Did you know that? Part II

[Visalakshi Ramani]

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Chemistry, a branch of physical science is the study

of the composition, properties and behavior of matter.

Chemistry = History + mystery (according to me)

We will enjoy the mystery of Chemistry by admiring the

wonderful world of rocks, crystals and gemstones first.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

 

[BostonSankara]

Namaskar Sri VR!!!!

I am a Chemist so I cannot ignore this thread! We often say that Chemistry is the science of understanding change. Thank you for posting this thread. I will see what interesting things that I can add as well. The crystals I will post are different though, they are the immaculate cathedrals we each carry within us. They are the crystalline molecular machines thats the gods gave us all. The vahanas of the smallest units. The motors of life itself.

First I'll post lactase which allows us to enjoy and receive energy from delicious MILK!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Dear Mr. Sankara,
Thank you for your post and the interesting colorful doodle.
Life is chemistry since it keeps changing.
Human body, mind and emotions are chemistry too since
they too undergo continual changes all along.
You are most welcome to post your messages containing
the mystery of chemistry as well as the molecular machines.
I am all eyes and ears. :ear:
with best wishes and regards,
V.R.

 

[Raghy]

For lot of persons Algebra = காப்ரா ... for me Chemistry = சிம்ம சொப்ணம் .. So, from this thread I should :bolt:

Cheers!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

No one can run away from Chemistry!

Our food is nothing but chemistry.

Look at all the nutritional facts.

Some people eat only chemistry and not food.

They add yeast, protein, calcium etc into a bowl

and something else to make the mixture palatable.

All our medicines are pure chemistry.

All our cosmetics and toilet products are chemistry.

All our cleaning agents are pure chemistry.

Even human relationship is nothing but chemistry.

How else can we explain the inexplicable human bonding

as well the inexplicable human allergies to other persons??

Last but not the least who has not heard of the chemistry

between the hero and heroine contributing to the success of a movie!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Australia is not only known for its natural beauty above the ground. It is also known for its wealth of gemstones

and minerals that are found under the ground and in the ocean.

Australia is known for its opals, diamonds and sapphires. Other gemstones are pearls and jade which are

also found in abundance in Australia.

Gemstones found in Australia: Opals, Diamonds, Sapphires, Pearls and Jade

Let me see how a person living in Australia CAN KEEP OFF this thread dealing with the pretty glittering crystals

and not with chemical reactions or titration or fume producing laboratory experiments.

 

[BostonSankara]

More Chemical Fun!

Beautiful rubies and sapphires are actually the same type of crystals. The differences in color are due to trace amounts of particular metals that are dispersed within their crystal latices! This crystal mineral is called corundum the world over and its general formula is Al2O3 as it is composed of aluminum and oxygen. The coolest thing about this fact is that the word corundum comes from the Tamil குருந்தம் (kuruntam) !!!!!

 

[BostonSankara]

Seratonin is a chemical that is integral to our feelings of joy and happiness ! It has been said that meditation and joyous worship lead to seratonin release in the brain which explains why aspect of the Dharma are able to directly affect our perception of the world, our situations, and make us happy! ray: Our bodies synthesize it using a chemical machine with the awkward name "aromatic l-amino decarboxylase" :blah: that crystalline machine has this beautiful structure:

 

[Naina_Marbus]

Namaskar Sri VR!!!!

I am a Chemist so I cannot ignore this thread! We often say that Chemistry isthe science of understanding change. Thank you for posting this thread. I willsee what interesting things that I can add as well. The crystals I will postare different though, they are the immaculate cathedrals we each carry withinus. They are the crystalline molecular machines thats the gods gave us all. Thevahanas of the smallest units. The motors of life itself.

First I'll post lactase which allows us to enjoy and receive energy fromdelicious MILK!

Sankar:
You need to make changes to your definition of the crystals of the “immaculate cathedrals we carry within us”. The figure you have presented here (and will probably continue to post here in future) is not the crystal of lactase, but the “molecule or more specifically the molecular architecture of lactase” as observed in the crystals of the enzyme.

For the uninitiated, I present a simpler analogy. Look at the figure below. On the right of the figure is the crystal of diamond but on the left is the molecule (molecular structure) of which crystals of diamond are made of.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Isn't the molecular structure of a crystal supposed to have a rigid lattice system???

How come colorful doodles qualify to be called as crystals????

Where do we find these wonderful wavy crystals in the human body??? :noidea:

Hope Bostan S and Prof S will clarify my ever increasing doubts!!! :ear:

 

[BostonSankara]

I have to run to yoga practice but I will explain how protein crystallography works once I return!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

A to Z in gemstones.

#1.Rocks and Minerals




A mineral is a naturally occurring substance that is solid and stable at room temperature. It has an ordered atomic structure and is representable by a chemical formula. A rock can be an aggregate of minerals or non-minerals, and does not have a specific chemical composition.

The exact definition of a mineral is under debate, especially with respect to the requirement a valid species be abiogenic, and to a lesser extent with regards to it having an ordered atomic structure. Mineralogy is the study of minerals.

There are over 4,900 known mineral species; over 4,660 of these have been approved by the International Mineralogical Association ( I.M.A ).

Over 90% of the Earth’s crust is composed of Silicate minerals. The diversity and abundance of mineral species is controlled by the Earth’s chemistry. Silicon and oxygen constitute approximately 75% of the Earth’s crust, which translates directly into the predominance of silicate minerals.

Chemical and Physical properties distinguish the minerals. Chemical composition and crystal structure distinguish the various species. These properties are influenced by the mineral’s geological environment of formation. Changes in the temperature, pressure, and bulk composition of a rock mass cause changes in its mineralogy. When the temperature and pressure change, its mineralogy changes as well.

Minerals can be described by their physical properties, which relate to its chemical structure and composition. Crystal structure, habit, hardness, luster, whether or not it is diaphanous, color, streak, tenacity, cleavage, fracture, parting and specific gravity are the common distinguishing characteristics. Reaction to acid, magnetism, taste, smell and radioactivity are the more advanced tests.

Minerals are classified by key chemical constituents. Silicates, sulfides, oxides, halides, carbonates, sulfates, phosphates and naive elements are the important mineral groups.

 

[Naina_Marbus]

Isn't the molecular structure of a crystal supposed to have a rigid lattice system???

How come colorful doodles qualify to be called as crystals????

Where do we find these wonderful wavy crystals in the human body??? :noidea:

Hope Bostan S and Prof S will clarify my ever increasing doubts!!! :ear:

1)

Isn't the molecular structure of a crystal supposed to have a rigid lattice system???

a) The spatial arrangement of the atoms constituting a molecule is referred to as the molecular structure.
b) A lattice is an array of points repeating periodically in three dimensions.
c) A crystal represents the “orderly” arrangement of “identical” molecules repeating themselves ad infinitum in a “lattice” ( i.e. in a systematically ordered way in the three-dimensional space).

2)

How come colorful doodles qualify to be called as crystals????

No, they don’t.

3)

Where do we find these wonderful wavy crystals in the human body???

No, we won’t generally find any such wavy crystals of molecules ( one would call these molecules organic or bio-organic) in the human body. For the most part, what you will find are small clusters of such molecules to carry out specific biological functions, but they are not crystals.

Of course we may find crystals in the kidney or toes – but these are usually crystals of some minerals like Calcium Oxalate etc in the kidney, or Uric acid crystals inthe toes of people afflicted with severe gout).

The doodles ( or noodles) referred to above actually represent molecular structure of a specific molecule. A knowledge of this molecular structure is necessary to understand how biological processes take place.

But, to get the molecular structure, you need to isolate and purify these molecules, and obtain significant quantities of them, which are then used to obtain crystals (much like how you get crystals of table salt by making a saturated solution of table salt in water and allowing the solution to evaporate). Once you get crystals, Physics and Chemistry provide various methods to find the molecular structure of the molecules forming the crystals.

Too much to take in?

 

[renuka]

Seratonin is a chemical that is integral to our feelings of joy and happiness ! It has been said that meditation and joyous worship lead to seratonin release in the brain which explains why aspect of the Dharma are able to directly affect our perception of the world, our situations, and make us happy! ray: Our bodies synthesize it using a chemical machine with the awkward name "aromatic l-amino decarboxylase" :blah: that crystalline machine has this beautiful structure:

Wow this is beautiful....looks like some exoskeleton of Optimus Prime or some Decepticon.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Dear Prof N_M,
Thanks for the detailed reply.
Very well explained - as in a classroom!
Well, if it were too much for me to take in
I would not have got this doubt in the first place.
Everyone knows about crystallization out of saturated solutions!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Wow this is beautiful....looks like some exoskeleton of Optimus Prime or some Decepticon.

Now I must look up this new word Renu!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Optimus Prime is a character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the Autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the

planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons. He is depicted as a

brave, powerful, wise and compassionate leader who puts his talent to use improving the universe around him. Optimus is portrayed as having a

strong sense of justice and righteousness and has dedicated himself to the protection of all life, particularly the inhabitants of Earth. According

to Bob Budiansky, co-writer of the Transformers series, Dennis O'Neil was responsible for his name.

Courtesy Wikipedia

Yes there is unmistakable resemblance in their outlines! :clap2:

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

A 3 D crystalline structure

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Crystal of Sodium Chloride also known as Common salt

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

An Ice crystal shown in three different orientations.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

While Inorganic crystals fit in simple straight line patterns

the organic crystals are wavy, spring shaped and messy!

The crystal structure of the modular FAD synthetase (FADS)

 

[BostonSankara]

These bio-organic compounds exist in a watery world. They are in constant motion. In fact it is often this motion that allows them to do the things they do. In order to understand them we purify them to a very high degree and then dehydrate them in various manners. Once this is done the little movable molecule no longer move and they pack into crystal. Here is a picture of protein crystals grown on the US and Russian space stations:

Taken from Protein crystallization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Again in the body they do not exist in these absolute forms because they are always working and again exist in the watery world of the cell. Some of them are bound to cellular surface and some float about.

The Professor is correct in that what you are seeing is not the entire lattice. That picture is below. However in this frozen conformation you are seeing the individual units that freeze into these crystals. The pretty crystals themselves are made up of many of these units. We do all of this because bombarding crystals themselves with x-rays allow us to determine what we call tertiary structure and in chemistry Structure and Function are inseparable.

Here is an example of how they pack into the crystals seen above:

Here is a nice summary for those interested:
Summary of Protein Crystallography

 

[manoharkumar]

For lot of persons Algebra = காப்ரா ... for me Chemistry = சிம்ம சொப்ணம் .. So, from this thread I should :bolt:

Cheers!​

Dear Raghy Sir,

same is the condition of mine!! But wont we learn a lot or enjoy the beautiful drawings that are posted here?.. Cheers

 

[Raghy]

Dear Raghy Sir,

same is the condition of mine!! But wont we learn a lot or enjoy the beautiful drawings that are posted here?.. Cheers

Dear Manohar Kumar,

I was too scared about chemistry.. so scared, I always spent more time for that subject and always passed that subject with distintion grades ( not in PUC though... that was when I got scared of Chemistry.. analysing the salt brougt cold sweat for me... but later on when I studied it during my Engineering, I was paying a lot of respect to it..).

Cheers!