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 ...
7.2 What chemistry-related material is on the WWW?
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 ...
7.9 How can I contact large chemical companies?
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 ...
7.15 References
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 ...
9.12 References
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, ...
10.8 References
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,...
11.10 References
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 ...
12.10 References
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 ...
15.8 References
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 ...
19.6 References
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 ...
20.3 References
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. ...
24.5 References
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 , and slightly modified ...
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. ...
26.5 References
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 ...