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/sci/ - Science & Math

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4488470 No.4488470 [Reply] [Original]

ITT: Ask a chemist.

>> No.4488487

How does teflon work on those pans? I love them, I can just bake an egg without any risks.

>> No.4488489

>>4488470
I hate to break it to you, but that's what Liberal Arts majors ask too.

>> No.4488498

>>4488489
Why don't you pursue the life of a homo universalis?

>> No.4488514

>>4488487
Fluorinated compounds don't behave like alkyl chains in a hydrophobic sense. Perfluorinated compounds are omniphobic (except for fluorinated solvents) so they will repel just about anything. Fun part about teflon is that getting the coating to stick to the pan is the hardest part of the process.

>> No.4488518

>>4488470
When the principal quantum number of an electron is reduced, does it gain or lose energy?

When the principal quantum number of an electron is reduced, does it gain or lose velocity?

>> No.4488522

>>4488487
we still can't figure out what spell they use for that one.

>> No.4488524

>>4488489
Not really. Liberal arts majors don't try to use reductionism to "solve" your field. If lib-arts kids are doing this to you just show them a triple integral and they will get scared off (bonus points if you use spherical or cylindrical coordinates).

>> No.4488530

What are the most dangerous chemicals you've worked with, and what were they for?

>> No.4488536

>>4488464

please help the aforementioned post, chemist.

>> No.4488537

>>4488518
It's been a while since gen-chem but if I recall correctly lower principle quantum number means lower energy (hence first filled) so both energy and velocity would be reduced (although velocity of an electron in a molecule lacks significance).

>> No.4488540

So what exactly IS the difference between physics and chemistry?

>> No.4488553

>>4488540

the amount of integrals you have to solve

>> No.4488557

>>4488536
I can not ethically answer that.
>>4488540
Mostly employment prospects. And chemists are more interested in macroscopic properties. There is a fuzzy line in the area of P-chem, but physicists tend to get caught up in adding extra dimensions while chemist just want a workable solution for the real world. One could argue that chemistry is just applying what physics learned 20 years ago.

>> No.4488559

>>4488540

Scope. Only scope. The pressing relevance of which is conveniently ignored by so many would-be physicists on this board.

>> No.4488563

>>4488470
How do I synthesize caproic acid?

>> No.4488576

>>4488563
You don't. You isolate it by earning a little cash and buying it.
http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/w255904?lang=en&region=US

>> No.4488579

>>4488537
It loses energy and gains velocity.

Velocity is just as significant for an electron as it is with anything that has rest mass.

One consequence of this fact is that n=1 electrons around heavy nuclei must jump up energy levels because relativistic effects prevent them from going any faster (c).

The relativistic effects are predicted in the Dirac equation. The increase in velocity can be seen in the Bohr model.

go here to see a Berkely physics professor mention it, skip to 18:30: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbiQ61NScU0

It's OK, it's counter-intuitive and most physicists don't even know that off the top of their heads.

It's cool because now you will know something that almost no chemistry major knows, even though chemistry is all about working with the movement of electrons.

Understanding it, however, will take some effort ^_^

>> No.4488584

>>4488557


So are chemists going to be the ones (someday) implementing quantum computers?

>> No.4488589

Why is organic chemistry such a bullshit course? It seems as much of a hard science as biology.

>hurr durr memorize thousands of reactions and their mechanisms

>> No.4488593

>>4488579
The concept of electron velocity in chemistry is at best useless and at worst misleading. We don't treat electrons as particles. All that is important is probability density functions (atomic or molecular orbitals). It's nice trivia but totally irrelevant for chemists.

>> No.4488600

>>4488589
You only need to know 6 reactions. SN1, SN2, E1, E2, nucleophilic and electrophilic attack on sp2 centers. What's so hard about that?

>> No.4488608

>>4488600
I never said it was hard, it's just a huge time sink. What's the point of memorizing this shit?

>> No.4488632

>>4488608
Because it's fundamental to all organic chemistry. That's like calculus student asking why they need to know multiplication or order of operations.

>> No.4488648

>>4488632
>implying pemdas is as hard to memorize as countless combinations of reagents and solvents

>implying knowing pemdas isn't infinitely more useful than knowing what happens when you mix buttfuckanoic acid with Z-MeRYH4

>> No.4488646

>>4488608
>What's the point of memorizing this shit?
It would be too obvious if they just gave the degrees to whoever paid for them, but it's too much work to actually test understanding rather than memorization, and would discourage too many paying customers.

>> No.4488661

Person who did high school chem and nothing else here, does it get better? Later physics classes actually turned interesting when it got past "hurr put number in formulae XD", I'm wondering if my deep hatred for chem isn't quite justified.
Or can you tell who likes chemistry from the get go

>> No.4488665

>>4488648
All synthesis is the same reagents over and over again. And if you actually understand chemistry you know what many reagents will do even without knowing the specifics of their reactivity. You will appreciate the utility of organic chemistry next time you need an asprin.

>> No.4488676

>>4488661
I have tons of friends (and myself for that matter) that started in different majors then switched to chemistry. It's pretty common once people realize that biology is all wrote memorization and physics will never be applied to real world situations. Chemistry is broad enough that you may not have been exposed to the part that will interest you yet.

>> No.4488682

>>4488665
Yep UGA Chemistry buttfucked me on the last Orgo Test. I went in feeling like a pro. Walked out feeling like a loser lol.

>> No.4488692

>>4488682
It might have something to do with your inability to spell dog.

Hail Southern and THWG

>> No.4488695

>>4488676
>Chemistry is broad enough that you may not have been exposed to the part that will interest you yet.
That's what I figured might have been the case. Might even take some chem course down the line.

>> No.4488696

OP what school/ degree/ career do you do

Im just an undergrad juniorchemfag looking for advice

>> No.4488704

>>4488696
>please respond

>> No.4488720

So OP,
What do you think you will do for jobs?
What's the difference between Chem. Engie and chemist, and consequently - which one is better ( academically, job market)

>> No.4488726

>>4488696
I went to a large mid tier state school for undergrad and I am currently working on a Ph.D. at a Large R1 state school. Both in the south. My advice is at the tail end of junior year find a professor that you like (bonus points if they have private sector work experience) and discuss if grad school is appropriate. Grades are less relevant than you might think. What you have to decide is what career path you really want.
No matter what you want to do start doing some kind of research with a professor at your school (for credit or not, it doesn't matter). Try and learn HPLC and GC operation and get competent with an NMR. If you do that you will have a good start.

>> No.4488731

Where would one buy large quantities of ergotamine?

>> No.4488733

>>4488720
Chem-E gets paid more but spends most of their time monitoring plant operations or designing pilot or scale up facilities. Chem-E's don't actually do much in the way of chemistry.

Chemists do the bench research and help with scaling and optimization. BS degrees run QC labs.

>> No.4488752

>>4488731
Same place you buy every other chemical. Sigma, Fisher, Acros, or more rarely VWR. Sometimes there are random small chemical companies that will sell for cheaper (AK scientific is a favorite of mine)