Chemistry of Biology

There are many parts to every living thing.These basic parts have specialized jobs,which give shape and function of everything in the universe.The basic building block for all mas is the atom.There are many different parts to the atom.The electron is a negatively charged particle that revolves around the nucleus in electron shells.The electron is one of the smallest particles that make the atom.The counter part to the electron is proton.This is the large positive charged particle.These different atoms make up elements.An element is a collection of similar atoms.Examples of elements are oxygen,hydrogen and carbon.These elements can be used to build large materials can molecules.A molecule is a collection of similar or different elements.Different prefixes and suffixes are used to describe the shape,composition, and number of particles.An example of this is trivalent chromium.This named is used to describe the number of lost electrons.Hexavalent chromium has a charge plus six or it has lost six electrons.Chromium picolinate is the natural occurring form of chromium.It has not lost or gained a charge, or it is a neutral element.

Chromium is a very specific type of element.It can be very safe and helpful,but in some forms the element can be radioactive and cause health problems in living things.In the movie Erin Bockovich,two types of hexavalent chromium and chromium picolinate.Chromium picolinate is a helpful and necessary element.It is found in many dietary suplements due to its role in the absorption of glucose in the cells.In many cases of type II or adult on-set diabetes,a regular supplement of chromium can control the disease.This natural occurring mineral is providing to be a very important piece to the fight against diabetes.

The second type of chromium occurs in very low levels naturally in the environment,but due to manufacturing,both land and water supplies can be contaminated with extremely high levels of the radioactive material.This can lead to many health problems in humans.These health problems can include cancer,natural abortions,birth defects and mutations."Hexavalent chromium has been shown to be carcinogenic in humans,especially when inhaled as a dust".Exposure to this element can and has been very deadly.

Aquifers and other sources of groundwater are being polluted with hexavalent chromium everyday.Aquifers are large subterranean lakes.These aquifers are being both depleted for drinking water,but it is also being contaminated from pollutants from rain water,on the soil, and dumped into lakes and rivers.Then it drains into the groundwater.These pollutants slowly make there way towards the aquifers and out our facets.One a polluted aquifers is found in Los Angles,"Despite a new study confirming that higher-than-recommended levels of chromium 6 are present in tap water at 110 LA government facilities".This is just on example of the numerous polluted aquifers throughout the US.Not only can hexavalent chromium be found in the water,it is also present in the soil.This is one of the ways the groundwater is polluted.The various types of soil hold pollutants differently.The best for holding contaminates is clay.The clay is very fine,easily compacted, and porous.This means that it holds water well.When a pollutant comes into contact with the soil,especially water soluble pollutants,the clay holds the water in contaminating the topsoil.

Erin Brockovich opened many eyes when it addressed the problems of pollution.One example of a pollutant is chromium.In its natural state,it is necessary and helpful mineral,but when it is in the form of hexavalent chromium it is deadly.For the sake of the future generations and the environment,we need to clean up the soil and water and stop the constant polluting.

Quantum vs. Classical Mechanics

Classical and quantum mechanics are the two main fields of mechanics in physics.Classical mechanics came a few hundred years before Quantum mechanics.Subsequently it is less accurate and less reliable then the more recent mechanic field of quantum mechanics.Despite being outdated,Classical mechanics can still be used for many everyday problems with bigger and slower moving objects.However,when dealing with extremely fast moving or small subatomic particles a Classical approach will not produce sufficiently accurate results as was the case around the 19th century.

Difficulties with the Classical mechanics theory came right around the 19th century.First was the Ultraviolet Catastrophe.Experimental data when testing black body radiation was found to be inconsistent with Classical mechanics.The data showed that as the wavelength of the incoming radiation approaches zero,the amount of energy being radiated also approaches zero,whereas Classical mechanics says the emitted energy is infinite.The second difficulty with the theory was its inability to correctly describe the photoelectric effect.The photoelectric effect says that photons from a surface are released when light hits it.Classical mechanics says that electrons will be emitted from a metal by light waves with any frequency as long as the intensity of the light is strong enough, and even it is weak over a long enough period of time electrons will eventually be emitted.The theory was proved incorrect after experiments showed that light under certain frequencies did not produce the photoelectric effect on the metal,which meant that the emitting of electrons is related not to intensity but the waves frequency.A new string of mechanics,Quantum mechanics,was created in order to resolve the incompatibilities of Classical mechanics.A main difference between the two fields of mechanics is the make up of the atom.In Quantum mechanics electrons in an atom are outside of the nucleus in specific orbitals around the nucleus that they can jump from one to another only when a specific energy level is reached,and can never be in-between the specific orbitals.Also Quantum mechanics says that a photon is released only when an electron jumps from a higher energy level to a lower energy level,or a higher energy orbital to a lower energy orbital.Classical mechanics,contradicting this,says that an atom is constantly emitting radiation.Quantum mechanics describes light as both as a wave and a particle,depending on the situation.Light exhibits interference and diffraction,which are both characteristics associated to waves.However,there is also evidence that supports the particle theory of light that states electromagnetic waves consist of photons and bursts that have momentum and energy.

The Uncertainty Principle is also described by Quantum mechanics.It says,contrary to Classical mechanics belief that precision is limited only by the accuracy of man made instruments;it is impossible to make simultaneous measurements of a particle's position and momentum with infinite accuracy.This essentially is saying that the more we know about one,momentum or position,the less we will know about the other.

For most problems Classical mechanics is a more practical method to use.Despite not being as accurate as Quantum mechanics,the math is much simpler and the inaccuracies are generally small enough not to be a factor.Quantum mechanics is only necessary when dealing with extremely fast moving particles or small particles.