Alive Chemicals

Caustic Soda

2020-06-20T20:21:00.009+05:30

Caustic Soda -

Caustic Soda or Sodium Hydroxide ( NaOH ) is surely being the base which is given as an example for the very first time when we started learning about the bases.

Although its formula and name seems to be quite simple but it is one of the strongest bases whose pH is situated at the rightmost corner of the pH scale i.e., 14 (standard value).

Being so basic in nature, it shows several vigorous reactions with alkali metals, acids (mostly situated towards the left of the pH value of lemon juice), etc.

So it's appreciating properties brought it in the chemical industries as a most commonly used base which has a variety of uses in the chemical-based production industries.

Caustic Soda Uses -

Caustic soda is used for several purposes like it is used in paper industry, soaps and detergents industry, several sodium based salt production uses are also there.

Apart from this, Caustic soda is also used for pH regulation as well as in a special kind of purification process called CAUSTIC WASHING.

Caustic Soda in Paper Industry -

Although digitalization has replaced the use of papers to a very significant extent, but still, pen down something on papers or reading your stuff by holding books, has it's own contentment.

So definitely, processing out the papers from its raw materials has always been an appreciating contribution to a large group of readers and writers and the use of caustic soda in this process, shows the invincible aid of Chemical industries to the world full of intellectuals.

Actually papers are made up of Cellulose fibers which are extracted from the woods . But the thing is that it's not easy as picking out the stones from the rice.

So for this purpose, after making out the pulp by cutting woods into small pieces and mixing with hot water to make a slurry, it is then treated with the caustic soda to remove the cellulose fibrers from the pulp ( popularly known as KRAFT PROCESS ) which on further processing gives the papers you required.

Caustic soda is also used for recycling the papers as detaching the inks from the waste paper ( deinking process ) .

Caustic soda in soaps and detergents -

The market has a variety of soaps which differs from each other in several aspects like in fragrance, shape, design, texture etc.

When we are talking about soaps then definitely we are talking about that solid, smooth, fragrant thing that we use to freshen ourselves while bathing.

Saponification is the process in which we convert the fatty acids like stearic or palmitic acids into the soap via going through a standard reaction carried out by specified reactants.

How this caustic soda helps in saponification -

Actually the use of caustic soda is very important in this process because the soaps that we use in solid form is only possible with the use of caustic soda.

In the above mentioned process, Caustic soda is used to favor the precipitation of soaps to solidify them and hence we are capable of casting the soaps into required design and shapes.

Table Salt Vs Kosher Salt

2020-06-04T21:20:00.004+05:30

Although there are several varieties of spices which we use to make the dishes tasty, color blossom, and several other ingredients are used to garnish them and make them look delicious.

Whenever you prepare a dish, there might be some ingredient which is not available right next to you, so you just try to use some sort of substitute, keeping assured one thing that the final dish would not be compromised in taste at all!

But how would it taste, if salt is not present in them?

Exactly! Your weird expression upon imagining such thing reveals that how important salt is for such delicious dishes.

It means one thing is very clear that although you can compromise with other ingredients, but compromising with salt is something that is not approved by any single being in this whole world.

Being so important ingredient, an estimation says that around 30 Million Metric Tonnes of edible salt are produced worldwide annually !

Although there are around 10-12 edible salts, but there are two types of edible salts which are prominent in the world.

These are Table Salt and Kosher Salt .

Table salt -

Sodium Chloride (NaCl) is one of the most prominent edible salt that we use. We all are familiar with its production that Electrodialysis is the main processing through which sea water is concentrated into salt and since Sodium Chloride is already present in the dominant amount so we just have to eliminate the impurities or other salt forms as per need.

Like some salt (Eg- NaNO3, CaCl2 etc.) are deliquescent in nature, so if we want to get rid of this, we just simply reduce their existing concentration from further processing .

After Table salt, the second most prominent edible salt which is in itself a demanding salt in the world is Kosher Salt.

Kosher Salt -

Kosher Salt is basically a kitchen salt and the interesting thing about this salt is that it too contains Sodium Chloride as its main component just like in case of Table salt.

The way it is different from the table salt is that it doesn't contain IODINE which is a common and important nutritional additive in case of Table salt.

It has it's other name apart from Kosher salt, like flake salt, cooking salt, kashering salt etc.

Table Salt Vs Kosher Salt -

As we do know that everything has its pros and cons, so there are several aspects in which Table salt is better than kosher salt while in other vice-versa is true.

Sprinkling the Salts -

While both salts are used in adding the ultimate taste of a dish, but due to relatively larger coarse grains, Kosher salt have taken a lead as it is easier as well as contented to sprinkle the salt by taking it in your fingers and just simply sprinkle all over the dish that you are cooking.

Table salt is very fine and generally we use some sort of spoons or spatula to take it out of the jar and add it in the food that you cooking but unlike table salt , Kosher salt gives you an advantage due to it's large grains size which doesn't require any spoons and you just simply boost up the taste with your fingers.

Nutritional additive ( Iodine ) -

Although Table salt is more refined and not so close to nature as compared to kosher salt, but the one beneficial aspect which Table salt contains is presence of Iodine in it.

An estimation has revealed the fact that around 25% of the iodine deficit population are currently suffering from Goiters (iodine deficit disease) and not using table salt is the dominant reason behind this.

Unlike Kosher salt, table salt is nutritionally boosted up by adding a very important mineral called Iodine, which is bitter in taste and so of the table salt but ultimately this is something which keeps you prevented from the Goiter.

Laughing Gas

2020-05-02T21:04:00.002+05:30

What makes you laugh ?

The greatest sign of being happy is laughing, which you see on a person's face. Although the reason can be different like one use to laugh at a joke other may be at different one, but overall, we all have perceived the feeling of joy several times in our life.

Being happy is one thing and laughing at something is what makes each and every part of your body joyful!

But have you ever laughed forcefully?

Perhaps there could be a condition where you have to laugh at the weirdest jokes of your friend just to let him feel humorous, but here you will gonna meet with a chemical which once when you exposed to it, you can't resist laughing!

Laughing Gas -

The name itself reveals the most dominant effect of this chemical i.e, when you get exposed to it , you would laugh irrespective of your mood!

So why this chemical makes you laugh, what is the chemistry behind this, what is actually going through your brain, can this be efficient at something else or not. All these thing you would see below.

Chemical aspects of Laughing gas -

Actually laughing gas is one of the oxides of Nitrogen which is chemically called as Nitrous oxide having molecular formula N2O.

At room temperature Nitrous oxide is a colorless gas having a very pleasant scent like odor. It is a non- flammable gas, which is capable in getting soluble in water.

Getting exposed by it, will make you laugh, due to a very interesting effect which is called euphoria which you would experience upon inhaling it.

How this Euphoria makes you laugh?

Euphoria is actually an effect of feeling pleasure, calm, happy, sometimes even laughing (as in case of N2O) due to the activation of certain stress releasing hormones like Dopamine.

Upon inhaling the Nitrous oxide, it activates such type of hormone in the central nervous system which leads to this condition or the effect called Euphoria.

Now due to this amazing euphoric effect of this chemical, Nitrous oxide has a wide applications especially in medical fields.

Laughing Gas Dentist -

Tooth problems are counted among those medical problems which in spite of seems to be a mild one, gives you a lot of pain unless taken prescribed medications.

In the general case, we try to get rid of these problems by clearing the affected area with a brush or oral solutions. Like each one has to follow a general prescription of brushing out teeth twice a day.

In some advanced cases, we apply clove oil to the affected area as it is a very strong anti-bacterial agent and really helps in getting rid out of several tooth problems.

But even after doing all this, certain conditions are so much unbearable that one has to go to a dentist to get rid out of this.

Laughing Gas for Kids -

Although tooth problems are so unbearable that irrespective of your age, it sometimes just not let you get rid out of this and you have to go to a dentist.

But the thing is that as compared to the elder ones, kids become more frightful when they see the dentist's equipments as well as the procedure which a dentist use for treatments.

So to make the kids comfortable with the required procedures which a dentist has to follow, he put a small mask over the nose of the kids, in which he is providing this safe and effective gas i.e, Nitrous oxide mixed with oxygen, that helps in keeping the child relaxed and making the kids cooperated with the required procedures.

Laughing gas during labor -

Accidents and diseases are generally the main cause of physical pain which a human being feels when he came across with them.

There is a special kind of device which was developed in the 20th century by the scientists to measure out the intensity of the pains which a human being experience when he go through them.

This device is called Dolorimeter and the intensity of pain is measured out in the unit called DEL.

Now the thing is that according to the scientists, an adult and physically fit human being is capable of bearing a pain up to 45 DEL units. It means that it is the maximum limit up to which he can bear with his resisting power towards the pain which he is feeling.

But the amazing thing which this nature makes possible for a pregnant woman is making herself capable in bearing the pain, she feels during the labor.

According to a research, it has found that a woman experience up to 57 DEL units of pain while giving birth to her young ones.

Perhaps you are not very familiar with this unit so there might be a chance that you can't imagine such amount of pain.

But some of you have definitely gone through the condition where one of your leg's or hand's bones got fractured, ones in life and it is really a painful thing. So you might be capable to imagine that 57 DEL units are actually equivalent to the fracture of 20 BONES TOGETHER !

So pain, which a mother feels during giving birth to her young ones is really unimaginable but she manages it and it is more than a sufficient fact that she must be praised out for her being !

How the laughing Gas helps into this -

Actually to relieve the labor pain, there are several kinds of medicines available in the market and due to the large amount of pain, women do so to get into relief, but the thing is that they are having other bad side effects of medicine.

Although everything should be taken in limit, but the good thing about laughing gas is that a pregnant woman during labor pain is advised to may take a limited amount of a mixture of Nitrous oxide with oxygen.

The best part of this is that it makes possible for the woman to bear the labor pain and this laughing gas is the least expensive option available for such purpose.

One additional thing that must be included in this is that it has the least effect on the baby (the ultimate choice of having any analgesics)!

Hydrochloric Acid ( HCl )

2020-04-28T20:31:00.000+05:30

Hydrochloric Acid -

It's pretty sure that you get exhausted while dealing with the casual physical and chemical properties of the chemicals. So here you will get encountered with the usual chemicals in unusual ways that you kept dealing with !

We have a large no. of mineral acids which are used in the production of a large variety of chemicals that has a very beneficial roles in several kind of industries.

Actually these acids are very strong and corrosive in nature and at certain dilution they are used for several purposes like -

Sulfuric acid is mainly used in the production of other mineral acids as well as used in producing chemicals like synthetic detergents, dyes, pigments, several varieties of drugs etc.

Nitric acid is used to manufacture Ammonium Nitrate which is further used in making fertilizers. It is also used in the production of explosive chemicals like Nitroglycerin and TNT.

Hydrochloric acid is mainly used in batteries, firecrackers and also in the lab preparation of table salt ( NaCl ).

So how the use of this HCl dominates over the other mineral acids ?

Gastric Juice -

Organic Nature of Inorganic HCl -

Although the role of the other mineral acids like Nitric acid, Sulfuric acid, Boric acid etc. is appreciable for humankind but how HCl plays role for human life is something that makes it dominating over the other mineral acids.

Being used in Gastric Juice, HCl is organically involved in staying us alive !

It is not mere a simple acid that involves in digesting the food that we eat but it is something that allows us to eat whatever we chose !

And because of only this, it makes us capable to discover uncountable no. of dishes across the religion, culture, society, state, country and the world on every single day !

Chemistry Of Gastric Juice -

Although Gastric Juice contains other chemicals along with HCl like water, electrolytes, several enzymes etc. but the role that HCl plays being used in Gastric juice is something that is so important for the human internal system.

Actually whatever we eat is a source of nutrient like carbs, proteins, fats etc. And on a broad sense, it is the role of the internal organs to extract these nutrients into simplest form and help them to get transported into the bloodstream .

How HCl helps into this ?

Actually the protein that we eat, needed to be broken down into their constituent amino acids and to carry out this process an enzyme called Pepsin is required.

But the problem is that in the stomach pepsin is present in it's inactive form i.e, pepsinogen.

This HCl which is present in the gastric juice helps in converting this enzyme called pepsinogen into it's active form i.e, Pepsin.

Along with this, HCl also helps in killing out the harmful pathogens like viruses which brought into the stomach by the food that we eat.

Other aspects of HCl -

Hydrochloric acid formula -

You might be reacting weird that what's the big deal with the formula of hydrochloric acid, as it is simple as HCl in which hydrogen and chlorine atoms get bonded with a single covalent bond.

But it is actually the root of all the interesting results or applications of HCl which you see in the real world !

Bond in HCl -

The first thing about the bond between the hydrogen and chlorine atom in this molecule is that, it is a single covalent bond which is highly polar in nature.

Being the third most electronegative element of the periodic table, Chlorine always tends to form molecules involving electrovalent and polar covalent bonds .

In case of HCl, the electronegativities of Hydrogen and Chlorine are 2.2 and 3.16 respectively. The difference between this is significant enough to make it behaves like a strong electrolyte and here what it is.

Making it more shocking for you -

Yet you might not be feeling so strange about this, but lets take the example of water in which same hydrogen is present which is present in HCl and one another element i.e, Oxygen atom which is even more electronegative than Cl having electronegativity around 3.44.

So here the thing is clear to you that the difference in electronegativities of bonded atoms in H2O is more as that in HCl, yet water is a very weak electrolyte.

If you go with the physical significance of water being a weak electrolyte, you'll get to know that only a SINGLE MOLECULE of Water among 1 CRORE molecules of them gets dissociated into H+ and OH- ion !

While HCl being a strong electrolyte, gets completely dissociated i.e, each and every molecule in it's aqueous solution is capable in dissociating into it's constituent ions i.e, H+ and Cl- !

Nitric Acid

2020-04-22T13:21:00.002+05:30

Nitric Acid -

In case of inorganic chemistry, nitrogen is counted among those elements which has given the world, one of the most strong acid and i.e, Nitric acid.

Nitric acid has several other names like Aqua Fortis, spirit of niter, hydrogen nitrate etc. and some has significant reason like written below -

Aqua Fortis -

Nitric acid is also called aqua fortis because this is a latin word which means strong water .

Actually decontaminated Nitric acid looks like water but it is capable in dissolving the metals like silver.

The thing to be noted is that nitric acid is even capable in dissolving hard metals like iron, chromium, aluminium into it but when we get concentrated nitric acid for this purpose then rather making them dissolved, it started forming metal-oxides over the surface of these metals.

Nitric acid formula and structure -

HNO3 is the formula for nitric acid and hence it is also called hydrogen nitrate.

The charge shown on nitrogen and oxygen in the above figures are actually the formal charges which arises due to conversion of coordinate bond into covalent bond as per new rule.

Hybridization and Geometry -

The nitrogen atom being the central atom is sp2 hybridised and hence trigonal planar in geometry.

Acidity of HNO3 -

It is known that nitric acid is one of the most strong acid in inorganic chemistry but how this acidity is proved logically.

Actually there are several factors that governs the acidity of an acid but being straight forward, the stability of conjugate base tells you that how strong the acid is.

Resonating structures of nitric acid ( defining it's acidity ) -

The above shown canonical forms are the three possible resonating structures of nitric acid.

Here you may see that on releasing the H+ ion in aqueous solution, the nitrate ion carries one negative charge on the oxygen atom.

This negative charge is actually delocalized in between all the three oxygen atom present in the nitrate ion making it very stable conjugate base ( as the electronegativity of oxygen is capable in holding the negative charge ) hence the Nitric acid is so strong in nature.

Till now you have seen the basic info of nitric acid and it's acidity.

But now onwards you will get touched with those aspects of Nitric acid that are quite fascinating !

Fumes of Nitric acid -

Actually Nitric acid, on opening the cap of the glass bottle in which it is kept, produces strong vapours which we usually called fumes ( provided it should be pure nitric acid or of concentration greater then 86%).

The reason behind this is that at room temperature, the vapour pressure of nitric acid is larger than that of other volatile liquids like water. Also the vapours are visible in case of nitric acid.

Like for instance the vapour pressure of pure nitric acid at 20ºC is approx. 48 mmHg which is quite larger than that of water at the same temperature i.e, approx. 17 mmHg.

Actually the commercially used Nitric acid is having a concentration approx. 68% in water but for some specific applications, we use the high concentrated nitric acids (sometimes alongwith certain contaminants ).

Now what would be the colour of this fume, will depend upon the concentration of certain contaminants.

White Fuming Nitric acid -

When the Nitric acid is not contaminated enough i.e, if it is present in a concentration, at least about 95 % ( provided that the concentration of NO2 due to somehow contamination should not be greater than 0.5 % ) then we get the dense white fumes of nitric acid.

Actually this concentration of Nitric acid is not for general use. We use it as an oxidizer alongwith kerosene and hydrazine in Rocket fuels.

Red Fuming Nitric acid -

This form of Nitric acid is also produced for using it as an oxidizer in rocket propellants.

When we add dinitogen tetroxide (N2O4) which is colourless, in pure nitric acid in such a way that the composition consist around 84% of HNO3, 1-2% of H2O and around 13% of N2O4 then the N2O4 gets break down partially to form NO2 ( which is brown in colour ).

This NO2 gets dissolved in the solution until it becomes saturated and this gas gets evaporates off in the atmosphere giving dense fumes of NO2 which is dark red or bown in colour.

This gas gives suffocating odour so it is not recommended to follow this procedure in a normal way in laboratories.

Now let's go with the two uses of Nitric acid out of the box .

Manufacturing of fertilizers, plastics and dyes are the straight uses of Nitric acid.

Apart from them, there are certain chemicals which are manufactured with the help of Nitric acid but they are quite different from the above mentioned one !

Dynamite -

You might have heard about the explosives like dynamite which is used by the mining industries for extracting ores of the several minerals found in earth's crust.

Almost whatever the products that we use like utensils, electronic gadgets, wires etc. they all contain several minerals like metals, semi- metals, non-metals.

So it shouldn't be the case to make you realize that how much beneficial these mining industries are.
So definitely Dynamite, on making this process easy is also play a very significant role in this.

Here you will get encounter with the active ingredient of Dynamite and i.e, Nitroglycerin .

Nitroglycerin ( NG ) -

Nitroglycerin (NG) is mainly an explosive which is the active ingredient in dynamite. It is basically a dense, oily and colourless liquid and how is produced is the main concern with how it is relevant with the ongoing chemical i.e, NITRIC ACID.

So as you got to know the two types of fuming nitric acids, white and red respectively.
The main use that you have seen is that both the forms are used as an oxidizer in rocket propellants.

But here let's see the other application of White Fuming Nitric acid.

Actually this Nitroglycerin ( an explosive ) is produced with the help of two chemicals.

The one is nitrating glycerol and the other one is White Fuming Nitric acid !

Actually White Fuming Nitric acid is the purest and the most expensive form of Nitric acid hence it is not easily available in the market and synthesized for the specific purposes like as an oxidizer in the rocket propellants and in manufacturing Nitroglycerine.

Detonation of NG -

Actually Nitroglycerin is a very unstable compound hence even a small friction or jerk leads to a violent explosion because being an unstable compound this always ready to rearrange itself in the simpler stable molecules like N2 and CO.

Talking about the detonation part of the Nitroglycerin then unlike other normal explosives it results in producing supersonic waves as soon as it catches fire.
The other advantageous part of this explosive is that it doesn't produce any solid carbon ( Like Shoot ). So it can be said that this is one of the smokeless explosive along with the production of a huge amount of energy as well as gases.

Hydrogen ( liquid form, best fuel and other hidden aspects )

2020-04-16T11:44:00.003+05:30

The very first element of the periodic table that was in a dilemma that whether it should be placed with metals or with non-metals.

Actually some of the properties of the hydrogen gas resembles with metals like -

Its cationic form ( H+) ion is more stable than its anionic form (H-) even though H- obeys octet rule i.e, just like metals it always ready to donate its electron.

Just like metals of group 1 and 2 , it also form several stable compounds with Chalcogens and halogens family like HCl, HBr, H20, H2S - they all are very popularly known compounds.

It also resembles with alkali metals in valence shell electronic configuration (ns1).

On other side its several properties resembles with the non- metals like -

As chalcogens form compounds with alkali metals (eg- NaCl, KBr etc), hydrogen also do so like NaH, KH etc.

Although H+ is more stable than H- but alike chalcogens ,hydrogen is also ready to accept one electron to get stable.

So while dealing with all these dilemmas , it was decided that hydrogen would be placed on the top of the periodic table and there it is !

Now let's come out of the periodic table and see how it is in the physical form.

So hydrogen is naturally colourless, tasteless, odourless and harmless gas.

It is the most abundant gas of the universe and approx 75% of the universe' matter is hydrogen gas.

Hydrogen as an element -

Fortunately the biggest application of hydrogen is something that we don't have to be concerned about.

Yes I am talking about water (H2O), the most vital application of hydrogen which we all know form when hydrogen reacts with water in certain conditions.

But here apart from water there are several other things for which we use hydrogen like-

Haber's Process.

Hydrogenation of unsaturated oil.

Methanol production

Hydrochloric acid production etc.

Although the above mentioned applications of hydrogen is quite appreciable but it is something that most of you have already familiar about. So there's nothing new to take you again into all these.

So here I am going to make you encounter with those facts and detailing of Hydrogen that will surely make you shocked !

Liquid Hydrogen -

You might be familiar with the liquid form of hydrogen as it is found below the critical temperature of hydrogen which is 33 K.

Now this state of hydrogen has something which is quite different from all other liquids !

Density of liquid hydrogen-

Being the lightest element of the periodic table, the density of the hydrogen is the least among liquids known till now.

It is only approx. 71 kg/m3.

Although surface tension also plays role in determining the floating and sinking phenomenons but the surface tension of hydrogen is so small that it doesn't interrupts in floating and sinking phenomenons.

It means if you even pour water into the liquid hydrogen then the water will sink into it and got into the bottom !

Also any solid or liquid material, whether it is mercury, oil, petrol or even a piece of crumbled paper if place over the surface of liquid hydrogen then it will get sink into it !

Hydrogen Flame -

In general how you guess the intensity of a flame ?

If you are not close enough to the flame i.e, can't feel the energy it generating then in order to get the idea of intensity of a flame, you look at it .

Like if the height and spreadness of flame is larger then you say that the flame' intensity is higher.

But how you will react if the fuel doesn't produce the flame.

So here we go to the Hydrogen Flame.

When pure hydrogen burns with the pure oxygen then the flame is almost invisible in the sunlight until you are very close to it ( not recommended ).

Actually when hydrogen burns in the presence of pure oxygen then the flame is not radiant enough but if there is some impurity in oxygen like if one uses air instead of pure oxygen then the flame would be visible to some extent.

Hydrogen as a fuel -

We are using specific kind of fuels for different purposes like -

Petrol and Diesel for automobiles, LPG for household gas cylinders as well as in specified automobiles too. Kerosene for household stoves, Coal for getting energy in thermal power sectors etc.

Although we are familiar with the two kinds of energy that we are using .

The one is renewable and the other is non-renewable.

We are facing certain problems while using non-renewable resources like fear of their extinction as they are present in limited quantities, polluting environment etc.

Although renewable resources like windmills, solar panels, hydroelectricity etc are eco-friendly , but their efficiency is very less than the non-renewable resources.

Moving towards the energy from hydrogen is really a significant steps because of the following reasons -

High Calorific Value -

We always concerned about extracting the maximum from a limited amount whenever we are dealing with any input-output majors.

So it would really a great deal of having a fuel which will give you more than a significant amount of energy from a very less amount of it .

So how it is ?

As you know that calorific value of a fuel gives you the energy produced by 1 Kg of that substance when it goes under complete combustion.

So the thing is that among the different fuels that we are using either we are talking about the liquid ones like diesel, petrol, kerosene oil or the different gases that we are using as a fuel like LPG, CNG, biogas etc the Hydrogen gas has the highest calorific value and i.e, 150 KJ/g.

Calorific Value of 150KJ/g is really an appreciable energy content as it would be the best fuel whose minimum input will give you the maximum energy.

Hydrogen Economy -

Look whatever you use on a large scale , there's need of setting up an industry where you can process the material and bring it into the market or real world.

So whenever we are dealing with the different factors in an industry, we are more concerned about the economics of it.

Like the raw materials that we use shouldn't be very costly so that we will not face any problem in using the raw materials in large amount.

The transport facility shouldn't be difficult enough to hinder in productions.

And the most important one that the extraction of pure raw material should be viable and economic.

All the above factors are compatible with hydrogen

Like the major source of hydrogen is water.Since water is abundant in our planet , so there will not be any difficulty of collecting it.

The second thing is the process of extraction. Actually the method carried out to taken out hydrogen gas from water is called electrolysis. This method is not difficult at all.

Then why this fuel is not significantly available in the market ?

Although there are some companies who made some specified automobiles which runs on hydrogen fuel burn in Internal Combustion engine but apart from being one of the best fuel , it is not widely in use because of one primary concern -

Although the Calorific value of hydrogen gas is largest among the other fuels but the thing is that handling the hydrogen gas is a very difficult task.

For those who have never experienced or saw that how much explosive hydrogen gas can be can get an idea from the example written below -

Hydrogen is so sensitive towards even small sparks like if you made a small leakage in a cylinder containing hydrogen gas and if you just switch on the fan or light of the room then the sparks associated with the switching on the fans/bulbs is sufficient enough to explode the hydrogen gas kept nearby it!

Food ( Nutrients that boost up your health)

2020-04-09T23:33:00.001+05:30

The basic definition of food that we got to know over the period of time is that food is something that works as a fuel for the machine called body .
Now as different machines require different kind of fuel to perform better, the same thing is true for animals also.
Like flesh is the best food for Lion, grass for deer, cow, goat etc. and a mixed combination of these two for humans.

So how this food type is different in case of humans as compared to the other animals?

There can be two basic ways in which human's food type is different from the other animals-

The first way is that the Humans are the only being who can choose to eat food on the basis of their taste and can change it whenever they want!

The another reason which comes in existence due to the most complex biological system is that this complexity in biological system doesn't allow the humans to be physically fit just from a single variety of food.

And here a term takes birth that's called Nutrition!

Basically the term Nutrition is classified into the 7 elements. These are-

1:-Carbohydrates
2:-Fats
3:-Vitamins
4:-Minerals
5:-Proteins
6:-Fibres
7:-Water

You might be familiar with the basic needs of these elements as well as with some sort of resources of all these.

The thing is that most of the disease that are common nowadays is somehow related with the disturbance in the balancing of these nutrients inside the human body.

The another important concern is that we have taken this fuel to be granted because somehow we are in misunderstanding that whatever we eat, it will fuel up us.

Look here is an example that might be helpful for you to understand this-

We know that there are two types of automobiles (say Cars) classified on the basis of fuels filled into these. The one is petrol and the other one is diesel .

If you fill up a petrol car with a diesel then what will happen ?

Surely it's efficiency will get reduce and will not be smooth in riding as it was in case of petrol.
We can imagine the above situation very easily.

Now just imagine a situation of the same petrol car filled up with the kerosene oil!

Kerosene oil is a good fuel no doubt but will the petrol car be efficient in riding?

Obviously Not!
In this case the efficiency of petrol car gets reduced even less than the previous case.

The same thing is true for human's system as well.
There is a specified balance of nutrition in a food that we called balanced diet.

Eating the food as balanced diet is something resembles with filling up the petrol car with the petrol i.e, the maximum possible efficiency can be withdrawn from this body.

While eating the food in a non-balanced diet is something like filling up the petrol car with the diesel, less efficient but can somehow be working.

And the last one is that eating the fast food is something like filling up the petrol car with the kerosene oil.Hardly can manage with this!

So now days it's been difficult for the humans to figure out their energy resources food because they eat the combination of all those mentioned above.

Here you are going to encounter with the benefits and roles of these nutrients but from a different perspective.

So let's take help of Chemistry and biology to make it more clear and interesting that why we need all these .

Also here we will not be focused on the classification, types and name of the component parts because it's just the thing to mug up and don't contain anything interesting instead we will analyse the ultimate effect including the basics wherever needed.

Carbohydrates -

The important and foremost reason of each and every animal behind eating food is to get energy for their survival. In case of humans, the amount of work that everyone is doing require a large energy content.

Carbohydrate's main function is to provide energy to the body through which it makes us capable in doing a lot of work on the daily basis.

Chemical and biological aspect-

Making it in a simple language, the food that we eat goes through several processes and different nutrients are absorbed by the body through different processes .

When we eat carbs then the first thing that we do is chewing out the food,that breaks down into the fine particle which helps in digestion process.

Now when it reaches to stomach then with the help of several enzymes it again broken down chemically into the single units like glucose, Fructose and Galactose.

Now the next part is sending them into the bloodstream and for this purpose the stomach as well as small intestine absorb them and transfer them into the bloodstream.

Since we all are familiar with the hormone called Insulin and the basic unit of life called Cell.

So when the glucose level increases in the bloodstream then the Insulin produced by pancreas travelling through bloodstream reaches to the cells and we know that in animal cell the outermost part is plasma membrane,so this insulin binds with the cell through a receptor ( insulin receptor IR, found in plasma membrane of the cell) and then glucose gets absorbed by the cell when the phosphates are added to the IR through a process called autophosphorylation in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
When the cell requires energy like in all voluntary and involuntary actions, then this ATP gets broken down into adenosine diphosphate (ADP) releasing energy.

Fats -

Just like the carbs, fats also provides energy to the body. Here I am not going to tell you the classification of fats because you are already familiar with this.

Here you will get encounter with the ultimate role of the fats !

But how fat's role differ from carbs ?

Actually apart from providing energy to the body, there are other important applications of fats are there in human body.

Like that we discussed in case of carbs digestion and converting it into energy, we deal with a process where insulin transfer glucose to the cell. Actually this cell is a fatty cell.

The main purpose of fatty cell is that this fat allows to store the glucose by converting it into fat for long term energy storage.

Along with this fats have several other applications too. Like it helps in optimizing the body's temperature.It insulates body organs against shocks. It helps in growing healthy skin and hair as well.

Chemical and biological aspects -

Since we have noted that the cells store energy in terms of fats, so regular intake of fats in a balanced diet and hence in a balanced amount feeds the fat cells.

We will talk about vitamins in the next section but here an important aspect of fats should be known to you that relates with vitamins.

Actually we have different types of vitamins. Among these the vitamins A, D, E and K are fat soluble vitamins.

So it suggest that a human body must contain fats so that when these vitamins once taken from outside then the body would absorb them with the help of fats and thus it could give it's proper functioning.

To understand this biological concept more clearly, let's take the help of chemistry -

Actually the fats like cholesterol, phospholipids, triglycerides etc. they all are composed of long chain carbon and hydrogen and hence hydrophobic in nature.

So in spite of approx upto 60 % body is water, the above concerned fat soluble vitamins will not absorb into it.

Also there are several parts of the nutrients which a human can't take all the time because if each and every component would be water soluble then it would get excrete out from the body along with the urine and thus can't store inside the body's part for the longer time !

So fats helps in retaining them into the body parts.

Vitamins -

We have different kinds of vitamins and each perform different functions. On a broad sense, We can say that vitamin's role is quite diverse as it plays role in almost every part of the body.

Like it is a cell regulator, it takes care of tissues growth and differentiation, it acts like coenzymes, it acts like antioxidants, it helps in hormone secretion and regulation and many more as well.

So a huge role of vitamins leads to a wide study of it.

We have 13 types of vitamins, we all are familiar with the names like A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12, C, D, E and K.

Vitamin A -

We know at least one role of vitamin A and that is in boosting up the eyesight especially in low light. Hence Vitamin A is called retinol as it produces a pigment in the eye's retina.

Apart from this , Vitamin A also helps in maintaining the skin, soft tissues, healthy teeth and strengthen the skeletal.

Chemical and biological aspects -

Let's stick to the major role of vitamin A and that is for eyesight. Actually Rhodopsin is the chemical found in the rods of the retina of eye. This chemical is responsible for a night vision i.e, it enables a person to see in a dim light like in night.

Vitamin A which is called retinol is fat soluble vitamin which when taken from outside helps in the formation of rhodopsin by reacting with a chemical called opsin ( actually a protein found in photoreceptor cells ).In this way it helps in the formation of rhodopsin and hence enables us to be easy in night vision.

Vitamin A deficiency leads to the disease called night-blindness due to the same reason.

Vitamin B1 ( Thiamine ) -

Thiamine benefits -

Again there are several roles of Vitamine B1 which is water soluble vitamin in the body. Like helps in metabolism of pyruvate, contraction of muscles and conduction of nerve cells . But the main function is that it helps the cells to convert carbs into energy.

The main sources of Vitamin B1 are beef, liver, eggs, oranges, oats, nuts etc.

Chemical and Biological aspects -

Actually the first thing about thiamine is that the body can't synthesis it naturally. The small intestine can absorbs thiamine upto 5 mg and the whole body can upto 30 mg into the tissues.

Since it is a water soluble vitamine and the body can't synthesize this by itself as well as a very limited amount can only be absorbed in the whole body so a regular intake of this vitamine is necessary because of it's vital role.

Talking about the role of thiamine in a simple way because it's a very complex process to understand and just talking about the weird's chemical name would make you reluctant towards it.

So as one of the major role of Thiamine is in helping the cells to transforms glucose into energy.We got to know in earlier studies that the glucose with the help of insulin receptor (IR) gets converted into ATP which is the energy that cells carries for all the voluntary and involuntary actions which a body does. Now phosphates releases during this conversion and since it is a reaction so here this Thiamine acts as a cofactor or coenzymes to facilitate this reaction so that it gets accomplished efficiently and easily.

Thiamine deficiency -

The deficiency of thiamine leads to a disease called Beri-Beri which ultimately lowers the strength of the muscles and damage the nerves hence hinders the nerve signals (one of the most important function of metabolism).

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) -

Just like thiamine, riboflavin also helps in maintaining the energy of the body by helping the carbs to get converted into ATP.

Apart from this, riboflavin also helps in breaking down the fats, proteins and carbohydrates.

A research showed that a high level of riboflavin also helps in regulating one of the common neuro disease called Migraines .

Green leafy vegetables, eggs, meats, mushrooms, soyabeans are some of the major source of riboflavin.

Chemical and biological aspects -

Riboflavin is also a water soluble vitamin and excrete out with the urine from the body.So regular intake of riboflavin is necessary to not get the deficiency of this.

Just like the thiamine, riboflavin also helps in converting the glucose into ATP in presence of phosphates by acting as a coenzyme.

But apart from this, riboflavin shows several other effects too like it helps in synthesis of niacin (Vitamin B3) from tryptophan, it helps in converting retinol to retinoic acid whose further conversion makes rhodopsin (already discussed) etc.

Riboflavin deficiency causes a disease called ariboflavinosis which results in mouth ulcers and cracks in the skin.

Vitamin B3 (Niacin) -

Although each vitamin has some vital role in our body and due to absence of any single vitamin, it leads to several diseases and make us unfit but this vitamin B3 or niacin has a wonderful significant role in our body.

Actually we need niacin for the proper functioning of almost every part of the body like it helps in function of the brains, it ease arthritis, it helps in lowering the cholesterol.

We heard that the deficiency of vitamins leads to several disease but along with the deficiency higher dosage of niacin leads to serious side effects for our body.

Liver, Salmon, Chicken breast, Turkey are some of the major source of niacin.

Chemical and biological aspects -

Niacin alike the discussed vitamins are helpful in converting the glucose into energy.Apart from this it helps in regulating the cholesterol as well as it helps body to make sex and stress related hormones .

Actually while talking about it's functioning in lowering the bad cholesterol level then we have to aware about the fact that our body contains two type of cholesterol one is good and the other one is bad. Niacin helps in increasing the level of good cholesterol which helps in lowering the level of bad cholesterol and all these ultimately play a vital role for our body like decreasing the risk of heart diseases.

Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) -

What the common thing that we have been noticing since thiamine is that all the B vitamins are involved in converting the carbs into energy.
Actually the primary role of B vitamins is to convert the carbs, Fats, proteins i.e, macronutrients into the energy.

Here what else the pantothenic acid does is that it helps in making blood cells, it helps in making a special type of coenzyme which is called Coenzyme A, this coenzyme A helps in making and oxidation of several essential fatty acids for the body.

Fish, peanuts, milk, egg yolk, chicken, mushrooms are some of the major source of Pantothenic acid.

Chemical and biological aspects -

Like all other B vitamins, pantothenic acid is also water soluble and body needs it in a regular period of time.

One of the major role of pantothenic acid is in the production of red blood cells (RBC) which is carrier of oxygen across all the body parts.

It is important to note that the body makes about 2 millions of red blood cells every second.

Actually the deficiency of pantothenic acid is rare and not any serious case has been noted so far but some symptoms may appear like insomnia, depression. anxiety, vomiting, irritability, burning feet etc.

Vitamin B7 (Biotin)-

Biotins alike other B vitamins are involved in converting macronutrients into the energy. The other vital role that this vitamin performs include creating several vital enzymes, formation of fatty acids and glucose, strengthen hair and nails.

Actually biotin is also called vitamin H ( H signifies two terms haar and haut, they are german terms for hair and skin respectively) because it play a significant role in strengthening the hair and skin hence several hair produccs contains this vitamin.

Red meat, eggs, seeds, almonds, mushrooms, sweet potatoes are some of the major source of biotin.

Chemical and biological aspects -

Like the discussed B vitamins, biotin is also a water soluble vitamin.

The first role that it play is helping in conversion of carbs into energy. Actually the first process in this is digestion of carbs that we eat and we know that every single process is carried out with the help of some chemical reactions and to enhance this biological chemical reactions, body requires catalyst in the form of enzymes and catalytic promoters in the form of coenzymes. So here biotin plays the role of coenzymes during the reactions involved in digestion of carbs as well as synthesis of several vital fatty acids.

Although there is discovered process scientifically that how biotin helps in hair strengthening but experiments shows that it does so as well as lack of biotins lead to thinning of hairs.

BTD (Biotinidase Deficiency) is the most common cause of lack of biotin. Actually in a simple language it is an inherited disease in which body is not capable to use the biotin it gets from outside.

Vitamin B9 (Folic acids or Folates) -

Along with helping in the conversion of carbs into energy, the folates also helps inmaking of DNA and RNA the basic units as well as helps in the metabolism of amino acids.

A baby when develop inside his/her mother wombs then several changes occur.One of the change leads to the formation of neural tubes i.e, the whole setup of brain and spinal cord and sometimes there gets opening in the neural tubes somewhere leads to a disease called Neural Tube Defects (NTDs). So it is prescribed to the pregnant women to have folates because it helps in proper development of neural tubes.

Beans, citrus fruits, whole grains, cauliflowers are some of the major source of folates.

Chemical and biological aspects -

The main functions of folates like written above is in making of DNA , RNA and in metabolism of amino acids.

Folic acid which is absorbed by small intestine helps in a cellular metabolism. Actually when DNA and RNA is synthesized in the body then several biomolecules needs to be synthesized. In this biosynthesis several modifications needs to be done like transferring single carbon groups such as methyl, methylene, formyl from one to another molecule and for this purpose body uses folates.

Megaloblastic anemia is the disease caused by the deficiency of folates in the body. Simply this disease means it inhibits the DNA synthesis in the cells.

Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin) -

Like the folates, cobalmins also helps in DNA synthesis. Cobalamins are very important vitamin for boosting up the energy of the body. It plays role in functioning of nerve cells.

Actually the metabolism of each and every cells highly depend on the role of cobalamins. As compared to other B vitamins, the cobalamins absorb in the body in a significant amount but it is a water soluble vitamin so regular intake of this is necessary to get rid from it's deficiency.

Fish, milk, eggs, meats are some of the major source of cobalamins.

Chemical and biological aspects -

Actually it comes under the most complex molecule. Cobalamins are actually an organometallic compound which contains Cobalt at it's centre. Actually approx 85% of cobalt inside the body is present in the form of cobalamins and this cobalt in this form is used for catylyzes the reaction of the two main coenzymes named methylcobalamins and adenosylcobalamins .

Anemia is the disease caused due to low level of cobalamin in the body. It leads to decrease the counting of RBC and hence leads to symptoms like weakness, tiredness, pale skin.

Vitamin C ( Ascorbic acid ) -

At least you all are familiar with the sourness of this vitamin C !

Whenever one is talking about any sour product, he is indirectly pointing towards ascorbic acid.

In general ascorbic acids plays several vital role for the body like growth, development and repairing of all the tissues of the body. It also helps in boosting up the immune system, healing the wounds, maintaining cartilage, bones and teeth.

Citrus fruits like amla, oranges, grapes, lemon are some of the major sources of ascorbic acid.

Chemical and biological aspects -

As we know that proteins are the building blocks of our body and making it more specified then Collagen is the protein that found in abundance in the human body ( actually in all the mammals ). This is the main protein of our body and main component of the connective tissues.

Now Ascorbic acid is highly responsible for producing Collagen.

Another important role of ascorbic acid is found in brain. Actually a very high concentration of ascorbic acid is found in brain that helps in regulating the neuro transmissions.

Making it more simple then due to deficiency of ascorbic acid in brain, diseases like dementia comes into existence which disrupt the important brain functions like ability to think, problems in language, can't access through motivations, emotional problems etc.

Scurvy is the main disease which causes due to the deficiency of ascorbic acid in the body.

Vitamin D ( Calciferol) -

Calciferols are classified in fat soluble vitamins and it's needs tells you about it's storage region and activity.

Actually either we get Vitamin D through skin (in the form of sunlight) or taken in food supplements, they get stored in the fat cells.

They remain there inactive unless needed and when the body needs this vitamin then through the process called hydroxylation, the kidneys and liver convert this inactive form into the active form called calcitriol.

The need of Calciferol in the body is due to the fact that it helps in absorbing and maintaining the level of minerals like Calcium and Phosphorous in the blood.

Cheese, egg yolks, Beef liver and exposure to sunlight are the major sources of Vitamin D.

Rickets is the disease in which the bones of the body gets weaken due to the deficiency of Vitamin D.

Chemical and biological aspects -

Alright ! So here we have reached to a vitamin whose name might be either known or unknown to many of you but certainly every single person knows it's one function and i.e, strengthening the bones.

You all use to hear that staying in the Sunlight is helpful in strengthening your bones and most of you are aware that that is actually Vitamin D !

But why it is so ?

Actually Vitamin D is also of two types D2 and D3. The thing is that in the lower layers of skin epidermis, the vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is synthesize by the reaction which is carried forward and dependent on the exposure of Sunlight.

Minerals -

Minerals leads to a wide variety of vital applications like helping in building strong bones, producing several hormones, maintaining nerve transmission of nerve impulses and a lot.

Due to such huge, diverse and vital applications of minerals, body require them in different forms.

Here you will get a brief and vital applications of some important minerals.

Sodium -

Sodium helps in maintaing the water level content around the cells in the body. It regulates the blood pressure as well. Like we often use to hear that the low level of sodium inside the body leads to low blood pressure. The cells of the bosy requires transportation of several nutrients through the plasma membrane, this sodium helps in this process too.

Table salt present in different foods are the major source of sodium.

Calcium -

Calcium also shows several vital applications inside the body like it helps in muscles contraction, forming strong bones, regulating the heart beats as well as the level of fluids inside the body.Just like sodium it also helps in transmission of nerve impulses across the body.

Actually Calcium is the most abundant mineral presnt in the human body. Approx an adult being contains 1200 g of calcium.

Dairy products like Milk and Cheese are the major source of calcium.

Magnesium -

Just like the above two, magnesium also shows vital role inside the body like it helps in maintaing the blood glucose level, helps in productions of proteins and energy, boost up the immune system, helps in the normal functioning of muscles and nerve cells.

Actually approx 300 biochemical reactions are there which facilitates with the help of magnesium.

Green leafy vegetables, seeds, almonds, cashews are some of the major sources of magnesium.

Potassium -

Just like the above three, potassium also helps in keeping the fluids of the body in balanced level, maintaining heart beats, prevent from kidney stones and osteoporosis as well.

Potassium also helps in keeping your skin moist even though it is not absorbed by the skin.

Potassium gets out of the body in the forms of sweats and through the urine as well.

Bananas, oranges, milk, chicken breast are some of the major source of potassium.

Proteins -

Proteins are known as the building block of a body. it helps in growth, metabolism, making several enzymes, hormones and a lot of vital applications are there.

Where it actually starts from ?

Although we take proteins in several forms to get energized, building muscles and for overall growth.

But where it shows it's basic role inside the body?

Our body contains cells and these cells contains ribosomes which is the large complex of protein and RNA.

Here is actually the synthesis of protein takes place with the help of amino acids.

Several complex chemical and biological processes go through this synthesis and the protein thus formed helps our body to grow.

The body goes through formation and resorption of every unit like cells, tissues they all forms and destroys.Repairing of these tissues controlled with the help of these proteins.

Edema, impare mental health, marasmus are some protein deficit diseases.

Fish, eggs, milk, yoghurt, nuts, soyabeans are the major sources of proteins.

Fibres -

Whatever the foods that we eat, it ultimately gives us energy via going through several complex biochemical processes across the body.

What the first thing that we want from food before getting energy ?

Although getting energy is the ultimate requirement of eating foods but the first thing that a body needs is to digest it completely then only it helps the body to extract the different nutrients it contains and transfer them towards the body's development and growth or simply to keeps a body physicaaly fit.

Fibres help in the digestion of whatever the foods that we eat. It helps in regular bowel movements.

So here we gone through the majopr role of having fibres but apart from this fibres also regulate several functions of the body like it helps in managing the cholesterol level of the body, sugar levels in the blood, preventing from several diseases like diabetes, heart diseases, bowel cancer.

Barley, beans, oatmeals, fruits like apples, berries, citrus fruits are some of the major sources of fibres.

Water -

Although we are going through as a last nutrient but ultimately it's a first and foremost nutrient that a body needs .

Actually a fact can make you realize the need of water as a body can live without food for atmost 3 weeks around but without water a person can live at a maximum of 3 days !

The human body needs water for all it's cells, tissues, organs to keep their temperature regulated for the healthy bodily functions.

Almost there is not a single process inside the body that doesn't require water. Even the process that we saw above for the maximum time i.e, converting the macronutrients into the energy, this process can't be possible without the help of water.

In other cases like in vitamins, carbs, proteins etc, their deficiency make us realize that we need water but I don't think that one should be prescribed that stay hydrated to stay alive !

Choose your balanced diet to stay fit and stay healthy !

Poisons ( makes the death worse )

2020-04-05T20:22:00.000+05:30

Although most of us almost do nothing to just be "physically alive" but this "just be physically alive" is the most complex process goes on earth. Since it's not something that we do or it must be called as something that we can't do !

A millions of chemical and biological processes goes inside us whose balance keeps us alive and surely due to the complexities of these processes, the nature didn't give it's control to us !

Any sort of unbalance in this biological system causes us unfit that we termed as disease. If this disturbance in balancing of these processes are mild then the body cure itself in some days and if it is more than that then we have to go for certain prescriptions which ultimately helps the body to get rid of those disturbances or technically from those diseases.

But there are certain substance (apart from any virus/bacteria) which disturb this balance in such a way that even prescription doesn't works better !

So here you are going to encounter with the most deadliest chemicals or poisons which will not let you "just be physically alive" !

So let's explore the series in increasing order of their toxicity without being confused in the complexities of chemical and biological reactions i.e, in the most easiest way.

Cyanide -

Whenever we are talking about the chemical poisoning, the first name that comes in our mind is Cyanide.

There are several forms of cyanide which in some way show serious ill effect on humans.

It is counted as one of the most poisonous chemical.

When we are concerned with the natural interaction with the cyanide then we come to know that there are several plants whose fruit's seeds contains cyanide like apricot, apples, peaches etc.

Apart from this, several industrial processes also emit cyanide in some forms like Hydrogen Cyanide.

Actually in some processes like metal polishing, insecticides or in medication like nitroprusside , the chances of getting interaction with this form of cyanide is significant.

How this exposure of cyanide affects humans ?

So when human get interacts with the cyanide by some means described above or some other one , the common symptoms come in view are dizziness, headache, fast heart rate,vomiting and shortness of breathe.

The main effect that forwarded by theses symptoms are loss of consciousness and cardiac arrest.

Actually the amount exposed decides that how much lethal it will be for humans.

Like lower dosage causes symptoms like weakness, mental confusion, headache, difficulty in breathing. It has also noted that in several cases loss of consciousness was also there for some time.

Higher dose of it will seriously be lethal like if cyanide is inhaled in high amount then it will result in coma and cardiac arrest and finally death too!

We might have heard about death time of several poisons like of the most deadliest snake of the world Inland Taipan. It can kill a fully grown man in 30-45 minutes but what the deadliest thing about cyanide is that if one exposed with the lethal amount of cyanide ( 100 - 200 mg ) then death will result just in between 5 - 10 minutes of exposure !

Treatment -

The first thing needs to be done in the treatment of cyanide poisoning from exposure of hydrgen cyanide gas is the removal of outer clothes and washing out the hair which is called decontamination.

The other medical diagnosis taken in care which was find out by US is giving antidote which is small dose of amyl nitrite (victim needs to inhale this) followed by intravenous sodium nitrite followed by intravenous sodium thiosulfate.

Strychnine-

We use to read and watch several thrilling films, web series,books in which the criminals did crime in the most dramatic way i.e, when the criminals have to murder someone in the most painful and dramatic way.

Strychnine comes in the category of poisons that gives the most intense pain as compared to the any known toxic reactions so far.

It is fatal in ways like swallowing,inhalation or absorption from eyes or mouth.

What results when it gets inside the body ?

Actually 10 - 20 minutes after getting inside the body, it starts responding in the most painful way.

It started twisting the muscles starting from head and neck and goes every part of the body. Gradually the intensity of twisting becomes high and it gives a lot of pain to the victim.

Treatment -

Actually the worst thing even worse than it's symptoms is that there is no specified antidote for strychnine.

The first prescription taken in this is that the patients are generally kept in quiet and dark rooms because when the victim sense something then it is but obvious that he would respond but the spams (twisting) in the muscles of the whole body doesn't allow this with any ease.

Now since the doctors don't have any specified antidote so it is being diagnosed with the diagnosis same as in general poisoning.
It means that the basic aim is to reduce the amount of poison from the stomach and it is carried out with the oral application of activated charcoal that helps in adsorbing the amount of poison still there in the digestive tract so that further absorption of the poison into the blood can be controlled.

Now the other medications which are prescribed are all to treat the symptoms generated due to this.

Since I mentioned during the starting of this article that I would not let you confuse about any effects or treatments of these poisons so -

The other prescriptions given into this poisoning is to treat out the symptoms like for twisting of muscles, some muscles relaxants is given.In earlier days patients were provided chloroform so that they got unconscious which helps them to avoid pain because painkillers were not sufficient enough.

Ricin -

We must have used castor oil at least once. It is extracted from the seeds of the castor oil plant. Actually these seeds are crushed out to gain castor oil.

But how many of you are aware of that this castor oil is heated to the temperature more than 80 degree celsius before taken into use !

Actually the seeds from which castor oil is extracted contain a poison called Ricin. The main reason behind heating out this castor oil is to denature ricin from this oil so that the oil can be consumed safely.

If you want to realize that how much poisonous it is, then u can get an idea from the fact that only 2 mg of ricin can kill a fully grown adult, although the death time is around 36 - 72 hours of it's exposure depending how it goes inside the body.

Now how it affects ?

Actually the symptoms and it's effects depend upon the way it has entered in the body.

Like if it goes inside the body from mouth to stomach then the stomach area suffers the direct effect.

It includes severe pain, inflammation and even hemorrhage in the region. The symptoms appear are nausea, difficulty in swallowing, vomiting and diarrhea .

But if it enters in the body through inhalation then the symptoms and effects are different.It starts with cough and fever. The common later effects are asthama, chest tightness and redness over the skin is noticed if entered through any cut or wound in the skin.

Actually the primary effect it caused is to stop the protein formation. In a simple way , we know that cell is the building block that contains nucleic acid which contains proteins composed of amino acids.So RNA which is messenger pass the signal to amino acids to assemble themselves into the required protein but ricin stop this protein formation thus ultimately stops the basic metabolism of the human body !

Treatment -

Like the other poisons if the ricin entered in the body through mouth then immediately activated charcoal is given to the victim to flushed out the poison along with it.

Fortunately an antidote tested by US doctors helps in curing out from this poison.

Airway management and assisted ventilation are some of the specified method to cure out from this poison.

Botulinum Toxin ( Botox ) -

You might be familiar with the neurotoxins . Generally you heard this toxin when you searched for the deadliest snakes of the world. Whenever you are talking about some of the famous snakes like King Cobra , Black Mamba and surely world's deadliest snake Inland Taipan then you come to know that the venoms they secretes are actually neurotoxins.

Although Inland Taipan is the world's deadliest snake but still the neurotoxin it secretes is not the world's deadliest neurotoxin!

So the question is what is the world's most poisonous neurotoxin ?

Botulinum Toxin or Botax is the world's most poisonous neurotoxin known so far.

The extra boost up in this is that it is not only the world's deadliest neurotoxin but it is the world's most deadliest poison found out on this planet till now.

What can be the best way to compare the toxicity of this poison ?

So, let's keep it simple and compare it with the first poison we have already discussed about i.e, Cyanide.

Now we know that around 0.1 g of cyanide is fatal to an adult human but what about botax ?

As compared to cyanide Botax is so potent that only 0.0000001 g is sufficient to kill an adult human being !

The good side of this poison that although it is very toxic but still it is uses in some medicines as well as cosmetics products.

Actually this toxin is present in a special genus of bacteria called Clostridium .

This bacteria is widely distributed in soil and dust. as well as on the floor of the houses.

But the best part is that this bacteria can only multiply itself and produce this toxin only in anaerobic environment.

How it affects -

This toxin once spread inside leads to blocking the nerves and muscles functioning.

In serious cases, this toxin chokes or block the respiratory system resulting into death.

The worst effect of this toxin even in it's most little amount is that once it enters inside the body, it makes the muscles and the whole body quite weak and paralysis as well noted in some conditions for temporary time.

Treatment -

Actually the first and foremost thing is that the symptoms of Botulism ( disease caused due to this toxin) is quite similar with the other diseases like myasthenia gravis and stroke and due to this it is quite often to diagnosed.

But once diagnosed then the indirect treatment is done like removal of contaminated food from the guts, removal of broken skin tissues from surgery etc.

So you know everything about the fire !

2020-04-02T19:17:00.003+05:30

Fire or Just Spark ?

The very origin of the fire that we all are aware of was discovered when the two stones rubbed together.

But what actually produce when the two stones rubbed together?

Was it a fire or just a spark?

Why those sparks couldn't persist for longer time?

It means that apart from rubbing the stones and creating sparks, there had to be something which could make it persist!

So now let's enter into the zone where we can figure out that what actually the most fundamental mandatory and sufficient conditions to cause the effect called FIRE .

Fire Triangle -

Now if we rub the stones in a vacuum chamber, then what do you think will it cause any spark?

Obviously not because we know that Oxygen is the most fundamental thing that needs to be available where fire is present.

So, we got the first element of this fire triangle.

Now what do you think why the sparks that we got while rubbing the stone couldn't persist even after presence of oxygen?

So the one thing that's quite clear that although oxygen is utmost important for creating fire, but it is not everything , something else is left behind !

Now just try to have a look on combustion process. In all the combustion process oxygen is necessary element, but ultimately Oxygen burns what?

Yes, to the FUELS .

So here we got the second element of the fire triangle called Fuels.

Now let's imagine a situation in which we apply oxygen gas over a fuel (for example petrol), will it catch fire?

Now again the answer is NO!

It means that still we are lacking something .

Now again imagine a situation of the days in winter when we use to warm us by burning woods, over which we apply some fuels like kerosene or something. In this case, what we do when we have to burn it .
Yes, we get some sparks or any small source of fire (like from matchsticks). It means here we get our third element HEAT.

Now here we are, ready with our basic requirements of causing FIRE.

Now, after this fire triangle an addition was done, which converts this fire triangle into the Fire Tetrahedron.

Now if we look that wherever a fire is present there will be some combustion reaction takes place. So here we get our fourth element (although it's unavailability doesn't decide that whether a fire will occur or not, but helps in regulating it) i.e, Chemical Chain Reaction .

Now can we figure out some common phenomenon about which we might have never bothered so far?

How or Why water is capable of extinguishing the fire?

Actually blocking or displacing any single element from the Fire Tetrahedron can help in regulating the fire. So when we apply Water over the fire , it displaces the heat from the fire tetrahedron and resulting regulates the fire.

When we are talking about the fire caused due to electricity, then since water is a good conductor of electricity it increases the fire rather extinguishing it.

For fulfilling curiosity Distilled water in the form of mist can be used in extinguishing electrical fires .

How or why CO2 is capable of extinguishing the fire?

Actually, there are two reasons, but the main reason at which we should look at is that CO2 when apply over the fire region, then it displaces the oxygen from the fire tetrahedron and decreased amount of oxygen soon extinguishes the fire.

The other reason which not itself sufficient, but acts as a booster of the primary or the first reason is that when CO2 comes out from the fire extinguishers, then it is very cold and hence decreases one more element of the fire tetrahedron called Heat.

Now here we have dealt with producing and extinguishing the fire , but there are several other aspects as well as concerns too!

Like Does this Fire triangle works in every condition?

Does the fire generation depend also on the properties of fuel?

So, let's have a look from the interest's corner.

What do you think why we use coal, petrol, diesel, wood as a fuel why not anything else?

And among them why one is better than another?

We know the answer of earlier one that when we approach any ignition source then different material responds differently. Like some catches fire violently (some even with exploding sound), some moderate and some very slowly (even in some cases several efforts have to be done) and some not at all.

Now the first thing is clear that flammable materials catch fire and non-flammable doesn't.

But what differs in the way of burning among the flammable materials?

The answer is Volatility of materials, i.e, the higher the volatility of a material easier it will catch fire.

So, it's clear that why Petrol catches fire, more rapidly than diesel, kerosene etc.

Now does this fire caught by any flammable materials depends on the other conditions too?

Actually, when several experiments were done, then it was found that when the temperature of the fuel's ambient is reduced then it affects the fire's intensity.

The thing is that reducing the temperature causes reduction in the capability of the molecule of the liquid fuel to go into the vapor phase.

So, reducing the temperature causing trouble in catching the fire easily.

This reduction in temperature to a certain level leads to another aspect of burning Fire -

Fire Point and Flash Point -

Fire Point -

Fire point is the lowest temperature at which a fuel is capable of burning when an ignition sources approaches it .

Flash Point -

Flash point is the lowest temperature at which that much vapor is present, which is capable of producing flash when the ignition source is approached to it.

Actually the basic difference between the two is that at the flash point only a very small fraction of fuel vapor is present, which shows its presence when the ignition source is brought near to it but get's flicker out when takes away. But in the case of fire point, this point shows the minimum temperature that at which, when the fuel is made burn then it keeps burning for sometimes.

Chemical aspects behind the energy we are using.

2020-03-30T17:09:00.000+05:30

Either we are talking about sustaining Human body or sustaining Human Civilization, energy has been an utmost important factor for Human Kind.

For sustaining Human Body we eat food that further gives us energy via going through several biochemical processes inside the body .The same thing is true for other animals ,the only difference is the nature of food and the nature of biochemical processes.

Now for sustaining Human Civilization we have been developing several energy resources like thermal or coal energy, wind energy , tidal energy , nuclear energy , solar energy etc.

Have you ever thought that how Chemistry plays a very significant role in energy conversions ?

Although several physical manipulations need to be done in the inter conversion of the later form of energy but ultimately which element is going to be selected for manufacturing the equipments or machines involves in these conversions and what makes it workable is surely devoted towards the hidden chemical aspects.

So, here in this article we are more concerned about the later form i.e, the energy for Human Civilization.

It is surely known to many of us that-

Wind energy which is carried forward with the help of windmill (preferably equipped near the shores) in which wind speed makes the fans rotating which ultimately converts the Wind energy into Mechanical Energy and further into Electrical Energy with the help of some specified setups.

Coal or thermal energy in which a huge amount of coals is used in forming steams which makes turbine rotating and hence electricity is generated with the help of some specified setups.

Some same kind of setups is also used in producing electricity with the help of tidal energy.

Now behind this straight out inter energy conversion in between different forms of energy, what's those Chemical aspects that are hidden in them.

So here three important electrical energy production is covered -

Wind Energy -

It is the new kind of energy conversion which is technically termed as Non-Conventional Energy Conversion in which wind energy is converted into electricity with the help of windmills.

But apart from the physical manipulations like designing the blades with some specified bending angles and fitting it at the right place what are the chemical aspects that we generally left ?

Windmill's Blades -

Chemical aspects behind blade's material -

Choosing the right material for the windmill's blades is surely be the first most thing during this whole process.

So, what's needed is such type of material which is strong but not very heavy (so that just more than a significant wind speed can make it rotate), can resist towards UV rays coming from the Sun, can resist corrosion etc.

So keeping all these things in mind, the most advanced Windmill's blade is made up of a mixed composition of materials in which it consist around 71 - 79 % of steel , fiberglass , resin or plastic about 11 - 16 % , cast iron about 5 - 17 %, copper about 1% and Aluminium about 0 - 2 %.

Now using all these materials in a specified composition has really some significant reason.

Using Steel in high concentration is just because the first priority is to make a strong windmill.

How the steel can make it possible ?

Actually steel holds the turbine blades at their position even in very strong winds which surely produce high electricity .

Using composition of fiberglass , resins and plastics provides several benefits like it boost up the strength of blades ( fiberglass' strength is more than that of steel ), provides flexibility to the blades (so that it catches the wind in either way ), provides thermal insulation to the blades etc.

While using cast iron is also play a significant role. Actually cast iron is the perfect combination of strength and high resistance towards any kind of deformation. Along with this , the cast iron provides the best castability with which it makes possible for the the blades to be cast out in required design.

Actually the main purpose of windmill is to convert the wind energy into electrical energy via mechanical energy so ultimately there has to be a good conductor in blades.

Copper fulfill this requirement. it provides electrical conductivity along with corrosion resistance and flexibility too which is helpful in harsh conditions.

Although Aluminium too possess these properties like good electrical conductivity, corrosion resistance etc but the main purpose because of which it is used, is to make the wind blades light even after possessing high strength, so that even just more than a significant wind speed can make it rotate.

Coal or Thermal Energy -

One of the largest power generation technique across the world is definitely the Thermal Power Stations. In these stations several techniques are used and production of electricity from burning coal is high in number.

Types of Coal -

Basically the coals are divided into the following four types respectively on the basis of Carbon content and quality as well as Calorific Value -

Peat

Lignite

Bituminous

Anthracite

Now which grade should be selected and why ?

Selecting the right type of coal is the first job that needs to be done. Although Anthracite is the best variety of coal across the world with highest carbon content and highest calorific value but still it is not used in thermal power stations.The reason behind this is that Anthracite is not an economic variety of coal that can be used in thermal power stations.

So generally Lignite Coal and sometimes Bituminous Coal are used in these thermal power stations for the generation of steams and hence producing electricity.

Actually just selecting the coal and make it burn to convert water into the steam is not the only thing that has to be done.

Whenever a process is carried out at a large scale then several other important factors are there that needs to be taken in care like efficiency of inputs , economics of production, and the most important thing is to maximize the output with the limited or minimum input investment.

Here the raw material or the input is the Coal . So every single possibility which can increase the production of electricity can't be ignore.

Chemical aspects -

Pulverization of coal -

One main aspect that can increase the heat energy required for the steam production is the pulverization of coal. Actually this is a process in which the coal is fed into a pulverizers which breaks the coal into very thin powder like structure.

Need of Pulverization-

The basic or the main reason behind pulverizing the coals is actually to increase the surface area of the coal which ensures the complete combustion it and hence increases it's as well as plant's efficiency.

Chemical aspects in the process -

This process comprises several chemical edges that needs to be performed well in order to maximize the heat generation.

How steam is more efficient than water ?

The straight out reason behind using steam in a more efficient way than water ( used in hydroelectricity ) is due to it's higher value of Heat Capacity than water.

It is one of the major chemical aspect that the high energy steams at high temperature and pressure ( superheated steam ) rotates the blades of turbine with a very high speed resulting large conversion of this Thermal energy into electrical energy via mechanical energy.

Not limited to this only, when the production of steam at specified temperature and pressure is required on a very large scale then several heat transfer equipments ( referred to Chemical Engineering ) are required like -

Boiler

Feedwater Heater

Superheater

Condenser

Cooling Tower etc.

Nuclear Power Stations -

Among all kind of power generation the most precise generation of electricity is done by the help of Nuclear Reactors .

Nuclear Energy produced during the fission of nucleus of radioactive isotopes of higher atomic no. like Uranium or Polonium is used in the production of electricity .

Chemical aspects -

Nuclear Chemistry is the most advanced part of the chemistry that deals with the nuclear reactions occur during the fission or fusion of radioactive isotopes.

Chemistry in the Nuclear Reactors -

Actually making it simple that what this nuclear energy is all about and how this gonna be helpful in producing the electricity the following concern has written below -

Starting with the scratch, then we have two types of nuclei one is stable and other one is unstable .

The cause of this unstability when discovered then it was found that the nuclei with highest binding energies are most stable nuclei.

The binding energy of several nuclei in the periodic table is low because of different reasons that makes them unstable.

Now to gain stability, these nuclei have only single option which is that they have to increase their binding energy.

Now according to the graph between Average binding energy per nucleon VS Atomic Mass there are two ways to achieve this.

If the nuclei has low atomic mass then they go for nuclear fusion to gain stability and

If their atomic mass are large then they go for nuclear fission to gain this stabilty.

Now in the Nuclear Reactors the basic principle that we are using is the one that has written later.

In the Nuclear reactors in which basically we use either Uranium or Polonium.

Actually they are the unstable nuclei of higher atomic mass.

So what we basically do is to make it go for nuclear fission and the energy produced during this reaction is used for steam generation and further the same process is carried out that has already discussed in Thermal Power stations.

Concise Working of Nuclear Reactors -

Actually we use neutrons for bombardment over the nuclei of Uranium ( U-235). When this is done then the uranium gets broken into the nuclei of Thorium and three new neutrons are produced. Cadmium rod is used for the absorption of two new neutrons (otherwise it will lead to the Uncontrolled chain Reaction because of very huge amount of energy is released during such process and the reactor will get explode) and the third neutron moves ahead for the same process to carry forward.

This energy is used in steam generation and further for producing electricity.

Chemistry is spread everywhere from a single electron to the huge Nuclear Reactors.

The thing is that you have to develop a new way of looking at the things !!

Acids and Bases ( Keeping Us Alive )

2020-03-26T18:15:00.000+05:30

Till what extent you know ?

Acids and bases have been a wide range of chemicals over which several researches were done and still going on.

We started our study from the basic Arrhenius concept in which he told that acids are proton ( H+ ion) donor and bases are donating OH- ion then further modifications were done by Bronsted and Lowry where H+ donors are called acids and those who accept H+ are called bases and then by Lewis where on the basis of accepting or donating lone pair of electrons, the species are named Lewis Acids and Lewis Bases respectively.

In all these researches, we got to know a different perspective of these Acids and Bases.

We developed a pH Scale over which the acidity of acids and basicity of the bases can be meaure out on the basis of their strength of donating or accepting protons.

These are the basic things that most of us are aware of.

But how these protons or lone pair donation got benefited us ?

Whenever a research is done in any field, one of the major aspect have always been that how these research's outcome gonna be fruitful or beneficial for the HUMAN KIND.

So making it more clear , here u r going to encounter with some wonderful and amazing applications of acid and base based chemicals.

Acid Chemicals for HumanKind -

Whenever we get encounter with this word ACID , the very first thing that comes in our mind is that it is something that causes burn.

But in practical life there are several acids that show some amazing vital effects on human body.

Fosamax -

According to a recent data it has been estimated that more than 200 Million people in this world are suffering from a disease called Osteoporosis.

Our medical science developed a drug called FOSAMAX which was approved by FDA in 1995 for the treatment of Osteoporosis.

How this FOSAMAX is related to ACIDS -

Actually FOSAMAX is the name of a brand and that drug actually contains ALENDRONIC ACID.

So in the above picture it is quite clear that this chemical contains 6 acidic group (5 -OH and 1 -NH2 ).

Actually in the condition called Osteoporosis, the bone density gets decreases because a situation comes under which the rate of bone resorption ( breakdown ) becomes larger than the rate of bone formation and thus the bone gets nibbled away, causing bones to become fragile ( they actually start to resemble Honeycomb ).

FOSAMAX goes specifically to the site of bone resorption and inhibits the activity of the cell responsible for bone resorption, causing the rate of bone formation becomes larger than the rate of bone resorption ( similar to the original condition ).

Hyaluronic Acid -

In this new generation of fashion and style, most of us ( both male and female) are running towards a lot of facial creams, masks, serums, moisturizers etc.

So in this world of Cosmetics, the main effective ingredient which is present in all such creams is Hyaluronic Acid.

In Cosmetics this acid is widely shows it's two main applications-

On one side, it is highly effective dermal filler in the modern anti-aging treatment while on another side it is widely used as ingredient in topcare skincare products such as creams, masks and serums.

Actually Hyaluronic Acid is naturally produced by our body and the largest amount of it are found in our skins , eyes and connective tissues.

The main function of it is to retain moisture.

So, adding it in creams, makes cream more efficient in retaining moisture resulting natural skin glow.

Not limited to this only, there are several other major uses of acids.

But here apart from above, you must encounter with one Major Effect Of Acid.

Insulin -

Diabetes - a disease about which almost everyone is familiar.

An estimation has done where it is recorded that in this world approx 415 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE are suffering from this disease called DIABETES.

Insulin- a hormone produces by Pancreas to regulate sugar levels in blood.

In a very simple way, a condition occurs where the immune system of the body started responding against the body in which it starts destroying the cells in Pancreas which are responsible for the secretion of Insulin.

Now again how this Insulin is related to Acids ?

Actually the chemical structure and analysis of Insulin is quite complex but making it simple that what are the things that at least we should aware of.

Basically Insulin is a kind of Protein and this protein is composed of two chains A and B both contains Amino Acids ,21 and 30 in numbers which are linked together by Sulphur atoms.

Theses Amino acids are actually the building blocks of Insulin and the way they are arranged make it possible for Insulin to perform it's function like signalling the liver when the body has sufficient energy to take up Glucose and store it as Glycogen.

So, these are some major applications of Acids in Human Body.

Now, Do the bases too show the similar vital effects for Human Kind ?

So let's start with a very common concern of most of the individuals that whenever they eat something spicy or some street foods it causes them Heatburn or simply acidity.

So, getting rid of Acidity the remedy that we usually go for are Antacids.

Antacids-

Antacids are actually bases that helps in neutralizing the acid level in stomach.

Actually Histamine is the chemical that stimulates acid production in stomach.
When we take antacids then since it is a base so it just simply neutralizes the pH level which got low due to acidity.

ENO, Baking Soda (NaHCO3), Milk of Magnesia ( Mg(OH)2 ) are the common examples of Antacids.

Applications of Acids and Bases are not only limited to show their effect in individual manner.

There are several chemicals where both acidic and basic groups are present and both shows significant effect.

Here two such amazing examples are covered-

Painkillers-

Almost every single disease starts with some sort of pains which further diverse in different directions.

So in spite of what kind of disease we are suffering from, What the first prescription we take before we got to know the type of disease ?

Don't we take PAINKILLERS ?

Whenever we feel a serious pain, the first prescription that we look for are PAINKILLERS.

Although regular dosage of PAINKILLERS are strictly prohibited but still this is the first prescription that we take because it immediately gives relief from the pain.

Painkillers or Analgesics are better than Anesthetics because unlike Anesthetics they provide relief from the pain without putting you into sleep or fade consciousness.

One of the widely known Analgesic is MORPHINE.

Morphine-

Morphine is found in a plant called Opium and it's a natural alkaloids.

As u can get the idea from the pic that this Morphine contains both the acidic (-OH) and basic (-N) group.

Now talking about the effect of Morphine in a simple language so the Morphine acts directly to the Central nervous System when taken either through the injection or directly from the mouth.

Above picture shows the Opium plant that contains Morphine.

Now after covering all this, one thing which need to be taken in account is Human Blood.

But why Blood ?

Here you get to know -

Human Blood -

We know that the basic function of Human blood is to transport Oxygen to all the cells of the Human body.

Actually human blood is a buffer solution and It's pH is nearly around 7.4 .

So what amazing in this ?

So, How many of you are aware about the fact that if the pH of the blood goes beyond the short range of 6.8 to 8.0 for even few seconds then definitely DEATH WILL RESULT !

Actually a protein called Hemoglobin helps in transportation of oxygen to the cells of the body.

So when haemoglobin binds O2 , it loses a proton , which would make the blood more acidic if it did not contain a buffer to maintain it's pH.

HbH+ + O2 ------------ HbO2 + H+ ( reversible reaction)

A carbonic acid /bicarboante (H2CO3/HCO3-) controls the pH of the blood.
An important feature of this buffer is that carbonic acid decomposes to CO2 and H2O, as shown below

HCO3- + H+ ------------ H2CO3 ---------- CO2 + H2O

( Note - All reactions are reversible in nature )

To understand this basic concept of reaction it is necassary to go through the Le Chatelier's Principle.

Making it more simple when we perform exercise then increased metabolism increases the amount of CO2 inside the body . So from above reactions and with the help of LeChatelier's Principle one can understand that increased level of CO2 shifts the reaction in backward direction as well as during exercise a significant amount of Lactic acid is produced so including all this , the increased amount of H+ shifts the first reaction to the left resulting it prevents the pH of blood to goes down.

Amazing effects of Chemicals have been taken Granted -

We know millions of complex reactions are always going inside the body which keep us alive.

Since we usually never feel uneasiness in respiration , walking , sitting , hearing and in all the capabilities, so we never care much about how it goes on !

Haven't we take all these granted ?

Unfortunately yes ! The thing is that we never get amazed on how life goes on and it is not a dispute between being optimistic or pessimistic in nature but the thing is that we must appreciate this wonderful balance of nature which keep us alive !!

Tomatoes Vs Chocolates

2020-03-18T10:58:00.000+05:30

How they both are helpful to us ?

Whenever we heard about Tomatoes , it is something that we use in almost every veggies that we eat.

But Are we using it for just boosting up the flavors of our dishes ?

OR

Is there something else for which we eat it?

Tomatoes are always been a great source of several nutrients like Ascorbic acid,proteins,carbohydrates,fibres etc.

Among all these vital composition ,one of the vital molecule for which tomatoes are widely used is an Antioxidant called Lycopene.

Actually Antioxidan t is one of the major vital molecule that our body needs to remain unaffected from any cardiovascular diseases.

Lycopene is an antioxidant and tomatoes are one of the major source of it.This antioxidant prevents us from several heart diseases and Cancers like Prostrate Cancer and Breast Cancer.

But what about Chocolates?

Does it contain something unknown to many of us?

Most of us are eating chocolates and it is something that's really delicious. In the market there are wide range of chocolates,differ in their colors ,flavors ,taste ,texture ,shape ,fragrance ,state etc.

And all these things are so alluring that they really attract consumers, not only Kids but adults too!

Do we ever eat chocolates to remain healthy?

The simple answer is definitely not. We eat it because we like to it. Infact instead of looking benefits of eating chocolates, we are more concerned about our teeth because we know that it might decay our teeth if we eat a lot and the same thing we tell our kids too.

So how you will react , if you get to know that eating chocolates is really a healthy thing !

Moreover if one says that you will get more antioxidant as compared to what one gets from TOMATOES !

Ya, it seems to be quite unbelievable fact ! but it's true.
According to the Book of ORGANIC CHEMISTRY by PAULA YURKANIS BRUICE's 7th Edition
( pg no.- 582) it is written there that we have a very strong and effective antioxidant called Catechins.

So what's a big deal among these two antioxidants ?

Does Catechins are more effective than Lycopene ?

So the answer is YES, and not only this , infact there's a very good news for chocolate lovers and that is-

On a weight basis the level of antioxidant in chocolates are greater than that in Red Wine, Green Tea and the amazing thing is 20 TIMES GREATER THAN THE LEVEL OF ANTIOXIDANT FOUND IN TOMATOES.

Another good news is that THE LEVEL OF ANTIOXIDANT FOUND IN DARK CHOCOLATES IS TWICE THAN THAT IN MILK CHOCOLATES.

The only thing that needs to be taken in care that unfortunately there's no antioxidant in white chocolates.

Apart from being healthy in terms of antioxidant's level, one another piece of good news is that THE STEARIC ACID (main fatty acid found in chocolates).

Now how this Stearic acid is better than other fatty acids ?

So the thing is that unlike other fatty acids which generally raise the blood cholesterol level, the stearic acid does't behave like this.

So in this way Chocolates have several health benefits than Red Wine, Green tea , tomatoes etc.

So enjoy your life with this combination of DELICIOUS and HEALTHY which is quite rare !

Health Tips - Having anything in limit is the best option !

Water (More Than Quenching The Thirst)

2020-03-16T12:22:00.004+05:30

Here in this article you are going to encounter with the hidden corners of the most vital substance of the earth.
Yes, you have guessed it right. So presence of water on earth is highly appreciated, but what needs to appreciate more than that, is something that you will get to know below.

Let's start with its vital nature and the things that you know-

At the first sight, water doesn't seem to be something that needs to be taken with care and it is genuine, as since long ago, we have been hearing that we have an abundance of water on our planet.

Among 8 Billion of us, there might be very few who actually aware about the fact that of 70%, only 2.5% of water is there which is fresh and can be used for drinking purposes.

Now the dilemma is that the way we are using it (should be called as exploiting it) indicating that even those 2.5% will not be fresh/potable in upcoming years!

This utmost stable bond of Hydrogen and the vital gas Oxygen has such a great importance for the human life that without this we can't imagine our life to sustain.

Apart from the vital role of water in quenching the thirst, there are some other wonderful applications of water.

Physical Properties-

Some common physical properties of water are-

Liquid at room temperature

Odorless

Tasteless

colorless

Chemical properties-

Apart from the general use of water for drinking,washing and other household activities, there are several chemical phenomena for which water is considered one of the leading used substances and for such purposes a chemist has to aware about its chemical properties.

Some Major Chemical Properties Are-

Universal solvent

Fire extinguisher

Highly reactive with alkali metals

Non-Toxic in nature etc.

So basically what we have seen till now is the requirement of water due to its huge no. of physical and chemical properties.

But what about those properties of the water, which are unknown to many of us!

Facts about water -

Compressibility-

Whenever we are talking about the compressibility of water, we assume that it is incompressible i.e, on applying pressure the volume of the water remains unchanged but it's not true!

In reality, when a large amount of pressure is applied over the confined water, it gets compressed.

Hence the water at the bottom of the ocean is denser than at the surface due to very large pressure there.

Water Intoxication / Overhydration-

We know that we require 3-4 liters of water to remain hydrated and optimize metabolism.

But what will happen when we start drinking more than this?

When we started drinking more than the suggested figure than due to overhydration it leads to a condition called WATER INTOXICATION. This results in overdilution of salt and the other electrolytes in our body, causing a serious concern called HYPONATREMIA.It is really a serious medical condition and one needs to be careful about this. Though death by overhydration is rare but still it can happen so one needs to be aware about this.

Suspended Water-

It is a very interesting fact that the amount of water that our atmosphere carries is greater than the total amount of water that we have in our rivers across the Globe!

Every single sunny day, about a trillion tons of water get evaporated and gets suspended in the atmosphere. Not this only, due to evaporation, this water reserve in the atmosphere is quite fresh than the quality of water that we have in our rivers across the globe.

What is so special with water at 4 degree Celsius ?

We know that in the general case, the density increases when we go in the sequence as GAS - LIQUID - SOLID.

But does this happen with water too?

We know that it's not the case with water. Even in water if we come down from gas to liquid ,the density surely increases, but in case of the liquid form of water there's something unusual happens at 4 DEGREE CELSIUS!

At 4 degrees Celsius the liquid water is highly densed and the amazing thing is that irrespective of change in its temperature whether we increase or decrease, it gets expanded in both the cases. Thus the density of water below and above this temperature decreases.

But why this happens ?

Actually, there's not anything special that why only at 4 degrees Celsius this happens, but the thing is that below this temperature when we cool down the water, it arranges itself in such a way that some of it's hydrogen bond gets broken down providing space to the molecules and causing increase in its volume and decrease in its density.

Water Facts Nutrition -

A health conscious person is very choosy in his diet like what to eat and what should be avoided. But when it comes to water, then we know in spite of containing 0% protein, sugar, fiber, carbs, none of us can dare to choose that whether we should drink it or not.

The above mentioned sentence seems to be quite weird in its way, but the thing is that we must appreciate the fantastic metabolism that we have. It means that in spite of not carrying almost any nutrients, Water is so important for us that we keep this above all the nutrients that require for the growth of our body.

Have you ever thought that apart from the urge to drink, what are the actual role of water in the body?

Human body, which is a system of billions of complex bio-chemical reactions that goes all across the body needs a specific temperature or what we called as the optimum temperature to carry out all such reactions.

Now here water as a nutrient play its major role as maintaining this optimum temperature inside the body at every single point and at every single second.

The above mentioned role is just a miraculous role of water, which we just drink to quench our thirst.

Moreover, almost every bio-chemical process that goes inside the body is not possible without using the water !