November 19, 2020

In Search of Chemist’s pure water

Chemist’s pure water which is formulated as H2O exists only in the theory. In the laboratory too, it has to be prepared from the water from the tap. The reason is its high polarity and very high dielectric constant which makes it a potent solvent. It can dissolve inorganic salts, polar organic compounds, acidic, basic and polar gases. It also carries suspended matter like clay particles in the form of colloids. Some of these are loosely suspended and separate out with time by sedimentation and other are stable and has to be destabilized by using defloucculants to settle them out. … Read More »In Search of Chemist’s pure water

Ashoka-The Great King

Ashoka-also written as Asoka and Akbar are considered as great and noble kings of the world. Ashoka belonged to the great Mauryan lineage of kings begun by his equally great grandfather Chandragupta Maurya. He succeeded to the throne in 269 B.C. Although according to Buddhist sources, Ashoka is said to have begun as a tyrant and usurped the crown by killing all his possible rivals, these may not be facts but speculations. After the war of Kalinga in the eighth year of his rule there was a complete change of heart. In his own words he accepted that 100000 men… Read More »Ashoka-The Great King

Bacteria in Oilfields

Bacteria can thrive on almost anything and adapt themselves to very diverse environments. They can subsist on substances like cellulose which we humans cannot assimilate. They can breakdown poisonous gases like hydrogen sulfide and absorb nitrogen from atmosphere and fix them into the roots of many plants which plants use as fertilizer. Bacteria can even breakdown crude oil. Crude oil consists of millions of hydrocarbons which are composed from carbon and hydrogen. These compounds range from the simplest molecule called methane made from 1 carbon atom to giant molecules containing even more than 50 carbon atoms. Many of these bacteria… Read More »Bacteria in Oilfields