TheMoleIn this issue

... FOR ANYONE INSPIRED TO DIG DEEPER INTO CHEMISTRY

Registered Charity Number 207890

Vancomycin The antibiotic fighting bacterial

resistance

Mechanical light

How can sticky tape and sugar glow?

From art to science

The glassblower that makes chemistry research possible

Chemical camouflage How some fish can smell like

they're not there

Plus Book reviews and Dr Careers

EditorKaren J Ogilvie

Deputy editorPaul MacLellan

Assistant editorDavid Sait

ChemNet contentFrancine Atkinson

Production Dale Dawson, Scott Ollington, Emma Sargent and Lizzy Brown

PublisherAdam Brownsell

The Mole is published six times a year by the Royal Society of Chemistry, Thomas Graham House, Cambridge, CB4 0WF.01223 420066; eic@rsc.org www.rsc.org/TheMole

The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015. ISSN: 2049-2634Copying is permitted within schools and colleges.

ISSUE 02 | MARCH 2015

Comics are a significant part of our culture. Theyve long since broken out of their paper medium and onto our screens, with blockbuster movies and television franchises mining the rich history of comics for new characters and stories. Take Marvels Avengers, for example. Its characters have recently featured in 10 blockbuster movies and two television series, with more on the way. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, which includes all of the Avengers outings alongside Guardians of the Galaxy and hotly anticipated films such as Ant-Man, is now the highest grossing film franchise in US history, having taken nearly $3 billion (2 billion) in the US box office. Only the Harry Potter franchise comes close, with a box office take of $2.4 billion. Third place in the list belongs to another comic franchise, this time for Detective Comics (DC), whose Batman films have taken $1.9 billion in the US box office so far.

Chemistry has played a role in western comics since their inception, with several characters from

the Golden age of comics (1930s-1950s) having chemistry in their origin stories. During this period, chemistry was used as a crude narrative device, often as a pseudo-scientific justification for the existence of special powers or abilities. Jay Garrick, the first incarnation of DCs The Flash, apparently gained the ability to run at super speeds by inhaling vapours of hard water. Although this was later altered to be heavy water, it still reveals a naivety or perhaps indifference towards the realities of chemistry.

But should we expect comics to be chemically accurate? After all, comic readers are happy to accept that an alien orphan, ejected from his dying home planet in a kind of cosmic life raft, acquires incredible powers just from being near Earths yellow sun. But the depiction of science and technology in comics often mirrors public understanding and concerns about scientific developments. As our understanding of the world around us increases, so must the complexity of our comic book chemistry.

My super-strength solution is almost

complete!

For some its the source of their powers, for others their only weakness. Ben Valsler explores the chemical story at the heart of many comic book characters

Comic chemistry

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Peter Parker's skills as a chemist help him formulate his own spider silk

The Flash acquires his superhuman speed when lightning strikes a crate of chemicals next to him

Days of future pastThe fictional comic book universe has a great way of getting around these issues if a back story no longer fits, it is simply changed, updated for a new audience with a different understanding of the world. This is known as retconning, or a retroactive continuity change. This technique has allowed comic characters to reflect cultural scientific concerns, and theres probably no better example than the silver age (mid-1950s to 1970) characterSpider-man.

Spider-man first appeared in 1962, and marked a significant shift in comic book heroes. For the first time, the hero was roughly the same age as the readers (although modern audiences are much more diverse, superhero comics in the 60s were mostly read by adolescent boys). Peter Parker was a high school student who excelled in the sciences, and was bitten by a radioactive spider at a science exhibit. The bite transferred the spiders abilities to Parker, who develops superhuman strength and senses, as well as the ability to climb walls. A gifted chemist, he develops new materials for his costume and formulates the compound required to spin his own webs. In the 1960s, America was

at the height of the cold war and there was significant paranoia and fear of nuclear attack. Radiation was poorly understood but seen as powerful, terrifying and transformative: exposure to radiation was also at the heart of the origin stories of the Hulk and the Fantastic Four.

Modern-day Spider-man demonstrates a different set of cultural concerns. In the 2002 movie, Peter Parker once again visits a science exhibit, but one about the new science of genetic engineering. This time, the bite comes from a genetically modified spider, evoking and reflecting current concerns about the transformative power of genetic modification. By rewriting Spider-mans history, comic authors continue to tap into our collective scientific subconscious.

Health & safety in the workplaceJust as with Peter Parker, scientific accidents account for a number of well-known comic origin stories. Although the first incarnation of The Flash gained his skills through poor working practice around heavy water, the second incarnation, Barry Allen, was subject to

an accident out of his control. Allen was a forensic scientist with a reputation for tardiness, but developed superhuman speed and reflexes when a bolt of lightning struck a crate of chemicals he was working with. He adopts the identity of The Flash, with significant help from his materials-science minded father, who uses his scientific knowledge to make a costume that shrinks down to fit inside a ring (its not just superheroes that show scientific genius in the comic world).

Perhaps the best known chemical origin story is that of Batmans arch nemesis, the Joker. First appearing in print in Batman #1 in 1940, the Joker has seen a number of origin stories and is known as one of the best comic book villains of all time. Eleven years after that first appearance, writer Bill Finger created the Jokers original backstory, which was then built on by Alan Moore in his 1988 series Batman: the killing joke. The Joker was a failing stand-up comic who had quit his job at a chemical plant and became desperate to support his pregnant wife. Under pressure from local criminals, he breaks into his old workplace where he encounters Batman and ultimately falls into a vat of unidentified chemicals. The exposure bleaches his skin,

pulls his face into a tight rictus grin, and drives him insane in this way, chemistry created one of the finest villains ever written.

My chemical romanceAlthough chemical accidents are common origin stories, there are a number of characters who are skilled chemists. The Joker himself, presumably drawing on his experience as a chemical plant worker prior to his descent into crime and madness, develops a number of compounds for devious purposes.

Joker Venom is an aerosol or gas that sends victims into hysterical

Inspired by Batmans shark repellent bat spray, you can actually buy a spray can of compounds derived from rotting shark tissue it claims to repel sharks or reduce their feeding activity

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Dennis the menace was used in the 1960s to educate children about poisons in the home, in the 1961 public information comic Dennis the menace takes a poke at poison

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Captain America's powers are caused by an experimental drug

bouts of laughter often resulting in paralysis or death. Its never hinted what this compound might be, but the Joker has been shown creating it from household chemicals, proving himself to be a skilled practitioner. Like many historical chemists, he tests many of his concoctions on himself, leading to a kind of immunity to his own chemical attacks.

Bane, the super-strong villain of the latest Batman movies, is entirely dependent on a different kind of venom an experimental drug designed to enhance his physical abilities. While this does give Bane incredible strength (enough to nearly kill Batman by breaking his spine), he is dependent on a dose delivered directly to his brain every 12 hours.

The flipside of the experimental drug story can be found in Captain America, who was transformed from a weedy comic book illustrator into patriotic super-soldier by a government-developed experimental drug.

With great power Theres no doubt that comics are a rich source of characters and stories, but its the format itself that allows

them to deliver such a powerful punch.

Compared to a novel or movie, comics

have a special hold and influence over their

audience. By portraying action and narrative

as a series of images, with or without text,

a reader can progress through the story at

their own pace, giving as much or as little

attention to the detail as they want. In a

novel, skim-reading in this way would cause

you to miss important facts, whereas a movie

forces you to move at the directors chosen

rate. Because of this, comic readers can

invest more of themselves in the story.

Pictures are a static medium, so a comic

forces the action to take place in your own

mind. Movement, time and even violence

all take place in the thin space between

the comic frames, a gap known as the

gutter. A reader relies on his or her own imagination

to fill the gutter, making comic reading a very personal

experience. Its no coincidence that flat-pack furniture

instructions resemble simple comics its an extremely

good way to communicate.

In the 1950s, public concern arose about the influence

of comics on their audience (still largely teen boys at

this point). In his 1954 book Seduction of the innocent,

psychiatrist Fredric Wertham argued that comics were

a negative influence, a cause of juvenile delinquency,

encouraging sex, drug use and violence. Some of

Werthams more progressive arguments are still relevant

today, including the over-sexualisation of female

characters and the promotion of violent toys.

... comes great responsibilityThe comic book industry, fearful of public backlash and the

threat of regulation, created the Comics Code Authority

(CCA) a set of guidelines that became a form of self-

regulation. DC writers played down the Jokers murderous

tendencies, Captain Americas drugs were delivered orally

rather than intravenously, depictions of extreme violence

were essentially banned. As drug use was subject to CCA

guidelines, certain forms of chemistry in comics more or

less disappeared.

The power of comics, along with their newfound social

responsibility, saw them being used in educational and

public awareness materials. Superman fought Nick-o-Teen

in a series of anti-tobacco comics, Captain America fought

a war against drugs and new comics were developed to

promote public health campaigns.

Comics are used today to educate and inspire in chemistry.

The rise of the internet saw online comic strips such

as xkcd and PhD comics communicating science and

the daily life of a researcher. The Chemedian, a comic

that supports high school chemistry lessons, has been

developed by science communicators at the University of

West England in Bristol, UK, and Veronica Berns, a recent

graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, received

over $14,000 in crowd-funded donations to make a comic

book version of her own solid-state chemistry doctoral

thesis. Far from their naive origins, comics are now seen

as an acceptable and effective way to communicate

cutting-edgechemistry.

A Japanese professor of biochemistry discovered that students who were shown frames of Manga in biochemistry lectures performed significantly better in tests that those who werent

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Weve become complacent, as far as disease and infection is concerned. We expect to be able to go along to the doctor and be given a tablet that will be an instant cure. Less than a century ago, minor infections were often fatal. Then along came penicillin and other antibiotics, and the world of medicinechanged.

Mass production of penicillin began in 1943, in time to treat Allied casualties in the invasion of Normandy, and in 1945 Fleming, Florey and Chain shared a Nobel Prize for discovering and developing the drug. It was the era of the magic bullet. A new golden age beckoned, when disease would be conquered forever, or so itseemed.

But Fleming, for one, saw danger clearly. Almost at the end of his Nobel lecture in 1945, he saidthis:

There is the danger that ignorant man may easily underdose himself and, by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug, make themresistant.

Within a few years of penicillin coming into use, bacterial resistance to penicillin was a fact of life. Some people didnt complete their course of treatment, so that the more resistant bacteria didnt get killed off. And some people still misuse antibiotics they expect them to treat things they are not designed for, like viral infections. Penicillin wont help you if youve got a cold. Even worse, antibiotics are often given to farm animals for non-medical reasons, as a growthpromoter.

Racing resistanceDespite developing new types of penicillin, hospitals and doctors were faced with untreatable infections. In 1953, a new antibiotic, vancomycin, was discovered in a soil sample from Borneo. Vancomycin is a big molecule, containing over one hundred and fifty atoms and with a formula mass of nearly 1500. It was found to be effective against resistant strains of bacteria, and came

to be regarded as the last resort, reserved for infections resulting from bacteria that are resistant to all other antibiotics. Until the 1980s, vancomycin was rarely used, except for cases like the drug-resistant bacterium

MRSA, a major cause of hospital-acquiredinfections.

Like penicillin, vancomycin stops bacterial growth. It does this by preventing them from building their cell walls. These have to be strong, so the sugar molecules that make up the cell walls have to be crosslinked by short peptide chains. Vancomycin works by attaching itself to end of the peptide

chains, which stops the crosslinks from forming. Penicillin works differently, binding to the enzyme

that controls the crosslinking reaction. Someone once said that penicillin is a saboteur of the cell wall-building machine, while vancomycin is a protester that sits in itsway.

Bothersome bacteriaSadly, there are now some bacteria that are resistant to vancomycin, including some forms of MRSA. These have slightly different crosslinking peptides. Vancomycin still binds to these, but the interaction is a thousand times weaker the antibiotic is now ineffective against thesebacteria.

If vancomycin cant be used, the drugs cupboard is bare unless new antibiotics can befound.

One answer may lie in modifying the structure of the vancomycin molecule. A team of researchers in California has altered the structure of vancomycin, by replacing a carbonyl group with an imine. In vitro tests show that the modified molecule binds strongly to both normal and resistant bacteria and is effective against both forms. We now need to wait and see if this modification can become a realmedicine.

The stakes couldnt be higher. We cant run the risk of returning to a time before antibiotics, when minor infections could kill. Antibiotic resistance is a problem the whole world needs to have solved and only scientists can solveit.

SimonCotton explains how one molecule has helped in the fight against antibiotic resistance

Magnificent moleculesVancomycin

Researchers have found a potential new class of antibiotics that might not suffer from the problems of resistance:http://rsc.li/1yinwZMe

moreFind out

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Mechanical light

Avogadro's lab

2015 is the International Year of Light, so we are going to be looking at some of lights interesting properties. All kinds of light is used and produced in chemistry. It can be used to analyse materials, to create materials and materials can be used to createlight.

Chemical reactions may give out both visible and invisible light (usually heat). Burning a match emits both light and heat, whereas the reaction in glow sticks, for example, gives out mostly visible light. There are even materials that give out light when they are stretched, scratched orcrushed.

Light given out when materials are mechanically deformed in these ways is known as mechanoluminescence. If light is produced from striking or rubbing a material it is known as triboluminescence. If it is produced by pulling or pushing the material out of shape its calledfractoluminescence.

Light workWhen pieces of quartz hit one another they may emit flashes of light. The earliest example of this is thought to be when the Ute tribe of Colorado placed quartz pebbles in rawhide rattles. These were probably used by the tribe hundreds of years before contact with European settlers. The rawhide was thin enough that the rattles lit up when vigorously shaken. Similarly, fracture of quartz-containing rock is thought to have been responsible for reports of flashes of red and white light during an earthquake in Kobe, Japan, in1995.

Other materials are triboluminescent sugar, for example. In the past, sugar was supplied in cone shaped blocks known as loaves that had to be broken up before use. If the room where this took place was sufficiently dark, faint

flashes of light could beseen as pieces were chipped off the block.

Some boiled sweets will also produce flashes of light when crunched between your teeth but be quick, only dry sweetswork.

A mechanoluminescent material does not have to be rigid though. Sticky tape and self-stick envelopes show the same effect. Pulling adhesive tape from the reel produces a range of wavelengths of light. Measurements have shown that the light is not just visible, but it can even extend into the X-ray region. Peeling apart the seal of a self-stick envelope has a similareffect.

A sweet experimentTo observe any of these effects it is best to be in a darkened environment as the light produced tends to be quite weak. Also, remember that our eyes can take quite a while to adjust to the dark. To see the effect with sugar its best to use a sugar lump, although you should also be able to see tiny flashes with individual crystals especially large ones such as in demerarasugar.

Place your sugar (cube or crystals) on a plate or other hard surface. Then with the bottom of a glass or jar (be careful) watch carefully as you quickly crush thesugar.

How light is being produced in this process is still not completely understood. It is thought to be the result of positive and negative charges recombining after they have been suddenly separated. Interestingly, measurements of the light produced from crushing boiled sweets shows that some of the light comes from atmospheric nitrogen, which in turn produces light (fluorescence) from flavour molecules in thesweet.

Stephen Ashworth explores the surprisingly enlightening effects of crushing up sugar

Try it at home: crushing sugar cubes produces triboluminescence

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Bang Goes the Theory video of the effecthttp://bbc.in/16KzwK6

Web page on triboluminescencehttp://bit.ly/1KI20l0

Wikipedia page ontriboluminescencehttp://bit.ly/1KI1TWx

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Cutting-edge chemistry

Find out more

Read about another

renewable resource for

energy-storing devices:

human hair! In 2013, Chinese

researchers turned hair into

supercapacitor electrodes:

http://rsc.li/1c6Xs64

Splitting shellsSo, why use peanut shells as the precursor? David says they are easy to source, cheap and have limited commercial use, mostly ending up in landfill sites. However, they hardly chose the material at random the team recognised important structural characteristics of both the inner and outer peanut shells to give desirable anode and cathode materials, respectively. The smooth inner portion of the shell, primarily consisting of the highly cross-linked polymer lignin, lent itself to the fabrication of graphene layers, perfect as an efficient anode. The cathode, a high surface area graphene-like material, was synthesised from the rough cellulose-rich outer peanutcasing.

The optimised supercapattery system performed extremely well, giving the best combination of high energy (ie amount of energy stored) and high power (ie speed of energy release and charging) ever reported for this type of device. The team found that separating the peanut shell parts was essential; using whole peanut shells to make both electrodes lead to significantly poorerperformance.

Superior sodiumThe peanut shell supercapatteries use sodium ions instead of the commonly used lithium ions. Sodium has proven to be notoriously difficult to incorporate into such energy storage devices, due to its larger ionic radius relative to lithium. Sodium, however, is cheaper and easier to obtain. David admits there were difficulties along the way: few people have actually done it, but this was also a challenge as there was limited literature to refer backto.

Materials experts Yuping Wu from the University of Fudan in China was impressed by the excellent cycling lifetime of the electrodes: This data shows that this device can be a promising choice for applications. Chengdu Liang, of Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the US, admires the project but recognises that more investigation is necessary: This research exemplifies the versatility of using biomaterials as the feedstock for energy storage devices. However every aspect is still under scrutiny, so from laboratory discoveries to real-world applications there is a long way togo.

Scientists in Canada have created an energy-storing device, called a supercapattery, out of peanut shells. A supercapattery combines the qualities of a battery (storing a large amount of energy but slow to charge) with those of a supercapacitor (very fast to charge but only a small amount of energy isstored).

To develop supercapatteries, researchers have been looking into improving cathodes of traditional batteries. In conventional batteries the cathode often limits performance and so what people are starting to do is swap regular cathodes for supercapacitor cathodes, explains DavidMitlin, from the University of Alberta, who led the research. These cathodes can charge and release the stored energy almost as fast as a supercapacitor. Ions are adsorbed onto the surface of the cathode, which avoids the degradation seen in batteries due to ion absorption into the bulk, adds David. This drastically improves the devices cycle life, meaning it can be charged and discharged many more times before its performance starts degrading. Regular batteries can only be cycled around 500times while supercapacitors last for up to 1millioncycles.

Dannielle Whittaker looks at energy storage that literally only costspeanuts

Better energy storage in a nutshellSupercapacitors store energy as an electrostatic charge the same thing you create by rubbing a balloon on a jumper. They are often used in electriccars.

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it makes sense to be chemically camouflaged but theres very little evidence for it, says study author RohanBrooker, formerly from James Cook University, Australia. He goes on to explain that until now caterpillars were the only creature discovered that hid themselves from predators in this way. The caterpillars eat their plant habitat, assume their smell by absorbing certain chemicals in the plant, and become invisible to predatory ants. A [coral-eating fish and coral] system is analogous to the chemical system of the caterpillar, explains Rohan. So we thought maybe they were doing a similar sort ofthing.

Confused crabsRohan and his colleagues looked at the harlequin filefish, a 5inch reef-dweller that looks like a coral branch. They wanted to find out if the fish could replicate a reefs smell through its coral-based diet and whether predators could sniff themout.

The team placed a piece of coral and the filefish at opposite ends of a water tank. A coral-dwelling crab was then put in the centre of the tank and blind-folded so it was unable to see which end the coral was at and had to rely on other senses such as smell. The team found that the crab was just as likely to move towards the fish as the coral. [It] suggests that the smell was a pretty good match, says Rohan. A lot of them did getconfused.

Conned codThe group carried out a similar test but replaced the crab with cod, a filefish predator, to see if the coral fish could fool the cods acute sense of smell. They found that the cod were less interested in the filefish if they were close to coral they had fed on. If the filefish was close to a coral that was a different species to the one it had eaten or if there was no coral in the tank, the cod became much more active. The team state this is the first evidence of chemical camouflage in a vertebrate but they do not yet know how it achievesthis.

Martin Stevens, an ecologist at the University of Exeter, UK, believes the study could have a wide impact on the wildlife community. I think it could be very important in stimulating work looking at chemical camouflage, he says. But Martin adds that more research will need to be carried out on this system before it can be translated to other vertebrates and mammals. Its potentially a really exciting and important study, he says. The question, I think next, is how does [this chemical camouflage] work and how widespread isit.

A tiny reef fish can hide from predators by adopting

the smell of the coral it eats, according to researchers

in Australia. This is the first time that diet-matching

chemical crypsis the ability to avoid detection by

using odour-based camouflage obtained through the

animals food has been observed invertebrates.

It has been known for centuries that animals can

visually blend into their environment to hide from

predators. But given that animals rely on more than just

their sight to find prey, researchers have questioned

whether other types of camouflageexist.

With the importance of smell for a lot of animals,

Matthew Gunther discovers that you are what you eat also applies tofish

Chemical camouflage helps fish hide frompredators

Salmon use their strong sense of smell to find their way back to the rivers where they were born after years travelling large distances in the openseas.

know?Did you

Find out more

No one knows exactly how

smell works. JoshHowgego

explains the chemistry behind

the puzzle in the November

2012 issue of The Mole:

http://rsc.li/1AjcNSn

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relationship, which is important because no matter

how strong the bond, a change of environment can

change everything; both the HI and the HCl couples

will immediately separate when mixed withwater.

Love is in the environmentBoth romantic and atomic bonds are affected by their

environment. The bond enthalpy of HCl is higher than

all of the bonds in the hardest substance known to

man diamond. A single carbon carbon bond has

a bond enthalpy of 347 kJmol-1. While diamond is a

fitting substance in an article about dating, it is not

much use in this analogy. The strength of diamond

comes from the fact that every single carbon atom is

bonded to four neighbouring carbon atoms in a giant

covalent lattice. With its highly ordered structure, it is

more like an army than acouple.

There is another gem favoured by lovers ruby. It

is chemically similar to aluminium oxide, but some

of the aluminium atoms are replaced by chromium

ions, which give the stone its red colour. This is a

better choice to describe enduring love, with enough

different elements to show how romantic couples can

be incorporated into their wider communities. Like

molecules, any relationship will experience turbulence,

and if the atoms are shaken vigorously enough, any

bond can be undone. In isolation, as in HCl, even a

strong bond can easily snap, but when couples become

embedded in a lattice of their friends and families, all

their bonds can weather storms forlonger.

Chemistry is not just the pursuit of scientific knowledge, its also the butterflies that we feel when we meet someone special. Attraction brings together both people and particles, and when the conditions are right, bondsform.

A good place to start our analogy would be with diatomic molecules. We could say the diatomic elements, N2, O2, H2, F2, Cl2, Br2 and I2, represent relationships with our best friends. As we outgrow the stage of our lives when the opposite sex appears to be universally infected with the lurgy, we may progress to diatomic compounds. For example, two pairs of friends go bowling and leave later as double dates. Similarly, H2 and Cl2 molecules come together and depart as two love-struck HClmolecules.

How strong is the bond?How long could we expect these HCl molecules to last compared to HI molecules who met at the same party? Lets look at the bond enthalpies. Using HCl as an example, the bond dissociation enthalpy is the energy required to break every bond in a mole of gaseous HCl molecules. HCl has a bond enthalpy of 431 kJmol-1, whereas HIs is just 297 kJmol-1. It takes more energy to separate the atoms in HCl those must be the high school sweethearts destined to staytogether.

But what if the H and Cl atoms suffocate each other? They might like to go back and spend some time with their friends, as H2 and Cl2 molecules again, but with such a strong bond, this might not be realistic. That is something the HI molecules are more able to do. Their lower bond enthalpy alters the

relationships dynamic, or thermodynamics. Once entropy is involved, sciences measure of chaos, the situation looks a bit different. Unlike the formation of HCl, the reaction between H2 and I2 is reversible, meaning that once the reactants have combined to produce HI, some of the products will go back to H2 and I2. In other words, the newly formed couples can immediately revert back to their original friendship pairings. This space might be good for their

TomHusband thinks about how chemical bonding might be similar to personal relationships

Dating

Chemistry is like

Oxytocin is known as the 'love hormone', responsible for developing trust and social connections in humans.

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Rubies are made up of a stable and enduring lattice of different elements

March 2015 The Mole | 9www.rsc.org/TheMole

2012presentScientific glassblower, University of York

20082012Trainee scientific glassblower, University of York

20062008Milliner, Rose Belinda, Scotland

20032006BA (Hons) in glass, architectural glass and ceramics, Sunderland University

20012003Foundation diploma in art and design (part time), Beverley College

19992001A-levels in biology, sociology and graphics

glassblowing involves creating and repairing the specialised glass equipment that is an integral part of many lab scientists daily work. But it is also much more than that, says Abigail. Its the satisfaction of taking bits of rod, tubing and components and creating something not only useful, but often highly specialised.

She landed the job and started training under the mentorship of retired York glassblower Steve Moehr. Even though being a trainee glassblower was tough at times, Abigail was determined not to give up, and after four and a half years she passed her final exam with distinction, taking over the full running of the University of York's glassblowing workshop.

A love of glassAbigail enjoys the constant challenges of her job every piece of glassware is unique and even simple looking items can be complex to manufacture. While large manufacturing companies sell a range of standard glassware, like round-bottom flasks and beakers, researchers often encounter problems that can only be solved with specially made equipment. Sometimes its not the glassware itself that is interesting but the research that its used for, says Abigail. Knowing that you have created and designed something that has not only overcome a problem, but will enable research to develop and continue is a brilliant feeling, and probably the best thing about my job.

Not the usual pathAbigails journey through different jobs and education was anything but straightforward, but led her to combine a hobby and work in a job she loves. One of the things that stands out is that I have always been attracted to practical or creative jobs. Abigail still enjoys crafting in her free time at the moment she loves sewing.

Many people have never heard of her job and are amazed when Abigail explains what she does. I think of myself as having quite a varied path to becoming a scientific glassblower, but then again, Im not entirely sure what the usual path would be. Abigail likes to encourage others to be open-minded about their career. The road you are destined for could be just around the next corner, she says. It doesnt matter if you take a few wrong turns or detours along the way, enjoy them!

Abigail was initially interviewed by 175 Faces of Chemistry http://rsc.li/175-faces

Some people have a job and a hobby, but for Abigail they are the same thing. Even so, she wouldnt have thought this would mean becoming one of the most important people in a laboratory chemists life a scientific glassblower.

From cooking to ceramicsAbigails journey into science started out in an unlikely place a cafe. Not ready to make a decision about her future career, Abigail started working in a cafe and delicatessen after finishing her A-levels.

Dedicating her free time to her hobby, Abigail created ceramics and fired them in her own kiln, which she kept in the shed of her family home. I was lucky enough [my] mum and stepdad didnt mind me taking over the shed with my ceramic creations and running up the electricity bill, she laughs. Abigail decided to enrol into a part time art and design course, putting together a portfolio with which she was accepted into a BA glass and ceramics course at Sunderland University.

After finishing her degree, Abigails journey took her into millinery designing and making hats at a small bridal accessories company. I enjoyed the job, but started to feel like I needed a new challenge, says Abigail. Thats when I saw the advert for a trainee scientific glassblower at York University.

New challengesHaving developed a love of working with glass during her time at university, Abigail applied for the job, despite having very little idea of what it meant to be a scientific glassblower. As soon as I was given a demonstration, I just knew it was what I wanted to do. Scientific

Katrina Krmer talks to an art school graduate with the skills that make chemistry research possible

Scientific glassblower

Abigail Storey

Abigails favourite piece of glassware is the rotunda chandelier in the entrance of the Victoria and Albert museum in London.

lightInspiring

successPathway to

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175 Faces of Chemi

stry

Celebrating diversity in

science, 175 Faces of

Chemistry recognises

scientists who have achieved

excellence in their field:

http://rsc.li/1eTr4Je

10 | The Mole | March 2015 www.rsc.org/TheMole

ChemNet

Revision workshops7, 8, 9, 10 AprilNewcastle University, UKAS and A2 revision workshops. Sessions consist of a short summary of the key points from each selected topic area, followed by interactive on-screen questions. Students are provided with a revision booklet containing a comprehensive set of revisionnotes.http://rsc.li/1JQLbJw

Fantastic plastics27 April 13:00, 19:00London, UKWhat's the link between false legs and chewing gum, or between nappies and high tech TVs? Fantastic Plastic will take you on a walk through the future where plastic will change your world!http://rsc.li/1AbxPwe

Meet the Universities20 June (London) and 27 June (Sheffield), UK Considering a degree in chemistry? This is a great opportunity for you to talk directly to staff and students from many of the UK's universities.http://rsc.li/mtu

Colour chemistry23 June 10:0014:00Preston, UKDiscover how objects become coloured and how chemists can manipulate these aspects to produce both natural and synthetic dyes. Learn about how chemical bonding can lead to colour and produce your own natural and synthetic dyes. http://rsc.li/1AbFVoQ

University taster day29 July, 1, 3 July 10:0015:30University of Kent, UKYear 12 chemistry students are invited for a taste of university chemistry. Hear about the courses on offer and research into organic light emitting diodes. Synthesise your own glowing material and learn how to use analytical techniques to collect vital data.http://rsc.li/1apFbHO

Dates for your diary

Molecules: the elements and the architecture of everythingTheodoreGray19.99 (hardback)Reviewed by KatrinaKrmerhttp://amzn.to/1Gz1lC1

What I first thought to be a typical coffee table book containing nice pictures with little text turned out to be a lot more. Supported by NickManns beautiful photographs, Molecules is a serious attempt to explain the world of chemical compounds to the reader without assuming previous scienceknowledge.

The first three chapters familiarise the reader with the notions of atoms, elements and chemical structures. The sections compounds and molecules give simple but meaningful introductions to ionic and covalent bonds, even though the section titles might be more confusing than helpful. The other 11 chapters focus on a variety of compound classes that have a strong connection to everyday life, such as oils, painkillers, sweeteners anddyes.

Molecules also contains parts that I wouldnt have expected but was pleased to find in this highly visual book: one chapter on the distinction and similarities of natural and artificial compounds and another one on the mis- or underrepresentation of chemicals in media and politics. Despite sounding a little grumpy in the latter, Theodore Gray explains the problem with genuine concern using examples such as thimerosal andasbestos.

Throughout, Theodore weaves historic, scientific and other facts into compelling little pieces of text, giving them a personal touch by often explaining how he obtained the sample shown. I particularly enjoyed Theodores humour, for example, when he reminds us that baby oil is indeed a perfumed mineral oil and not actually made frombabies.

Some of the descriptions are a little on the short side. For example, some readers would possibly appreciate a more detailed introduction to orbitals to better understand their shapes and names shown in the image. Moreover, Im not sure if a whole chapter on the distinction of organic and inorganic compounds was necessary, other than for the reason to have a take on the terms chemical-free and organic.

The striking photographs of items, powders and various samples of the compounds discussed are particularly

The Mole team take a look at some books that both entertain and educate

Book reviews

vivid on the books black background. They go wonderfully alongside the chemical structures, which Theodore chose to depict with a diffuse glow around the atoms: a reminder that molecules arent little balls connected by sticks but rather an assembly of nuclei surrounded by fuzzy electronclouds.

At only 20, this book is fantastic value for a science novice as well as for a well-versedchemist.

What if: serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questionsRandallMunroe14.99 (hardback)Reviewed by ColinBatchelorhttp://amzn.to/185LjTS

Part of the task of learning science is not so much about memorising equations, but about learning to think like ascientist.

There is nobody in the public eye who thinks out loud like a physicist quite as much as RandallMunroe, author of the xkcd webcomic. What if is an extended version of his weekly online blog on thetopic.

The books cover promises serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions and the rest of What if more than lives up to its billing. The questions range across the sciences from the whimsical to the disturbing, and include whether you can boil a cup of tea by stirring it, what would happen if you lost all of your DNA, if you could live on a very dense asteroid like the Little Prince and what would happen if you made a periodic table out of large cubes of the elementsthemselves.

Many of the longer answers have already been published on Randall's website, but there is also plenty of new material. Most importantly, the book is very funny indeed, with the mouseover texts and popups of the website transferring smoothly to a print world of captions and footnotes. I was alarmed to find myself holding my finger over some of the uncaptioned drawings and wondering why the mouseover text wasntappearing.

In general, the production values are very high with the authors comic talents pervading all aspects of the physical book. It is very unfortunate that some of the equations have been mangled at typesetting. That caveat aside, I would recommend this book for any scientist or science-curious reader, especially as an invaluable introduction to scientific thinking for youngerreaders.

March 2015 The Mole | 11www.rsc.org/TheMole

Chemistry help

Stuck on a tricky topic at

school? You can post your

problems to Dr ChemNet:

http://rsc.li/1wmzpg8

ChemNetEventsMeet the Universities 2015

Attendance is free for all 16-18 year olds

London Saturday 20 June 2015 Sheffi eld Saturday 27 June 2015

New for 2015ChemNets Dr Careers is off ering 1:1 UCAS and careers advice. Register now to book your slot.

Places are limited

Register nowhttp://rsc.li/mtu

Speak with multiple institutions and chat with current students

Registered charity number 207890

If youre at school or college, you probably feel like people will never stop asking, what are you going to do next? Some people know exactly what they want to do, but for most this is a very

tough decision. To make the best choice, there are a few things you

should think about.

Who are you?Think about your interests, your skills and your personality. What do you want from a job? What motivates you? What are your values? If you need a bit of help you could try quizzes like the buzz test at www.icould.com, the game at www.plotr.co.uk or the values game at http://bit.ly/1AAqCWJ.

How do you prefer to learn?Around the age of 16, you will probably have a choice in the type of education or training you can follow. Spend some time thinking about how you prefer to learn and which forms of assessment suit you. Do you enjoy classroom learning or do you prefer to

learn through doing? Getting this right is essential to success. Choosing between academic or vocational qualifications, university or apprenticeships is all about working out what is right for you.

What could you do?The next step is to consider what opportunities are out there. Most people focus on the jobs they see around them at home and school, or the jobs theyve seen on TV. But there are hundreds of options. You could use careers websites like National Careers Service, icould.com or AFuture in Chemistry (http://rsc.li/1peqn3n) to explore them. Also, the Profile articles in The Mole can show you some of the careers available through chemistry. You could even ask people around you if they know of anyone doing a job youre interested in.

Ask for adviceIts a good idea to talk any ideas through with someone you trust, a careers adviser, a family member or a teacher at school. Whatever your plans are and whichever option you think is right for you, there should be a qualification, course or training scheme to fit.

So, what next?

DrCareers

Chemical acrostic

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Complete the grid (contributed by Simon Cotton) by answering the eight clues to find the answer in the shaded box. This will spell out the name of a lanthanide used to make red phosphors for displays and TVs.

January acrostic solution and winner

The winner was Isa Wilson from Biggleswade, UK.

1 This element is added to an alloy of aluminium to make it more resistant to corrosion.

2 A group 2 metal, less dense than aluminium, used to make lightweight alloys. Sometimes used to make pencil sharpeners.

3 Non-metallic element essential to human life.

4 This forms the smallest atoms of all the group 3 elements.

5 Unreactive 3d metal sometimes used to make water pipes.

6 Group 17 element present in the body, particularly in the thyroid gland.

7 Element with highest first ionisation energy in group 18.

8 Element named after the Italian discoverer of nuclear fission by neutron bombardment of thorium and uranium

M E R C U R Y

C H R O M I U M

I R O N

G O L D

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V A N A D I U M

P L A T I N U M

Submit your answers online athttp://bit.ly/TM215ans

by Monday 13 April.A correct answer for each puzzle, chosen at

random, will win a 25 Amazon voucher

January wordsearch solution and winnerThe winner was Tim Scanlon from Listowel, Ireland. The word was MICROSCOPE.

WordsearchFind the 34 words/expressions associated with archaeology hidden in this grid (contributed by Bert Neary). Words read in any direction, but are always in a straight line. Some letters may be used more than once. When you have found all the words, use the remaining letters to make a 9-letter word. Find out more about how chemistry plays a central role in revealing how our ancestors once lived in The Mole, January 2014 (http://rsc.li/TM0114).

Puzzles50 of vouchers to be won

C A R B O N D A T I N G A E S C Y

H R S I S Y L A N A A N D X E H A

E T E E T H E N A M E L T C P I C

M S N A M U H T N E I C N A O R E

I A G Y D A I R Y F A T R V T A D

C P N R B R O S B A P G N A O L E

A S I T D H P L C A O E E T S M V

L D S S E D B M O T T C U I I O I

A I I I C I D E A O T N T O M L T

N C M M A G L M F M E E R N U E C

A A E E Y B O N E S R I O S I C A

L O C H I R A L I T Y C N K T U O

Y N A C H S A M P L E S S C N L I

S I R C A N C E S T O R S O O E D

E M S P R O T O N S A N M R R S A

S A R C H A E O L O G I S T T C R

G L I P I D R E S I D U E S S T S

ABSORB

AMINO ACIDS

ANCIENT HUMANS

ANCESTORS

ARCHAEOLOGIST

ATOMS

BONES

CARBON DATING

CHEMICAL ANALYSES

CHEMISTRY

CHIRALITY

CHIRAL MOLECULES

DAIRY FAT

DECAY

DIG

DNA ANALYSIS

EXCAVATIONS

GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY

HPLC

LIPID RESIDUES

NEUTRONS

NMR

OLD

PAST

POTTERY

PROTONS

RACEMISING

RADIOACTIVE DECAY

ROCKS

SAMPLE

SCIENCE

STRONTIUM ISOTOPES

TEETH ENAMEL

TOMB

Another clue For clue three: this element

is used in the manufacture

of pencils, filters in kitchen

extractor hoods and brushes

for electric motors.

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