flame test.

A flame test is used in chemistry for finding out, how much of different kinds of iron there are in the different elements. When doing a flame test you take an element or compound, and put it up to a flame. Then you observe which color the flame gets. The tests are mostly made on a platinum wire, that is constantly cleaned, so that the results of previous tests don't get mixed up with the current one. The flame test can be used to determine elements in minerals.

Sources:
http://webmineral.com/help/FlameTest.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flame_test

one world glogster

about pollution of water ecosystems.
http://laurasglogster.glogster.com/science-water-pollution/

Aluminum Plant Waste Spill Hungary

There has recently been a huge waste spill that is threatening the Danube River, the Marcal and several other European rivers, incl. the communities around the area. The water has covered an area of 15 square miles. What happened was, that a dam holding back millions of tons of toxic metal wastes collapsed, spreading it all over the area. 4 people are killed, 6 are missing, around 120-150 people have been injured and many people (many are injured because of chemical burns) are in danger. It does not only injure, or kill people, but also animals and plants. The one thing that is not in danger is the tourism in Hungary. All airports and hotels and other tourist places keep on functioning and going on like they usually do.

It happened the 4th of Oct. in Hungary, near Ajka. The place of the catastrophe is owned by MAL Magyar Aluminum. This all causes that there won't be possibility of growing crops inside this area, in a long time. It is going to take tens of millions of dollars to get all of it cleaned up, and a lot of money will be lost (or just not earned), because of the toxic water destroying all crops and potentially a river. The company itself have said that, according to European Union Policies, the "Red Mud" was not supposed to be dangerous, and the accident could not have been predicted or stopped in anyway. They also said that it was not due to human failure, but equipment failure that caused the accident.

 Sources:
http://www.recyclingportal.eu/artikel/25222.shtml
http://www.popfi.com/2010/10/06/toxic-aluminum-sludge-floods-hungary/
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/88/i41/8841news8.html
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Hungary+toxic+spill+could+take+year+clean+Official/3631412/story.html

Diamonds are a Scientists Best Friend.

This was called "Diamonds are a Scientists Best Friend",  I found it on itunes, and it was made by "stuff from the science lab" by Allison and Robert.

First they start explaining diamond formation. It consists only of carbon and it is only made naturally at specific temperatures and pressures. Carbon is everywhere, it is in our bodies and in the air around us. Therefore there are a lot of different places in the universe and on earth where diamonds can be made, if the right temperatures and pressures used. Most diamonds were formed millions or billions years ago. If wanting to crate natural diamond, you would need to imitate the temperatures and pressures from the core of the earth.

Then they started talking about some awards that were given to scientists in Mexico, because they had figured out how to create diamonds, only using tequila. They also talked about a machine that in some way used diamonds to cut into mouse brains. 

After that they talked about the biggest diamonds. The biggest one in the world is owned by a king in Thailand. It is about the size of a palm. The other one began talking about a big star, consisting only of carbon and therefore it can crystallize. That star, probably is the biggest diamond in the universe. The star is called White Dwarf. 

They explained how diamonds were studied and what scientists had found out when studying diamonds. Diamonds are studied, kind of like earthquakes are studied. Most diamond research in the universe is done on micro diamonds, which are found in asteroids. Jupiter might have a giant diamond in its core, but nobody knows that for certain. Also Neptune might have a diamond ocean, with diamond icebergs in it. Tests have been done on melting diamonds. when they were melted, they floated on the diamond liquid. That could explain the magnetic field on the north pole. 

There is a special insect, that scientists have done some research on. It is green, and has a very shiny shell. Scientists found out that the reason the insect shines is because it has a crystal shell. It cannot be used to make diamonds, but it can give scientists an idea of which crystal structure to use when creating diamonds. They also talked about why the insect was green, it was because the crystal shell reflected the green color, making it seem green.