This blog is my attempt to reconnect with the world of chemistry. I have a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry and make a living doing research for a large company in Michigan. As times have changed, that company has changed its focus and I no longer have as much chance to do the basic, fundamental research which I most enjoy. Through this blog, I am hoping to recapture the magic which I felt during my graduate (and undergraduate) days in college. Expect topics on chemistry and alchemy along with some non-chemistry related items which I think might be interesting.

"The chymists are a strange class of mortals, impelled by an almost insane impulse to seek their pleasure among smoke and vapour, soot and flame, poisons and poverty; yet among all these evils I seem to live so sweetly that may I die if I would change places with the Persian King."

Johann Joachim Becher (phlogistonist)
Acta Laboratorii Chymica Monacensis, seu Physica Subterranea, (1669).

Monday, March 17, 2008

Monday Evening Ramblings

I'm just a little tired tonight and since I didn't come across anything chemistry related that I felt like discussing today, I think I'll just let it go until tomorrow.

In a sad bit of news, The Chem Blog may be shutting down in the near future. I've only been reading it for a short time, but we need all the chemistry related blogs we can get in this world.

In my last post, I mentioned a little piece of software call Phun. Well, the kids absolutely love it. It's far, far better than I expected and I'm playing around with it myself. You owe it to yourself to watch the video and see what it can do. Design perpetual motion machines, create vehicles that move, and build diabolical death traps to destroy those vehicles. I'm especially impressed with the simulation of liquids. I cannot imagine the programming that went into this thing. The physics is not always perfect and large volumes of water can slow the frame rate, but this is an awesome program. Check out the video here.

1 comment:

Ψ*Ψ said...

So you say Phun is as entertaining as it looks? I may have to check it out sometime.