Hydrogen (H) and helium (He) are two elements with things in common beyond their initial h. They are both gas at room temperature and nonmetals. They are the elements with the lowest atomic number and the most abundant elements in the universe. However, they do have differences. Hydrogen can be combined with most elements of … Continue reading Hydrogen and helium broke the periodic table
Drag queen stories: the periodic table
Yesterday, 7th of February, was the Periodic Table Day. You didn't think I had forgotten, did you? You know I love talking about this wonder of chemical systematisation. But this time it is Lana Vuli who does, with an adaptation of my 12-y/o ramblings. Lana, drag queen scientist since January 2017, lets you know how … Continue reading Drag queen stories: the periodic table
Technically funny doctor-to-be
For the last two weeks I’ve neglected everyone and everything in order to meet the deadline for my PhD thesis text, which I’m supposed to submit in a week. But I took that one morning off. Two weeks ago Dr Matthew Murtha invited me to his Technically Funny radio show (Tue-Thu, 10 am – 12 … Continue reading Technically funny doctor-to-be
(Unofficial) Periodic Table Day
It might not be popular as it’s not an official international day, but today, 7th of February, is periodic table day. There’s always geeks celebrating whatever they obsess over. The National Periodic Table Day Foundation was created with quite a transparent objective. They chose the 7th of February because on that day John Newlands—who invented … Continue reading (Unofficial) Periodic Table Day
Final names for the new chemical elements
Something that affects me as a chemist and a terminologist has happened. I'm obviously not talking about my sprained wrist after falling off my bike, which forced me to write this post with only my right hand. Yes, that happened, but it affects me many additional parts of my life. The IUPAC (International Union of … Continue reading Final names for the new chemical elements
Ramblings about the periodic table
[Speech for the Consecutive Interpreting course, 2007] Dear classmates, I’m going to take the advantage of the centenary of the death of Mendeleev —who must be in hell for laughing at the right theory of one of his contemporary chemists—, I resolved to ramble about the periodic table of the elements. I’m not going to tell the … Continue reading Ramblings about the periodic table
Glossochemia 