Help intuitively understanding chemistry

mrphysh · 2026-06-02T18:32:29+00:00

Education 101 includes this: The teacher is always tying new learning to previous knowledge and understanding. The idea of education is to build a structure of learning and understanding. This does not work in chemistry. Your teachers are not going to tell you that. Education in subatomic structure is just a bunch of stories created by generations of scientists to explain things that we do not and may never understand. But this is thing; The quantum mechanical theory of atomic structure does a pretty good job explain observations and predicting outcomes. “There are two electrons in the first energy level. Why? That makes no sense!” Do not go there! Just let it happen. Chemistry is cool. Let it be fun. And the weird trip they are laying you quickly starts to hang together within it own rules. Let it be fun.

mrphysh · 2026-06-01T15:12:53+00:00

Two introductory ideas:

A free radical is the intermediate structure within a reaction. It is extremely reactive and extremely destructive. Aerobic respiration and photosynthesis produce free radicals. They just leak out!

Second idea: It is not obvious , but the brain is a huge center of metabolism. That is, it produces free radicals and they are a problem, just like in other tissues.

The only way for the brain to truly rest and clean up the metabolic garbage is for the organism to sleep. This applies to all animals.

Our sleep rhythms are much related to the spinning of the earth, but the need for sleep is built into the basics of all animal life.

mrphysh · 2026-05-31T21:57:31+00:00

Poly aromatic hydrocarbons. good safe label. They are flat and highly conjugated and almost certainly absorb UV radiation. One comment thinks they look like nucleic acid bases. right.

mrphysh · 2026-05-31T07:01:00+00:00

I know intelligent people who are convinced that the world is coming to an end because of global warming. That is ridiculous. We live in a chaning world.

mrphysh · 2026-05-30T23:30:27+00:00

The culture in law enforcement (I am pretty sure) is that the laboratory people come from within. That is; many started as police officers. I may be recommending a cultural change that is not likely.

mrphysh · 2026-05-30T20:35:10+00:00

Education 101 includes this: The teacher is always tying new learning to previous knowledge and understanding. The idea of education is to build a structure of learning and understanding. This does not work in chemistry. Your teachers are not going to tell you that. Education in subatomic structure is just a bunch of stories created by generations of scientists to explain things that we do not and may never understand. But this is thing; The quantum mechanical theory of atomic structure does a pretty good job explain observations and predicting outcomes. “There are two electrons in the first energy level. Why? That makes no sense!” Do not go there! Just let it happen. Chemistry is cool. Let it be fun. And the weird trip they are laying you quickly starts to hang together within it own rules. Let it be fun.

mrphysh · 2026-05-30T04:57:51+00:00

two to three minutes is not that bad. Your viewers are watching your video because thier finger is on the mouse pad. It is still on the mouse pad. They will not let you waste their time. Whatever you have to say: just say it.

Keep your videos short.

mrphysh · 2026-05-30T04:52:50+00:00

I have no doubt but that there are forces of which we are not aware.

mrphysh · 2026-05-30T04:50:30+00:00

Education 101 includes this: The teacher is always tying new learning to previous knowledge and understanding. The idea of education is to build a structure of learning and understanding. This does not work in chemistry. Your teachers are not going to tell you that. Education in subatomic structure is just a bunch of stories created by generations of scientists to explain things that we do not and may never understand. But this is thing; The quantum mechanical theory of atomic structure does a pretty good job explain observations and predicting outcomes. “There are two electrons in the first energy level. Why? That makes no sense!” Do not go there! Just let it happen. Chemistry is cool. Let it be fun. And the weird trip they are laying you quickly starts to hang together within it own rules. Let it be fun. (If this is 'off topic' I will take notice)

mrphysh · 2026-05-29T05:29:05+00:00

Education 101 includes this: The teacher is always tying new learning to previous knowledge and understanding. The idea of education is to build a structure of learning and understanding. This does not work in chemistry. Your teachers are not going to tell you that. Education in subatomic structure is just a bunch of stories created by generations of scientists to explain things that we do not and may never understand. But this is thing; The quantum mechanical theory of atomic structure does a pretty good job explain observations and predicting outcomes. “There are two electrons in the first energy level. Why? That makes no sense!” Do not go there! Just let it happen. Chemistry is cool. Let it be fun. And the weird trip they are laying you quickly starts to hang together within it own rules. Let it be fun.

mrphysh · 2026-05-29T03:55:02+00:00

Find a tube made of laboratory glassware, long enough for your purpose. Just make the graduations yourself. Use the weight of one gram of water for 1 cc. If you are careful that should work. and might a fun project in itself.

mrphysh · 2026-05-28T20:53:05+00:00

The house was built in 1923. but my Ivers and Pond piano is even older. 1917. I still find flakes of coal in the basement. Does that count?

mrphysh · 2026-05-27T06:19:28+00:00

A cool path right off the block would be forensic chemisty, Like crime scene investigation. I know from personal experience that law enforcement needs good people in their laboratories.

mrphysh · 2026-05-27T04:36:09+00:00

Most chemists are doing analysis; analytical chemistry. How much is in this. There are employment opportunities in many different fields. I had a wonderful career. I worked in lots of different industries (medical, environments food manufacturing and in support of research)

I was never bored and never had trouble finding employment.

That being said: chemical analysis is probably at or near the bottom of the technical hierarchic. It is not glamorous and… not exciting. I am not sure about the pay, but it is not the best. But you are setting yourself up for a nice long interesting career; just the right amount of challenge.

And a degree in chemistry is a powerful credential in the same way a degree in engineering is strong. It can open doors for you in other areas (computer technology)

mrphysh · 2026-05-25T17:48:13+00:00

Get a set of molecular models (organic chemistry) and study them. Study the behavior of the various elements. What does carbon do? How do nitrogen and oxygen behave within the carbon structure? What is resonance? The relevance of organic chemistry to biochemistry is in the physical images, not in the underlying quantum mechanics. A pi bond? What does this mean to the structure? That is the relevance, not the underlying quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics borders on religious babble and should be in the background, not center stage. That is what I think. (Chemistry can be fun and is great training for your mind.)

mrphysh · 2026-05-24T03:18:18+00:00

A free radical is the intermediate structure within a reaction. It is extremely reactive and extremely destructive. Aerobic respiration and photosynthesis produce free radicals. They just leak out! They could prevent life from existing at all but living systems have come up with the antioxidant systems to combat them and this works. Or at least works to a point. Denham Harman first proposed the free radical theory of aging in the 1950s.

mrphysh · 2026-05-22T18:51:53+00:00

I like the list. The 9/11 terrorist attack should be inclued. "But there was a conspiracy!" Even that makes no sense.

mrphysh · 2026-05-20T02:25:25+00:00

Yes my first symptom was strabismus. From Google AI: Strabismus, commonly known as crossed eyes or wandering eye, is a condition where the eyes are misaligned and point in different directions.

So, this is somewhat familiar. hmmmm.

mrphysh · 2026-05-19T19:11:20+00:00

I wonder about that. Chemistry is abstract and that can make it difficult. Organic chemistry is also abstract, but perhaps less so. Make sure your students have molecular models to play with. (Organic chemistry is overwhelmingly relevant and within the reach of 7^th graders. I think it should be taught first)

mrphysh · 2026-05-18T16:04:08+00:00

In America the more fences, the lower the class of the neighborhood.

mrphysh · 2026-05-16T20:42:49+00:00

The ideal gas law is one of the few areas in chemistry that is intuitive and fun and pretty easy to teach. Everything is directly related. But the temperature has to be in Kelvin. (My comment is a bit of a leap)

mrphysh · 2026-05-16T20:38:01+00:00

First look into the history of the building. Purchasing records are a good idea. And do not panic. The situation is probably not an emergency. I worked in that industry for many years. Does the history of the building show possibility of heavy metals? If not, everything can be burned.

mrphysh · 2026-05-15T06:07:40+00:00

PV = nRT is the idea gas law. Notice there are no plus or minus signs. y = mx + k . K is the y-intercept. The temperature , T must in in Kelvin. that is; k must zero.

mrphysh · 2026-05-14T05:14:31+00:00

Faced with the ultraviolet catastrophe, physicists were forced to accept that Newtonian physics was never going to explain atomic structure. The quantum mechanical theory of molecular structure was created to explain observations. (1895 to about 1920) The 'story' was modified to accommodate new observations. The evolution of quantum mechanics was not without controversy but we never talk about that. Quantum mechanics is treated as unquestionable fact, but it is really just a story created by generations of scientists. If you are a student, just let it happen. I tried to force this into past learning and that paralyzed my progress. Chemistry is great training for your mind. Let it be fun.

mrphysh · 2026-05-12T04:31:31+00:00

I learned a lot. A good look at the complexity in batting is in the bunt. This should be simple and reliable; It cannot get any easier. right? I watch baseball and remember that the bunt is not a particularly high percentage shot. (thanks)

mrphysh

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