Science Articles

Many people working outside the field of chemistry do not realize that much of what we touch everyday contains a fluorine compound. Fluorine is a versatile element that has unique bonding properties and is also very stable. This makes it ideal for inclusion in a number of products. Industrialized and developing cultures use fluorides to create new products and maintain a better quality of life.

In general, most people associate the ninth element on the periodic table, fluorine, with dentistry. However, this is only one side of this versatile chemical. In its pure form, it is actually a poisonous gas, unfit for consumption by humans. Many derivatives of the element are harmless or even beneficial to the body. In fact, medicines containing fluorine are extremely common.

Over the years there have been many inventions which have made our lives easier. Considering these inventions, perhaps none is as overlooked as anesthesia. Anesthesia is a catchall term for substances meant to block sensation. They are used in most cases to put patients to sleep for surgeries and other painful procedures.

Specialty chemicals have an enormous variety of uses; in fact, it's more accurate to say that in most cases, it's possible to produce a specialty chemical that suits whatever the needs of a particular process might be.

Inert oils, greases, and waxes are preferred in many industrial situations because they are designed to have low reactivity in the presence of heat or another catalyst.

Inert lubricants have an enormous number of industrial and commercial uses, from oils used to keep heavy machinery running smoothly, to the wax that skiers use to decrease the friction between snow and their skis.

Fluorine has a number of chemical properties that make it particularly desirable for a wide variety of different industrial, commercial, and even medical applications. In particular, it is the most electronegative and the most highly reactive of all the elements, and readily forms compounds with all elements except for the three lightest noble gases. One particularly useful property of fluorine is that it forms strong and stable covalent bonds with carbon.

Halochemicals are compounds that contain halogens, one of the group of elements that includes fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, astatine, and the as-yet undiscovered ununseptium (the existence of the latter element has been shown, but it has not yet been synthesized).

Mushrooms are truly unique organisms. Their full potential in recycling agricultural wastes and tree stump decomposing has yet to be taken advantage. Some mushrooms like the Shiitake even boast cancer fighting properties

Soil is a mixture of tiny rock particles, living organisms, chemicals and the remains of dead plants and animals. These particles create the environment for billions of mostly tiny organisms to live. Larger organisms such as earthworms are also found in soil. A hobby farmer must improve soil health.