Chemical Forums
General Forums => Generic Discussion => Topic started by: constant thinker on April 11, 2006, 06:07:13 PM
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Why or How did you become interested in chemistry?
For me it was a curiosity for why things are in this world. O and I also had an unbelievably good Physical Science teacher who use to always do crazy things and burn or just blow up things. Also I wondered about medicines and drugs, and how they affected our bodies.
I know some people probably answered this in the Introduce Yourself Thread.
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Why or How did you become interested in chemistry?
For me it was a curiosity for why things are in this world. O and I also had an unbelievably good Physical Science teacher who use to always do crazy things and burn or just blow up things. Also I wondered about medicines and drugs, and how they affected our bodies.
I know some people probably answered this in the Introduce Yourself Thread.
My particular interest shifted to biochemistry/molecular biology (especially oncology and associated treatments) over the years I did my chemistry secondary school. I used to watch all those nature and science documentaries when I was ~6 to 12 (the only things I was allowed to watch past 8pm, yeah my education was tough ;)).
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Well I've always had an attraction to sciences. When I was younger I was more interested in life sciences and biology, but eventually I got into chemistry because I was interested in the changes and composition of the physical world ;D
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I got into chemistry through doing demos--i.e., blowing things up and catching things on fire. Surprised?
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Nope definately not surprised hmx9123. Your screen name is a high explosive, is it not. :)
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I guess I always have, been interested in science in general.
Since I was about 4, or so, started off with mycology, and I guess chemistry came into it, from the use of certain reagents to help identify species, now? hm, I guess it followed on from there.
Cant beat a freshly picked wild mushroom fryup for breakfast either :D
(or the odd....special....type of mushroom snack ;D)
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I came down with Insulin Dependent Diabetes when I was a mere 1.5 years old, so I've always had an interest in science because I wanted to know why my body didn't work but everybody else's did. So initially biology and anatomy were what I was really into. Then as I grew older, I began to start seeing chemistry stuff. My introduction to chemistry was on Mr. Wizard when they took apart fireworks, went over how they work, and showed all the different colors you can make based on the salts that are used. From that point forward I was hooked. As I went further along in school and took more and more chemistry courses I got to see more and more demonstrations of chemistry in action which just mezmorized me. I've had a love of chemistry ever since then, and having an element collection has helped me explore this field more than I could have ever possibly imagined. (There's nothing better than getting a new element that you don't have, or upgrading a sample you do have. Though with my collection being pretty much complete, it's difficult for me to get a "new" element). ;D
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Don't worry there is always allotropes and isotopes. :P
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Don't worry there is always allotropes and isotopes. :P
Indeed, but I've pretty much got all of the room-temperature allotropes I can get, and in many cases the different isotopes aren't really all that exciting. I guess I could still get some buckminsterfullerines for Carbon, but that's really it. I have both forms of tin, Red/White/Violet/Black Phosphorus, Red and Black Selenium, amorphous and crystalline boron, Graphite/Amorphous/Diamond Carbon.
I guess the only things left are amorphous silicon, buckminsterfullerines and that's it. I have all three isotopes of hydrogen, and the other metal allotropes really can't be seen at room temperature. I thought that yellow arsenic would be an option, but it will not be stable under ordinary conditions. I guess that's the trouble of having a nearly completed collection. There isn't a whole lot left that can excite me.
Though I did find out that I may be able to get some square centimeters of some pure Thorium Metal sheeting so that would be nice to add to the collection. I'd just need to go and get myself another lead lined box to store it in. While it's not really completely needed and a simple lead-lined vial will be fine, having a heavy lead-lined box just feels really cool. If only I had access to Norm Abrahm's workshop I'd be in heaven. ;) (I'd like to make myself a nice wooden box with lead sheeting sandwiched in between a nicely finished wooden exterior, but while I can picture it in my head I just don't have the equipment or know-how to actually do it).
In addition, if I ever got the opportunity to own some Technetium metal I would be completely floored by it. I would still like to get a tiny 0.5 cm diameter sphere of it stored inside a nice glass box of sorts to block out the alpha and beta rays it emits and cut back on the number of x-rays that are generated.
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It is a HE, the most powerful non-nuclear explosive known until HNB was discovered in 1979, followed by CL-20 a few years later.
JDurg--I might be able to get you some fullerenes. How much stuff do you want? I don't have a lot, but what I do have is clean. I might be able to send you 10-20mg, which isn't much, but it's something. I'll check to see soon--as soon as I can remember at least--which these days isn't very long.
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It is a HE, the most powerful non-nuclear explosive known until HNB was discovered in 1979, followed by CL-20 a few years later.
JDurg--I might be able to get you some fullerenes. How much stuff do you want? I don't have a lot, but what I do have is clean. I might be able to send you 10-20mg, which isn't much, but it's something. I'll check to see soon--as soon as I can remember at least--which these days isn't very long.
Enough so that it's visible would be great. My diamond samples are in a tiny vial, so if it's in a vial as long as the vial is narrow enough it will look like a bigger sample than it is. If you have some photos that'd be great. Thanks!!
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One of my first tastes of chemistry came when I spent part of a summer with my grandparents. They had an old chemistry set, maybe they had got it for one of their kids. I don't think I followed the manual all that much, but I did definitely learn some things. Discovering Prussian blue was probably the highlight, but I also learned about phenolphthalein indicator, cobalt chloride color changes, and since the set had calcium chloride, I learned what 'deliquescent' meant. I wish I still had that thing, it was a nice one I think. (I'd be delighted to just have the manual, actually.)
When I ended up going to college, I didn't study chemistry but instead got a degree in physics, and have mostly done computer programming since then. Now, the only 'physics' that I find myself looking up is the part that is also 'chemistry'. (E.g. quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, radioactivity.)
About 6 years ago, or so, I started trying to collect the elements. I had tried before, when I was a kid, but I never made much progress. Nowadays, thanks to the internet (and having a salary ;)), I have been able to accumulate all of the elements (the ones that are practical, anyways.) Kind of at the same time, I started reading chem books, sort of trying to teach myself the equivalent of a BS in chem. To go with collecting elements, it made sense to do experiments with them, too. I.e., I can have a nice piece of copper foil, or whatever, but it is a fun extension to mess with copper chemistry on top of that. I have been gradually collecting chemicals, and now I have a halfway respectable set. There are still tons and tons of 'standard experiments' that I haven't done, so I won't run out of things to do for a while.
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Firstly, let me introduce myself! Im new to these boards, hoping i can use what im learing at university to guide others, to pick up some more usfull (or usless) info myself and make some freinds.
Hello!
Ok, now to the topic in hand...
I chose to study chemistry because of my A-Level teacher (im in the UK, A-levels are the college years...16-18 years of age, then uni). She was a wicked teacher, making hard topics fun and interesting. I didnt wanna study anything else but chemistry, and i still dont! Well, maybe studying guitar and studying the motorcycle test requirments for the UK ;D
Chemistry rules!!!
Matt
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i mainly got interested in middle school because i was fortunate enough to get such great teachers who chose to do cool things in class and they really got me started. it wasn't till sophmore year that i found that i really liked chemistry because of all the fun you can have doing experiments and because i actually understood it
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My father started me in sciences at a young age (he's a neuroscientist himself) and I've always been interested in how things in the world work. I loved learning science in high school, but it was dumbed down unbelievably low. Consequently I didn't take high school chemistry (my would-be chem teacher is also not the best) and instead I was enrolled in General chemistry at Colgate Univ. Since I started taking chemistry there it has become almost an obsession. I love it!
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I saw the periodic table
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I saw the periodic table
So did I. In fact, I struggled so badly with chemistry when I first learned Chemistry that I wanted to conquer it. I enjoyed the challenge and have been dabbling with chemistry ever since. LOL.
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Whenever I encounter a challenge I either get mad and knock it out or I learn all that I can about it and figure out why it's a challenge for me. Then it no longer becomes a challenge.
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The best year 11 chemistry teacher in the whole world, Mr.Hepburn.
And love for understanding What's really going on behind the scenes.
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I was always interesting in how things burn and explode so I decided to learn how and why it happens and how to do them by myself.
Also I did have a really good chemistry teacher who allowed me to use any chemicals from the lab in any amount I want for any experiment I wish to do :)