Archives for June, 2012
Cosmetics, Alchemy , Fire and Electricity History Antimony sulphide (stibnite) was used as a cosmetic as long ago as 3,000BC, in Sumer (today’s south-central Iraq) and Egypt. The sulphide was finely ground and generally applied to the eyes and eyelashes. Much later its use as a cosmetic spread to…
A Global Game Changer? Background In 1825 William Hart sold shale gas (produced from a drill hole) to the village of Fredonia, to be used for lighting. Fredonia, Pennsylvania is in the United States, about 500 kilometres due west of New York City and 100 kilometres east of Cleveland.…
Some Recent Developments A Gas Glut The natural gas market will soon be flooded with new sources of gas. The US has already licensed the export of LNG (liquefied natural gas) as a result of the discovery of massive resources of shale gas. It has a distinct advantage as it…
Chemistry Carbon is the basis of all life on Earth. Carbon is also the basis of an enormous array of organic chemicals, such as hydrocarbons, and some important inorganic chemicals, such as carbon dioxide. Carbon can also bond with itself to form graphite, coal and diamonds. Graphite is comprised of…