised ...
- 23.6 What is Ion Chromatography?
- Ion chromatography has become the method of choice for measuring anions ...
- 23.7 What is Gel Permeation Chromatography?
- Gel Permeation chromatography ( aka Size Exclusion chromatography ) is based ...
- 23.8 What is Capillary Electrophoresis?
- Capillary electrophoresis uses a small fused silica capillary that has ...
- 23.9 How do I degas chromatographic solvents?
- One major problem with pressurising chromatography systems using liquid ...
- 23.10 What is chromatographic solvent "polarity"?
- There are four major intermolecular interactions between sample and solvent ...
- 23.11 References
- [1] Laboratory Handbook of Chromatographic and Electrophoretic Methods ...
- 24.1 What is Solvent Extraction?
- Solvent extraction is usually used to recover a component from either a ...
- 24.2 What is Solid Phase Extraction?
- Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) is an alternative to liquid/liquid extraction,...
- 24.3 What is Supercritical Fluid Extraction?
- Refer to Section 19.3 for some critical data on common supercritical fluids. ...
- 24.4 What traditional process extracted perfume from flower petals?
- The traditional cold-fat extraction process is known as enfleurage. ...
- 26.1 What is pH?
- The pH scale determines the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a solution,...
- 26.2 How do pH electrodes work?
- Contributed by Paul Willems
- 26.3 What are ion-selective electrodes?
- Ion selective electrodes are electrochemical sensors whose potential ...
- 26.4 Who supplies pH and ion-selective electrodes?
- The best known manufacturer of ion-selective electrodes is Orion Research. ...
- 27.1 Where does crude oil come from?
- The generally-accepted origin of crude oil is from plant life up to 3 ...
- 27.2 What are CNG/LPG/gasoline/kerosine/diesel?
- Crude oil consists mainly of hydrocarbons with carbon numbers between one ...
- 27.3 What are oxygenates?
- Oxygenates are just pre-used hydrocarbons :-). They contain oxygen, which can ...
- 27.4 What is petroleum ether?
- Petroleum ether ( aka petroleum spirits ) is a narrow alkane ...
- 27.5 What is naphtha?
- Naphtha is a refined light distillate fraction, usually boiling below 250C,...
- 27.6 What are white spirits?
- White spirits are petroleum fractions that boil between 150-220C. They can ...
- 27.7 What are biofuels?
- Biofuels are produced from biomass ( land and aquatic vegetation, ...
- 27.8 How can I convert cooking oil into diesel fuel?
- Diesel engines can run on plant and animal triglycerides such as ...
- 27.9 References
- [1] Modern Petroleum Technology - 5th edition....
- 28.1 Does Thalidomide racemise in humans?
- Thalidomide ( N-phthaloyl-alpha-aminoglutarimide ) is well known as an ...
- 30.1 How can I simply identify common plastics?
- Read the recycle code :-). Alternatively, give it to the nearest IR ...
- 30.2 What do the plastics recycling codes mean?
- The recycle codes for plastics are currently being reviewed, and new ...
- 31.1 How does remote sensing of chemical pollutants work?
- The are several techniques, but the one of most interest to the public is ...
- 31.2 How does a Lava Lamp work?
- Contributed by: Jim Webb
- 31.3 How do I make a Lava Lamp?
- Contributed by: Jim Webb
- 31.4 What is Goretex?
- Goretex is a dispersion-polymerised PTFE that is patented by W.L.Gore ...
- 31.5 What causes an automobile airbag to inflate?
- The final cause is the production of nitrogen from 10s of grams of ...
- 31.6 How hazardous is spilt mercury?
- First step - ensure any broken thermometer actually contained mercury, as ...
- 31.7 Did molasses really kill 21 people in Boston?
- From: mica@world.std.com (mitchell swartz) Date: Sun, 4 Jul ...
- 31.8 What is the active ingredient in mothballs?
- Mothballs were originally made from camphor ( C10H16O, [76-22-2], MP 176C,...
- 31.9 Is vinegar just acetic acid?
- Most countries have food regulations that permit the use of acetic acid as ...
- 31.10 What are the different grades of laboratory water?
- There are several techniques used in chemical laboratories to obtain ...
- 31.11 What is Sarin nerve gas?
- Sarin is a nerve gas that was used in 1988 by Iraq against its Kurdish ...
- 31.12 What are Dioxins?
- Dioxins are a group of closely-related compounds which are known ...
- 31.13 What is Red Mercury?
- Red mercury is supposed to be a very powerful explosive that is being made ...
- 31.14 How do I remove stains and deposits?
- - Test any planned treatment on an unimportant part of the material first,...
- 31.15 How do I remove rust?
- It depends on the sample and amount of rust. If the material is heavily ...
- 31.16 How do I remove silver tarnish?
- Several commercial silver polishes use a fine abrasive ( such as calcium ...
- 31.17 How do I electroplate or anodise materials?
- There are several excellent books and journals on metal treatments in ...
- 31.18 How fast do solvents pass through human skin?
- It obviously depends on the solvents, and traditional measurements ...
- 31.19 What is the pH of Coca-cola?
- Phosphoric acid is an approved food-grade acid that is added to Coca-cola ...
- 31.20 References (Chemistry)
- [1] IR Long-Path Photometry: A Remote Sensing Tool for Automobile ...
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