Review of "Elements, Compounds and Mixtures"

Moving images and bullet point explanations both work well with my brain. Definitely designed for a more visually oriented person and I think the simplicity of their presentation is helpful for people who have a limited understanding of the basics of chemistry.

Palladium

*Palladium (Pd) was discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston, who named it after the asteroid Pallas which had been discovered 2 years earlier

*Palladium has an atomic number of 46 and an atomic mass of 106.42. It's melting point is 1560 °C and it's boiling point is 2927 °C.

*Palladium is a part of a group of elements known as the Platinum Group Metals (PGM) which also include platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium. Of all the PGM's, Palladium has the lowest melting point and is the least dense.

*It is a naturally white metal that has a luster similar to platinum.

*Palladium does not tarnish in air

*When heated, it becomes soft and ductile. Cold working increases its strength and hardness.

*Palladium is found in many electronics including computers, mobile phones, multi-layer ceramic capacitors, component plating, low voltage electrical contacts, and SED/OLED/LCD televisions. Palladium is also used in dentistry, medicine, hydrogen purification, chemical applications, and groundwater treatment.

*Palladium plays a key role in the technology used for fuel cells, which combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, heat and water.

Ore Deposits of Palladium are rare. The most extensive deposits have been found in
-the norite belt of the Bushveld Igneous Complex in the Transvaal in South Africa,
-the Stillwater Complex in Montana, United States
-the Sudbury District of Ontario, Canada
-the Norilsk Complex in Russia

*In addition to mining, recycling is also a source of palladium, mostly from scrapped catalytic converters (a device used to reduce the toxicity of emissions from an internal combustion engine)

*The numerous applications and limited supply sources of palladium result in palladium drawing considerable investment interest. It is approximately 30 times rarer than gold

*Palladium was used in jewelry when in 1939, platinum was reserved for military use. It was lighter than platinum and being a very malleable metal, stone setting was an easy process. But production of palladium jewelry was largely discontinued after World War II when platinum was was once again permitted to be used as the color can become dull over time, and it doesn't polish as well as platinum.

Week 1 On Pain Medicine

In the article "Pain Medicine Use Has Nearly Doubled" there is a list of reasons why the use of pain medication has increased so dramatically. While they include the issue that there is more need as the population gets older, I found it strange that there was no more discussion on the younger generations and why it is that they are so dependent on this medication in the first place. I recognize that there are certain circumstances where pain medication is incredibly helpful, such as with horrible accidents and intense surgeries, but it seems to me that the scale on which people are suffering and using these pills is very wide. Generally speaking, I think that the influence of tv, internet, video games, fast food and other modern conveniences has caused the U.S. lifestyle to become more lazy and indoor oriented. As a result, our minds and bodies are becoming weaker with not enough physical movement and perhaps too much useless mental input. This can spoil us and make us more susceptible to illness. If we experience even the slightest pain, we don't want to have to make an effort to help ourselves heal, we would rather pop a pill, even if we don't understand what it is really doing to our bodies. Pain and suffering are regarded as inconveniences that we want to cover up, and in our quick fix culture, drugs like Oxycodone seem like an easy solution for making it all go away. Clearly it is not quite doing the trick.