Metals (blue boxes) are blue-collar, hardworking elements of the earth’s crust. Metal nuclei don’t hold on tightly to their electrons, which travel the length and breadth of the crystal. They are delocalized. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry

The periodic table comes fully alive when it is in color. Elements can be distinguished as metals, nonmetals, or metalloids easily. Little hydrogen still leads the parade, but its exact place on the table turns out to be negotiable. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry

It’s the year of the horse! Happy Lunar New Year, everyone! For me, having a horse meant facing a challenge every day. Meeting these hurdles made my world larger, richer, and wilder. #lunarnewyear Image by Sunrise for Pixabay

The elephant and the atom #chemsky #chemistry #iamwriting

This is a short transitional post to bridge bonding mechanisms with the arrangement of metals and nonmetals on the Periodic Table. A brief bonding review is included.

In a series of notes. - So much more than a romantic comedy - Our dear friends were not finished yet, however. Marie Curie had a hunch pitchblende contained more ‘… as yet unknown, very active elements.’ #chemsky #chemistry #booksky

Once upon a time we had a horse. The day we bought him, I told a friend ‘I will grow old with that horse’. Rebecca, a long-time horse woman, laughed at me. ‘You’ll have more than one horse, silly’. Jaz came to us angry and afraid, 17.1 hands of pent-up fury. #barnlife #booksky #iamwriting memoir

Final installment in series on chemical bonding. Metallic bonding, written for the novice. Not the sea of electrons model. Delocalization and band theory are explained. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry

Signed into law late 2/3/2026: funding measures to support the NSF and NIH at close to or slightly exceeding, respectively 2025 levels.🧪 #chemsky #chemistry

In a series of notes. - So much more than a romantic comedy -But it would not work out this neatly. Bad news first: The new, unmistakably radioactive element could not, at the time, be separated from the element bismuth. #chemsky #chemistry #booksky

Sixth installment in bonding series for the novice. This one is short and, I hope, sweet. Features the nitrogen molecule and its 2 pi bonds. A simplified sketch shows electron density. Bond strengths of hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen molecules ranked. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free

Forty years ago today, the space shuttle challenger exploded shortly after takeoff. This was a ‘generational moment’. I am old enough to remember exactly where I was when I heard the news- in my office, at Denison University in Granville Ohio. 🧪 #science

In a series of notes. - So much more than a romantic comedy -‘C’est incroyable!’ The radiation was off the charts!!! It would not take long for Marie Curie to see through this: #chemsky #chemistry #booksky

This song is about destiny: 'The Guitar', by Guy Clark. The denouement sends a delicious chill down my spine every time. If you like this one, check out 'Desperados waiting for a train'. Or anything else this brilliant craftsman has ever created. #singersongwriter #music

In a series of notes. - So much more than a romantic comedy -Hmmm… what were these strange emissions? Marie Curie’s first order of business was to confirm Henri Becquerel’s observations. #chemsky #chemistry #booksky

Fifth installment in bonding series for the novice. Starring the oxygen molecule, double bond, sigma, pi, explained. You may (or may not) like my simple sketch of the electron density distribution. Just trying to provide a little something to hold on to. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry

In a series of notes. - So much more than a romantic comedy -Enter Antoine Henri Becquerel #chemsky #chemistry #booksky

One of my favorite books. Its wise, gentle message suitable for children and adults alike. Wonderful illustrations. #booksky #iamreading

In a series of notes. - So much more than a romantic comedy- Marie gains access to lab space. And not just in any old lab. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry

4th installment in bonding series for the chem novice. Describes the polar bond between H and F in terms of the physique of the atoms involved. Toxicity of HF gas mentioned. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry

I’m no quantum chemist, but I cheer any advance in quantum computing that may help reduce the environmental cost of AI by taking over parts of AI computation. 🧪 #chemsky #chemistry

In a series of notes. - So much more than a romantic comedy- The plot thickens: Marie is introduced by a mutual colleague to another scientist who just might be able to help her. His name is Pierre Curie, and he, too, is interested in magnetism. #booksky #chemsky #chemistry

In a series of notes. – So much more than a romantic comedy- A poor Polish woman makes her way to Paris in late 1891. Need I mention that she was also brilliant? Maria Salomea Skłodowska studies so hard that she forgets to eat. And succeeds sensationally! #booksky #chemsky #chemistry

Third installment in bonding series for the novice. Dihydrogen, the usual suspect, spiced up with a dash of astrochem. Emphasize the compromise made by the nuclei and electrons. Bit of scientific notation. Explain meaning of paired and orbital. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry

"The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays is coming to its close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences." Winston Churchill #NEWS #POLITICS

Need a mood stabilizer today? Try this luscious recording, Yo-Yo Ma plays Ennio Morricone. #classicalmusic #cello #yo-yoma #enniomorriconi

#Booksky #bookthoughts #insomnia

If it’s any consolation Bergs is in good company. During the scientific revolution Galileo was sentenced to lifetime house arrest for teaching heliocentrism

On Albert Einstein’s study wall hung portraits of three men. One was Isaac Newton, the second was James Clerk Maxwell. The third might come as a surprise... #chemsky #chemistry #Iteachchemistry 🧪 substack.com/@periodicmus...

🧵I have the distinct memory of a line from Frank Herbert's Dune that goes like this: 'That's when the fit hit the Shan'. I've quoted it many times over the years. But, gulp, this line isn't in the book at all! It's a spoonerism?! Yikes! 😱 #Booksky #Bookthoughts

'There is no better, there is no more open door by which you can enter into the study of natural philosophy, than by considering the physical phenomena of a candle.' Michael Faraday (1848) #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry

'The Chemical History of a Candle' was offered as the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures of 1848. Over a series of 6 lectures, Faraday demonstrated foundational principles of chemistry 'live' at his bench.

'There is no better, there is no more open door by which you can enter into the study of natural philosophy, than by considering the physical phenomena of a candle.' Michael Faraday #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry

This is the second post in my series about bonding written for the chem novice. I suggest ionic bonding is a bit like a romance. Then I move on to the crystal lattice and the cultural and historical significance of salt with a tiny bite of nomenclature thrown in. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchem

Would matter plus antimatter yield a unique bond? Theoretical studies on the Be dimer suggest that if a positron is added, a sweet spot emerges at bond lengths of less than 3.5Å. The positron density shifts to peripheral regions of the dimer, producing a much stronger bond. 🧪 #chemsky #chemistry

Chemistry certainly owes a debt to early alchemists like Albertus Magnus, Roger Bacon, Henning Brand. ‘Household names’ Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton were key figures in the transition from alchemy to chemistry. #chemsky #chemistry #Iteachchemistry

'I have lived longer than I ever thought I would... I am still here, like a tiresome guest in my own life.' from The Last Gift, by Abdulrazak Gurnah, p. 239 #booksky #Iamreading

A rare bright spot for whales: Decades of conservation pay off for endangered population in Canada news.mongabay.com/2025/12/a-ra... 🧪🦑🌎

‘My devil had been long caged, he came out roaring’. From Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by R L Stevenson. Fluoride is like the well-mannered Dr. Jekyll. Fluorine embodies Stevenson’s ‘long caged devil’ and comes out roaring. #chemsky #chemistry #iteachchemistry

Last night, I was dozing off listening to the audiobook version of ‘The Ministry of Time’, by Kaliane Bradly, when this sentence in chapter 8 elbowed me awake. ‘Moss is a sign that God has a sense of humor, and fungi is a sign that He has a sense of awe.’ #chemsky #environment #booksky #iamreading

This is the first in a series of posts about chemical bonding. Written for the chemnovice, or even the chemcynic. Very basic, this one is focused on the role of electrons. Think of it as the first tiny bite. #chemsky #chemistry #IteachChemistry

How did I get here? Abdulrazak Gurnah suggests ‘It may be that events constantly take us by surprise, or perhaps traces of what is to become of us are present in our past, and we only need to look behind us…’ From The Last Gift, p. 216 #booksky #IamReading

Managed to get back to ‘The Last Gift’ by Abdulrazak Gurnah this morning. Another sentence hit me so hard upside of my head that I had to write it down... #booksky #IamReading

The first molecule in the ancient universe was HeH⁺. Consumed at a rapid rate by atomic hydrogen, it was never very abundant. Yet, its reactions with atomic H are 'are more important for primordial molecular abundances than was previously assumed...' 🧪 #chemistry #chemsky

The family of chemical compounds is nearly infinite. Chemical nomenclature provides us with a set of rules for naming each unique chemical compound, or parts of compounds, like ions. #chemed #chemchat

Wishing a happy 82nd birthday to biochemist Margaret Tolbert, whose research included studies of signaling within the liver and the interactions of drugs with it, and who in 1996 became the first Black woman to direct a Department of Energy lab. #WomenInSTEM #ChemSky #BioSky 🧪⚛️

The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name – Confucius

Boston's Mayor Wu playing with Yo-Yo Ma at Symphony Hall

To paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson: The chemist is the Namer, naming things sometimes after their appearance, sometimes after their essence, giving to everything its own name and not another’s. #chemistry #chemed #chemsky