Word: alkalis
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...while much of the environmental mercury in the U.S. comes from power plants, the other dominant source is chlor-alkali plants, which manufacture chemicals used in soaps, detergents and other products. More than 25% of the U.S. total blows in from overseas, particularly from coal-gobbling countries like China. Illinois Senator Barack Obama has proposed two bills to address those problems. One requires the eight chlor-alkali plants in the U.S. that still use mercury to convert to a less toxic alternative by 2012. The other calls for a ban on U.S. exports of mercury starting in 2010--a significant...
...stain as a finished thing," she says. "They don't see how to break it down. But if you understand your stain and what it's made of, you can work out what will get rid of it." Take red wine. "Wine is an acid. Bicarb soda is an alkali. So when you spill red wine on the carpet, you mop up as much as you can, then sprinkle on bicarb soda. The alkali negates the acid. You'll see straight away the stain change from red to pale gray as the pH swaps over and the pigment starts...
...those who may have failed science, this was a mistake, a simple production error. But a new study from North Carolina State has found hundreds of flaws in more than a dozen texts. Hydrogen appears twice on a periodic table and is described as a nonmetal and an alkali metal. In another book, sound travels faster through warm air on page 422; 12 pages later, it's swifter in cold. Above left, east and west are flipped on a compass ; center, the equator runs through the U.S.; in a prism setup, right, the result shown is impossible. Confused...
...would make the trek just to see the guy whose obsession is a jet engine the size of a truck muffler bolted to go-cart wheels; he sits in front of the glowing, screaming toy and zips across the alkali flats. It's nothing like piloting a computer. And there's the elaborate camera obscura some thoughtful person usually sets up, big enough to walk into and see the desert upside down. And this year, if my girls can be talked into it, we'll squish in the mud of nearby hot springs and wander around as dried-mud people...
...chilly morning in March 1965, a highly unusual gathering took place at Dow Chemical Co.'s headquarters in Midland, Mich. Without any corporate fanfare, Dow scientists met with colleagues from three rival firms, Hooker Chemical, Diamond Alkali and Hercules Powder. On the agenda that day was a discussion of the effects on human health of a family of chemicals known as dioxin. The chemicals, including Agent Orange, later used by the U.S. to defoliate the jungles of Viet Nam, are an unwanted byproduct in the making of herbicides. At the time, most chemists were only vaguely aware of dioxin...