Daily Archives: January 17, 2017


Milk curdles when its pH drops, allowing protein molecules in milk to clump together. (Tess Watson)
Curdled milk is what you get when lumps form in smooth milk. Although the clumps form in spoiled milk, the chemical reaction that causes curdling also occurs in fresh milk, under the right conditions. Intentional curdling of milk is used to produce foods, such as yogurt, cheese, and buttermilk. Here’s […]

Why Milk Curdles


The color change violets project works because violets are natural pH indicators.
You can change violets from violet to green by exposing them to a household chemical. This is a fun chemistry demonstration, especially for the home. Color Change Violet Materials All you need for this project are violets (or pansies) and household ammonia. Choose deeply-colored flowers. violets household ammonia Change the […]

Color Change Violets Chemistry Demonstration


These are vials of glowing actinium-225. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy
Element Name: Actinium Symbol: Ac Atomic Number: 89 Atomic Weight: 227.0278 Electron Configuration: [Rn] 6d1 7s2 Element Classification: Radioactive Rare Earth (Actinide Series) Discovery: Andre-Louis Debierne 1899 (France) Word Origin: Greek: akis, aktinos (ray). Melting Point (K): 1320 Boiling Point (K): 3470 Appearance: heavy, silvery-white metal that is highly radioactive […]

Actinium Facts – Atomic Number 89 or Ac



This is a disk of americium-241 viewed under a microscope. Bionerd, Creative Commons License
Element Name: Americium Atomic Number: 95 Symbol: Am Atomic Weight: 243.0614 Electron Configuration: [Rn] 5f7 7s2 Atomic Number: 95 Element Classification: Radioactive Rare Earth Element (Actinide Series) Discovered By: G.T.Seaborg, R.A.James, L.O.Morgan, A.Ghiorso Discovery Date: 1945 (United States) Name Origin: named for the American continent, similar to the naming of […]

Americium Facts – Element 95 or Am


Element 107 - Bohrium
Element Name: Bohrium (formerly Nielsbohrium) Atomic Number: 107 Symbol: Bh Atomic Weight: [264] Discovery: Dubna (Russia) 1975 or Heavy Ion Research Lab (Germany) 1976 Electron Configuration: [Rn] 7s2 5f14 6d5 Word Origin: Formerly Ns, Nielsbohrium. Named in honor of Niels Bohr. Sources: Bohrium is a man-made element. In 1976, Soviet […]

Bohrium Facts – Element 107 or Bh


Dysprosium is a silver-colored rare earth element. This is a chunk of purified dysprosium metal. Tomihahndorf
Element Name: Dysprosium Atomic Number: 66 Symbol: Dy Atomic Weight: 162.50 Discovered By: Paul-Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran Discovery Date: 1886 (France) Electronic Configuration: [Xe] 4f10 6s2 Atomic Weight: 162.50 Element Classification: Rare Earth (Lanthanide Series) Name Origin: Greek: dysprositos (hard to get at) Density (g/cc): 8.55 Melting Point (°K): 1685 […]

Dysprosium Facts – Element 66 or Dy



Element Name: Mendelevium Atomic Number: 101 Symbol: Md Atomic Weight: 258.1 Discovery: G.T. Seaborg, S.G. Tompson, A. Ghiorso, K. Street Jr. (1955, United States) Electron Configuration: [Rn] 7s2 5f13 Word Origin: Named in honor of Dmitri Mendeleev, who devised a periodic table of the elements Isotopes: Fourteen isotopes have been […]

Mendelevium Facts – Element 101 or Md


Einsteinium is a man-made radioactive metal. This quartz vial contains approximately 300 micrograms of solid Einsteinium-253. The blue light results from the intense radiation produced by einsteinium, primarily in the form of alpha decay. R.G. Haire, US Department of Energy
Element Name: Einsteinium Atomic Number: 99 Symbol: Es Atomic Weight: (254) Discovery: Ghiorso et al. 1952 Electron Configuration: 5f11 Group: Rare Earth, Actinides Melting Point: 1133.2 K 1st Ionization Energy: 619 kJ/mole Electronegativity: 1.3 Shells: 2,8,18,32,29,8,2 Characteristics: Radioactive Atomic Radius: 186 pm Source: Man-made References: Los Alamos National Laboratory (2001), […]

Einsteinium Facts – Element 99 or Es