HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: dubuf@sicsun.epfl.ch (Hans DU BUF)
Newsgroups: sci.misc
Subject: Re: Walk on Mercury?
Date: 30 Jul 92 10:37:59 GMT
Organization: Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne

In article <1992Jul29.144611.23703@access.usask.ca>, goldie@herald.usask.ca (Hugh Goldie) writes:
|> I hope this is a new question --I haven't been on the net long.  I heard this
|> on a local radio station, but have not heard a good answer yet:
|> 
|> If your swimming pool was filled with mercury, could you walk on it?  (What 
|> would happen if you tried it?)

I guess that walking upright would be impossible because you can't maintain
your balance.
Apart from that, mercury is a normal but heavy fluid so you might sink
up to your ankles or a bit further.
It would be very difficult to drown, but before starting to experiment I
advise you to put on a hermetically closed diving suit.
From: lord+@andrew.cmu.edu (Tom Lord)
Newsgroups: sci.misc
Subject: Re: Whales blowing rings
Date: 27 Jul 92 23:04:16 GMT
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA



> [anecdote about whales in an aquarium blowing and playing with air ring]

I once knew a guy who was released from jail after 22 years.  He could blow
nested smoke rings, but more impressive was his ability to flip lit cigarettes
from his mouth, into the air, and into his mouth again.  He had some pretty
good scars from learning the trick, too.

Confinement, time, and an unchanging simplistic environment are great teachers
of weird skills.

-t
Newsgroups: sci.misc
From: alex@bilver.uucp (Alex Matulich)
Subject: Re: Whales blowing rings
Organization: W. J. Vermillion - Winter Park, FL
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 01:54:50 GMT

keulen@csuvax1.csu.murdoch.edu.au (Michael VanKeulen) writes:
>This may or may not be applicable to Belugas, but there are some species of
>whale that blow rings as a means of prey capture.  I saw a TV doco which showed

You are confusing two kinds of bubble rings.  What you are talking about
is the whales' practice of swimming in a circle while blowing air, creating
a wall of bubbles around a school of fish.

The subject under discussion, however, involves a whale blowing a *single*
small burst of air, which forms an unbroken ring-shaped bubble underwater,
much like a smoker blowing a smoke ring.  I remember in scuba class we
were taught to blow these bubble rings from the bottom of a diving pool.
We'd lie on the bottom blowing bubbles.  They'd start out as small, fat
tori, and gradually grow to about 4 or 5 feet in diameter and about 1/4"
thickness before breaking up.  They generated an interesting current of
water spinning around the body of the ring, resulting in an upwelling
in the center.

>the pool it may be a result of confinement, boredom or some such, but there
>_is_ a purpose in the wild.  I've also heard of dolphins playing with making

There is a purpose to a circular wall of bubbles.  But what about the
bubble rings?


-- 
 _ |__  Alex Matulich
 /(+__>  Unicorn Research Corp, 4621 N Landmark Dr, Orlando, FL 32817
//| \     UUCP:  alex@bilver.uucp   {peora|ge-dab|uunet!tous}!bilver!alex
///__)     Internet:  alex@bilver.oau.org | alex%bilver@peora.sdc.ccur.com
Xref: sparky sci.misc:1390 sci.astro:8336
From: mcline@terapin.com (Matthew Cline)
Newsgroups: sci.misc
Subject: Re: Lightning
Date: 23 Jul 92 11:08:39 PST
Organization: BBS

        I've read that in theory it's possible for ball lightning to exist.  I
also think that I've heard that it's been created in a laboratory.  Is this
true?  Has there ever been a confirmed sighting of it in nature?  Also, if one
were to encounter a ball lighting, what would you do in order to avoid being
zapped by it?

Matthew Cline
Newsgroups: sci.misc
From: keulen@csuvax1.csu.murdoch.edu.au (Michael VanKeulen)
Subject: Re: Whales blowing rings
Organization: Murdoch University
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 01:49:56 GMT

This may or may not be applicable to Belugas, but there are some species of
whale that blow rings as a means of prey capture.  I saw a TV doco which showed
whales off Alaska blowing bubble rings to herd up fish or other prey, and then
dive down, coming up through the ring at the surface, mouth open.  I guess in
the pool it may be a result of confinement, boredom or some such, but there
_is_ a purpose in the wild.  I've also heard of dolphins playing with making
bubbles and such from their blowholes.

Mike
Newsgroups: sci.misc
From: phfrom@nyx.uni-konstanz.de (Hartmut Frommert)
Subject: Re: Whales and dolphins
Organization: Dept. of Physics, University of Constance
Distribution: sci
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 11:43:25 GMT

I crosspost this for relevance in the whale discussion (was on sci.space):

amon@elegabalus.cs.qub.ac.uk writes:

>The social structure of dolphins is among the most complex on Earth,  
>right up there with Homo Sapiens and Pan.

>Dolphins form small cooperative groups that will sometimes form  
>coalitions with other cooperative groups. What is interesting is that  
>they may be the only other species that understands the double-cross  
>in the Machiavellian sense.

>They will work with a group until it becomes in their interest to  
>work with yet another group against the first group.

>This is often used by groups of males to kidnap (forcefully) and rape  
>female porpoises, and by female groups to attempt to prevent same.

>So much for the peaceful, lovable porpoises... But they definitely  
>are far, far up the scale of social evolution.

--

 Hartmut Frommert, LS Dehnen, Physics, | E-Mail: <phfrom@dknkurz1.bitnet>
 Univ of Constance, P.O.Box 55 60,     |     or  <phfrom@nyx.uni-konstanz.de>
 D-W-7750 Konstanz, Germany   | + SAVE THE WHALES ! BOYCOTT NORWAY !        +
 Phone: +49-(0)7531-88-3747   | + Whales R intelligent. Whale killers not.  +
+ Whale killing is murder. Eating whales is cannibalism. Eat whale killers. +
Xref: sparky sci.misc:1404 sci.physics:11856
From: pk03+@andrew.cmu.edu (Paul Karol)
Newsgroups: sci.misc,sci.physics
Subject: Re: Is Positronium an atom?
Date: 28 Jul 92 10:05:01 GMT
Article-I.D.: andrew.UeRMlBy00UhBQ3IWhw
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

Is positronium an atom?  Yes and no.  It is sometimes called an "exotic
atom".  It doesn't have a nucleus in the usual sense of
       i.)  A massive 'core' around which the electron(s) are located
            (because both the positron and electon are distributed
             around their 'geometric midpoint'...[quantum equivalent
             that is]
      ii.) The 'nucleus' does not consist of nucleons.

Are there other such misfits that don't get placed on the Periodic
Table?  Plenty.  An anti-atom won't be there, such as an
antiproton+antielectron=antihydrogen atom.  There are also muonium
'atoms' with a (positive) muon and an electron, and other combinations
as well.  The Periodic Table (in any of its hundred odd forms) is
supposed to be a visual guide to chemical (electronic) behavior.  These
exotic species have chemical behavior that's interesting, but scientists
working with them don't need a table of all the usual elements to remind
them of how it all fits together.  And the usual readers of the Periodic
Table are rarely interested in atoms outside the conventional collection.

Paul J. Karol
Nuclear Chemist
(and occassional positronium user)
Newsgroups: sci.misc
From: phfrom@nyx.uni-konstanz.de (Hartmut Frommert)
Subject: Re: Whales blowing rings
Organization: Dept. of Physics, University of Constance
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 16:53:20 GMT

The "Blowing Rings" of the Beluga whales that dsk@casbah.acns.nwu.edu 
(Daniel Katz) has observed seems to be one typical manifestation of that
whales "creativity" in playing, which was observed at several whale species
in zoo as well as in free nature. 

--
 Hartmut Frommert, Physics, Univ of Constance, | + Whale killing is murder. +
 P.O.Box 55 60, D-W-7750 Konstanz, Germany     | + Eat whale killers.       +
 E-Mail: <phfrom@dknkurz1.bitnet> or <phfrom@nyx.uni-konstanz.de>
+    "Windows NoT" expands in German to "Windows Noch Teurer"
+                                                ^even   ^more expensive
From: noring@netcom.com (Jon Noring)
Subject: Re: Walk on Mercury?
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 92 18:13:48 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 

In article dubuf@sicsun.epfl.ch (Hans DU BUF) writes:
>In article <1992Jul29.144611.23703@access.usask.ca>, goldie@herald.usask.ca (Hugh Goldie) writes:
>|> I hope this is a new question --I haven't been on the net long.  I heard this
>|> on a local radio station, but have not heard a good answer yet:
>|> 
>|> If your swimming pool was filled with mercury, could you walk on it?  (What 
>|> would happen if you tried it?)
>
>I guess that walking upright would be impossible because you can't maintain
>your balance.
>Apart from that, mercury is a normal but heavy fluid so you might sink
>up to your ankles or a bit further.
>It would be very difficult to drown, but before starting to experiment I
>advise you to put on a hermetically closed diving suit.


In a National Geographic magazine article from a while ago which described
the mercury industry in Spain, they showed a picture of a man sitting on
top of a large vat of mercury (don't do this at home :^) ).  As expected,
most of his body was above the surface.  I'm sure some mercury got stuck
into his clothes (I think they were factory clothes which were removed
before going home).

Jon

-- 
=============================================================================
| Jon Noring          | noring@netcom.netcom.com | "The dogs bark, but the  |
| JKN International   | IP    : 192.100.81.100   |  caravan moves on."      |
| 1312 Carlton Place  | Phone : (510) 294-8153   | "Pack your lunch, sit in |
| Livermore, CA 94550 | V-Mail: (510) 862-1101   |  the bushes, and watch." |
=============================================================================
"If your annual income today is $50,000, you have the same buying power as
the average coal miner did in 1949, adjusted for taxes and inflation," John
Sestina, nationally recognized Certified Financial Planner;  quoted in 1987.
Newsgroups: sci.misc
From: phfrom@nyx.uni-konstanz.de (Hartmut Frommert)
Subject: Re: Whale killing for "science" -- so for what?
Keywords: Whales, whale killing
Organization: Dept. of Physics, University of Constance
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 12:26:29 GMT

ewright@convex.com (Edward V. Wright) writes:

(Thanx for clearing some things, Edward)

>In <heine.711372713@barsoom> heine@barsoom.nhh.no (Heine Rasmussen) writes:

>>The alleged vast intelligence of whales is a myth, partially created
>>by the popular science magazines.  

>And partially created by marine mammal experts at places like 
>Cornell University.

>>All marine biologists I have
>>discussed the subject with, estimate whales to be at the level of a
>>horse, or a cow.  The brain mass/body mass ratio also suggests this is
>>correct. 

Read the prev posting to get correct. Esp. this ratio suggests that some
whales (orcas, dolphins) compare even to humans.

>Could you please identify the "marine biologists [you] have discussed
>the subject with" and cite the research they have done to support this 
>claim.  How many of those biologists specialize in whales as opposed to
>algae or plankton or sea anemones?  How many are employed by the Norwegan
>whaling industry?

The most important thing is that as far as I see the Norwegian officials 
(at least those who decided to restart whaling) do *NOT CARE* anyway if 
whales are intelligent or not. Even if you could teach whales speaking, 
calculating, doing arts and science, these officials would state that these 
fact are not implying intelligence. And even if they admitted, this would 
not prevent them from whale murdering. These people would anyway look on how 
to make most profit.

Moreover, according to a recent message, also Iceland prepares for mass 
murder of whales. They seem to be at least more honest: they do not mention
"scientific reasons". One reason besides eating them is claimed to be their
fish consuming. But shrinking fish population is of course not due to the 
whales, but to the Icelanders, and other people, who made their fishing 
industries. Maybe other countries join. So Norway was the one who re-started
this "war" against whales after the moratorium.

--
 Hartmut Frommert, LS Dehnen, Physics, | E-Mail: <phfrom@dknkurz1.bitnet>
 Univ of Constance, P.O.Box 55 60,     |     or  <phfrom@nyx.uni-konstanz.de>
 D-W-7750 Constance, Germany  | + SAVE THE WHALES ! BOYCOTT NORWAY !        +
 Phone: +49-(0)7531-88-3747   | + Whales R intelligent. Whale killers not.  +
+ Whale killing is murder. Eating whales is cannibalism. Eat whale killers. +
Newsgroups: sci.misc
From: aldavi01@starbase.spd.louisville.edu (Arlie Davis)
Subject: Re: Walk on Mercury?
Organization: University of Louisville
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 20:39:30 GMT

> I guess that walking upright would be impossible because you can't maintain
> your balance.
> Apart from that, mercury is a normal but heavy fluid so you might sink
> up to your ankles or a bit further.
> It would be very difficult to drown, but before starting to experiment I
> advise you to put on a hermetically closed diving suit.

Yes, mercury is *very* heavy.

So, here's a second, related question: How deep could you fill a normal /
common in-ground swimming pool before the bottom cracked from the pressure /
weight?

-- 
lrwx------   1 aldavi01 emacsstu       9 Jun  6 12:43 .signature -> /dev/null
From: zli@IRIS116.BIOSYM.COM (Zhenqin Li)
Newsgroups: sci.chem
Subject: 16th IUCr Congress, Beijing, August 21-29, 1993
Date: 24 Jul 92 20:44:07 GMT

16th Congress And General Assembly
 
International Union of Crystallography
Beijing, August 21-29, 1993


The 16th Congress and General Assembly of the International
Union of Crystallography will be held on 21-29 August 1993
in Beijing, China. The Organizing Committee  cordially invites
you to attend the Congress.


SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME

The scientific programme will include invited lectures,
microsymposia and poster sessions. In addition, some 
discussion sessions will be organized in certain cases. 
The list of topics and categories for submission of papers 
is being revised and will include the microsymposia topics.
  

PROGRAMME COMMITTEE 

Chairman: Xiao-jie Xu (China)
Members:
A. Authier (France)    W. L. Duax (USA)
J. R. Helliwell (UK)   
W. G. J. Hol (The Nethertlands)
Y. Katsube (Japan)    F. Liebau (Germany)
Y. Le Page (Canada)   V. I. Simonov (USSR)
J. W. White (Australia)
Secretary: Lu-hua Lai


ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Chairman: Mei-cheng Shao
Vice-Chairmen:
Jing-kui Liang        Jin-ling Huang 
Chief Secretaries:    Tie-liang Wang
Hui Liu               Xiang-lin Jin


SATELLITE MEETINGS

1.Symposium on Molecular Structure
  Location: Fuzhou

2.Synchrotron Radiation in Crystallography
  Location: Beijing

3.Neutron Scattering
  Location: Beidaihe

4.Powder Diffraction
  Location: Hangzhou

5.Hefei School on Crystallographic Computing
  Location: Hefei


           REQUEST FOR SECOND CIRCULAR
____________________________________________________________

(Please use block capitals)
Please send me the further information on the Meeting

   NAME:_______________________________________________

   ADDRESS:_____________________________________________
        _______________________________________________
        _______________________________________________
        _______________________________________________
        _______________________________________________

   Tel.No.:____________________________________________
   Fax:   _____________________________________________
   Email:______________________________________________

   I will be attending the Main Meeting:   Yes / No

   I will be attending satellite meeting(s) circled below:

   1    2    3    4    5

   I intend to present a paper:  Yes / No  on the topic:

   ____________________________________________________

   ____________________________________________________

   I will be accompanied by ____ person(s).

PLEASE SEND THE REQUEST BY SEPTEMBER 30, 1992, TO:

Prof. Xiang-lin Jin
Department of Chemistry
Peking University
Beijing 100871, China

Newsgroups: sci.chem
From: stdtm@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu (Timothy A. Melton)
Subject: Re: moderator how is one appointed?
Organization: Engineering Computer Network, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 22:36:21 GMT

In article <EeP5Sy600WBMQ1v3oN@andrew.cmu.edu> Paul Karol <pk03+@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
>
>
>   I cast my vote AGAINST moderation.  (No pun intended.)
>
>Paul J. Karol
  I second the motion AGAINST moderation.  Just learn to use a kill file.

>Nuclear Chemist
>
>


-- 
Timothy A Melton                             University of Oklahoma
Gradual Student                       Department of Chemical Engineering
stdtm@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu     or    stdtm@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu!tims386.uucp
From: Harald_Krause@s2.maus.de (Harald Krause)
Newsgroups: sci.chem
Subject: Re: FTIR public domain databases
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 92 19:05:00 GMT
Organization: MausNet
X-Gateway: MausGate/News 1.11

s>Von : stanley@skyking.oce.orst.edu (So, 19.07.92 01:25)
s>Name: John Stanley
s>Box : Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
s>MId : <1992Jul19.002507.12788@talon.ucs.orst.edu>
s>
s>At one time, I had access to several FTIR spectral databases that were
s>supposedly free or public domain. One was the epa vapor phase library,
s>and some were Ga. State Crime Lab originated.
s>
s>Does anyone know where I can get copies of these, preferably over the
s>net?

Hi John,

I'm interested in this information too and please You to send me a conclusion
if You get any details concerning this datas. I'm interested especially in the
Ga. State Crime Lab originated. I'm working in this area.

CU Harald
From: keni@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Ken Ikeda)
Newsgroups: sci.chem
Subject: References on solar panels & the environment...
Date: 23 Jul 92 01:55:54 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Hawaii at Manoa

I was recently talking to a friend about the effects on the environment
of geothermal energy and solar energy and I seem to remember reading an 
article once on how the production of photovoltaic cells and solar panels
can contaminate the environment. I can't remember where I saw this and I
was wondering if anyone out there knew of any references which cite the making
of photovoltaic cells as polluting the environment, via production plant
runoff etc.

I'm not an environmental activist or anything, just a lowly technician, so
I'm not out to use the info to fry anyone....

Any help would be greatly appreciated.. e-mail to keni@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu

Thanks

Ken.....
From: dluznie@bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu (dluznie)
Newsgroups: sci.chem
Subject: Re: Teflon: question about heating.
Date: 28 Jul 92 00:00:02 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: State University of New York at Binghamton

In article <1992Jul27.114233.15348@crd.ge.com> Ligon@macgw1.ge.com (Woody Ligon) writes:
>[...]
>What we have here is a question of rates.  Of course, Teflon (R) decomposes
> more quickly at 400 C (or 600 as someone else suggested) but 
>the reaction also goes as low as 280 C albeit much more slowly.  Anyone who
> has ever tried using teflon ferrules in a gas chromatograph above 280 for any 
>extended period of time will know that the Teflon disappears entirely at 
>these temperatures in a matter of about a month. Ferrules are far thicker
>than the coatings we are talking about on cookware so extended use of a 
>coating above 280 C (about 500 F) is definitely going to destroy such coatings
>in short order. 
[...]

I read you article again and have additional question:
Are you sure that the ferrules were not heated by detector or injector.
They usually are hotter than the oven.

Tomek Dluzniewski
From: sk@jenny.informatik.uni-dortmund.de
Newsgroups: sci.chem
Subject: Re: will this cause a fire?
Date: 28 Jul 1992 15:07:50 GMT
Organization: University of Dortmund, Germany
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: jenny

I recently learned that calcium hypochlorite stored in a plastic bag inside a
plastic barrel (50 kg) caused a fire. The barrel was probably broken (no way to
verify this now ;-). The only influences were <1> surely some water
dropping onto
the barrel and <2> maybe exhaust gas produced by a motor pump mounted above
the
barrel. The pump seems ok, so it is not very likely that <3> fuel dropped
onto the
barrel.

Any comments how this could ignite the plastic barrel? Is the reaction between
calcium hypochlorite and water exothermic enough?
From: pandrews@hpb.hwc.ca
Newsgroups: sci.chem
Subject: structure/graphing software
Date: 28 Jul 92 08:39:49 EDT
Organization: Health and Welfare, Canada

hi,
I'm looking to buy 2 software packages: the first is to be a molecular
drawing program, the second a graphing package.  I'd like both to on
a PC through Windows.  I've worked with WIMP before , but have had problems
getting the demo to run on my PC (an HP Vectra QS/20).  As for the graphing
software, I've also used Sigmaplot before, (the pre-windows version) and it
was a bit brain dead.  Any suggestions?
Paul Andrews:Health and Welfare Canada
pandrews@hpb.hwc.ca

Newsgroups: sci.chem
From: cs_jh@cox.nsac.ns.ca (JEFF HOYLE)
Subject: moderator how is one appointed?
Organization: Nova Scotia AC
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 15:25:01 GMT

I think that it is about time that this group had a moderator.  How does one 
go about seeking a moderator for a group?  I have basically been flamed for 
my earlier comment regarding inappropriate use of this newsgroup.  I still 
stand by my comment that this is a group for chemistry discussion (broad 
though it may be this subject definitely does not include the discussion 
concerning getting degrees without going to (attending) college.

If anyone knows of the procedure for moderator selection please let me 
know.  I will be very happy to set this process in motion.

  ***********************************************************
  * Dr Jeff Hoyle (Organic Chemist)                         *
  * Chemistry and Soil Science Department                   *
  * Nova Scotia Agricultural College    FAX: (902)-895-4547 *                     *
  * P.O. Box 550, TRURO,              Voice: (902)-893-6630 *
  * Nova Scotia. CANADA  B2N  5E3                           *  
  *                  -----------------                      * 
  * Internet: cs_jh@cox.nsac.ns.ca  OR  jh_cs@ac.nsac.ns.ca *
  ***********************************************************
Newsgroups: sci.chem
From: saj@chinet.chi.il.us (Stephen Jacobs)
Subject: Re: N2O preparation
Summary: BE CAREFUL
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1992 03:22:11 GMT
Organization: Chinet - Public Access UNIX
Keywords: Ammonium nitrate explosive

I don't think the previous message was emphatic enough about the explosive 
hazard of ammonium nitrate.  It's a high explosive (it doesn't go bang, so
much as shatter everything around it), and even water solutions can be
detonated.  The pure material is admittedly VERY hard to cause to explode, but
a few percent of a fuel mixed with it can make it much touchier.  I wouldn't
mess with it.
                                     Steve      saj@chinet.chi.il.us
Newsgroups: sci.chem