use the force

I'm a bit obsessed with the periodic table at the minute. More so than usual, just to clarify.
So I've been looking for some different versions.

How about this then, based on the land of Middle Earth, which is surprisingly well presented and organised.

Or this one based on The Empire Strikes Back (use link for larger version), widely recognised as the best of the Stars Wars films.

Who's scruffy looking now?

If anyone finds any other good examples, let me know. And if you find them on a website without the word 'geek' in the web address I'll be even more impressed.

My personal favourite could well be this one though. To the untrained eye it looks like a regular periodic table, but chemistry reckoned without Chuck Norris.

You see, Chuck hates the periodic table, as he only recognises the element of surprise.

This might not make much sense if you've no idea who Chuck is, so you'd better google him. That still might not help much, mind.

anyone for table tennis?

Look what finally arrived today.

Ten boxes. 1440 of the little rascals.

I feel an explosion coming on.

pimp my ride

christmas warning

Now, I don't want to get technical or anything either, but alcohol isn't a solution kids. Ethanol, in its pure form, is a liquid compound. However, if we drank it like that we would most probably go blind and very quickly need another liver.

I guess the board is correct in some respects though, since the ethanol content in most alcoholic beverages varies from 4 or 5% for your typical beers, about 12% for wine, up to 40% for spirits like whiskey and brandy. And then there's absinthe, that mental people drink. The rest is made up of mainly water and assorted flavourings and other dissolved chemicals, thereby making alcoholic drinks the aforementioned 'solution'.

Thanks to Aidan Scarby for sending me the picture.

liquid oxygen

Strangely, liquid oxygen (LOX) is pale blue in colour and is paramagnetic.

Paramagnetic materials are attracted to magnetic fields (like the poles of a magnet) but unlike ferromagnets they do not retain any magnetization in the absence of an externally applied magnetic field (so don't expect liquid oxygen to attract a piece of steel).

diffusion

Ghostly apparitions, or simply blue ink diffusing into water. Ooohh, ghosts. Scary.

salt and pepper

This image of a whole peppercorn with a grain of sea salt offers a close-up glimpse of the structure of simple everyday products that we use on our food. Mind you, that's it for me and pepper. No more of that veiny rascal on my cheese sandwiches.

aluminium and bromine

The reaction of aluminium with bromine. Who would have thought that aluminium was so reactive anyway? We wrap our food in it, don't we?

Being protected by an air tight, water tight layer of aluminium oxide on its surface, it is perfectly safe to use as cooking foil. However, bromine is a bit frisky, and once it strips off this thin oxide layer to reveal the reactive aluminium metal beneath, the resulting reaction is highly exothermic.