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1500 questions
28
votes
3 answers
What properties of carbon dioxide make it a greenhouse gas?
Why is it that heat from the Earth reflects back off carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases but not gases like nitrogen or oxygen?
Charlie
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Is a diamond a single molecule?
Assuming a perfect diamond with no impurities. Would this diamond considered to be a single large molecule?
Browsing the interweb I found several opinions about this but did not find a clear Yes or No.
From what if gathered so far I'm pretty sure a…
Christoph Grimmer
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28
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1 answer
Suggest methods and basis sets for a variety of systems
Please help me with any/all of the cases below. In the following cases, the named method and basis set are not suitable for the chemical systems. Why aren't they? Could you suggest a suitable method/basis set for each?
1. MP2/6-31G(d) for the…
ARaf
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28
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2 answers
Why does bleach feel slippery?
My high-school chemistry teacher taught us the mantra "bases are slippery-soapy-slimy!"
This question and this answer in Quora say this is due to saponification - conversion of lipids from the top layer dead skin cells into a soap-like…
uhoh
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28
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6 answers
Overlap between computer science and chemistry?
This isn't particularly a question about chemistry itself, but more-so the prospect of chemistry.
What kind of opportunities arise when you overlap chemistry and computer science? I'm a computer science major, but prior to going to university I had…
gator
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28
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3 answers
Which molecule is more acidic: CHF3 or CHBr3?
I know that fluorine is more electronegative than bromine. However, because of the size of bromine, it is more stable with a negative charge. In the case of $\ce{HF}$ vs. $\ce{HBr}$, to me, $\ce{HBr}$ is without a doubt the stronger acid. When it…
George
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28
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1 answer
Why did the Rio 2016 pool water turn green?
One of the swimming pools at Rio 2016 Olympics has turned green:
While proliferation of algae is a likely culprit, there have been some alternative explanations offered by local organizers. CNN has the following quote from a Rio 2016 official:
A…
F'x
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28
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2 answers
Melting and boiling points of transition elements
The melting and boiling points of transition elements increase from scandium ($1530~\mathrm{^\circ C}$) to vanadium ($1917~\mathrm{^\circ C}$). They increase because as we go across the group, we have more unpaired (free) electrons.
But at chromium…
Rafique
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28
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3 answers
What makes a radical 'free'?
The qualifier 'free' seems to be ubiquitously attached to discussion of radicals as highly reactive species with unpaired spins. What, precisely (or imprecisely, as the case may be) does 'free' really mean?
Free as in free speech? Free beer? Freedom…
Richard Terrett
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28
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7 answers
Why is silver chloride less soluble than silver nitrate?
Related: Reaction between silver nitrate and aluminum chloride
Experimentally, $\ce{AgCl}$ is insoluble in water, but $\ce{AgNO3}$ is soluble. They're pretty common in a lab (well, $\ce{AgCl}$ is a common precipitate)--so I think most of us know…
ManishEarth
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28
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4 answers
Carbon with 5 bonds?
I've heard that, even though according to Molecular Orbital Theory there is no chance of having nobel gases bonded to each other, it is not totally impossible. For example, under extreme conditions, Ar2 can be synthesised.
So I am wondering whether…
gunakkoc
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28
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2 answers
Which of the following is the more stable carbocation?
Which of the following is the more stable carbocation?
I thought the 1st carbocation would be the more stable one as the pi-electron density of phenyl group can overlap with the vacant orbital on the sp-hybrid carbocation (1st one). But my tutor…
ksr
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28
votes
1 answer
Why does my blood taste like rust?
I thought it is just me, but when I searched it on Google, it revealed that there are many people who experience this:
Why is it that whenever I taste my own blood, I always think it tastes like rust? I have never eaten or tasted rust, so how can I…
Cary Bondoc
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28
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5 answers
Acid Accident Treatment
What are the general ways to treat an accident involving highly concentrated or similarly dangerous acids?
I have a lab instructor who recently debated with our group about treating an acid spill on the skin. According to him, one should immediately…
tkhanna42
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28
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2 answers
What happens if you cool water in a container too small for it to freeze?
Freezing a full bottle of water tends to shatter the glass bottle. What if you used something tougher than glass, like diamond? What would happen if you kept dropping the temperature, but restrained the liquid volume so it couldn't freeze and what…
tom
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