Robert Burk

Carleton Chemistry Prof

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

My cell phone battery is being replaced. It was getting hot, not a good sign since the electrolyte is flammable. But being without your cellphone is like being on a heart and lung machine - your life is on hold and you're not sure if you can survive!

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

Nuclear Waste: A Chemical and Physical Challenge.
https://t.co/gRGsR0BPwM

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

Biocatalytic biobots brew beer better: https://t.co/Dg63RazcS3

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

Solar cell efficiencies continue to climb. Surely this is the future of energy generation?

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

Taught a lecture to live people. Seemed "normal."

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

Chemists make N₂ into NH3 in most efficient electrochemical reaction ever https://t.co/iRfcWa2Jp3 via @cenmag . Significant because current methods for producing ammonia use fully 1% of all energy consumed on Earth, and produce enormous amounts of atmospheric CO2.

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

@OttawaMorning Red sunsets are a result of Mie scattering. Small solid particles, abundant near the end of day, scatter blue light away more effectively, leaving mostly red light for us to see. The sky is blue for a similar reason.

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

Built a deck partially using pressure treated lumber. Spruce lumber is treated under pressure with copper and chromium organometallics. These compounds are toxic to bacteria which would otherwise cause the wood to rot.

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

A skunk walked into my garage, hid behind a shovel, and died. OMG. The City will take the skunk away, but the smell will have to be removed via alkaline oxidation using hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Good chemicals to have at home!

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

Marie Maynard Daly was a trailblazing biochemist, but her full story may be lost https://t.co/cpeKvIe33b

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

Ross Rebagliati lost his gold in snowboarding in 1998 when they found he smoked pot. It was reinstated when they realized that snowboarding's rules did not prohibit pot (surprise, surprise)! Surely pot can only enhance the performance of olympic potato chip eaters anyways.

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

The Russian bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva tested positive for trimetazidine at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics as well. Must have forgotten to change her shirt.

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

I'd look worried too if I were Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, who may have been caught doping using trimetazidine. This drug improves endurance, blood flow, and reduces the symptoms of vertigo, important when doing a triple Lutz I suppose.

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

Prenyl thiol is a major contributor to the skunky smell of marijuana, and to the skunky smell of bad beer. Maybe because Humulus lupulus (hops) and Cannabis sativa (marijuana) are two genera in the plant family Cannabinaceae?

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

Canadians use 7 million tons of NaCl each year to melt snow and ice on roads. Manly problems ensue including corrosion of our cars, estimated to cost us $800 per car per year! In depreciation and maintenance. Chloride ions also kill wildlife especially fish.

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

Visited the dentist. Had to rinse with diluted chlorhexidine (1,6-bis(4-chloro-phenylbiguanido)hexane), which works by binding with, and disrupting, bacterial cell walls. Tastes awful. One side effect is, ironically, tooth discoloration!

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

Pfizer's new antiviral medication Paxlovid is a triumph of drug design and synthetic organic chemistry. Pavloxid (small "white" molecule at the centre of image) works by binding with coronaviral protease, preventing the latter's action in the replication of the virus.

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

Had a rapid covid antigen test, which detects proteins on the surface of the virus. Other tests look for the virus itself (accurate but slower and more expensive) or antibodies to the virus (which does not say if you are currently infected). Oh, and my test was negative...

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

Up to 50 cm of snow may fall locally tonight and tomorrow. If the land area is 5000 sq km and the snow is fluffy (100 kg/m^3), this is approximately 10^37 (100 trillion trillion trillion) water molecules, or about 10^17 (100,000 trillion) snowflakes. Get your shovels out!

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

My Grey Goose did not freeze at -27 degrees C, implying an alcohol content of at least 43%, higher than the distiller's claim which is 40% (80-proof).

[Robert Burk @thinkasachemist]

Low temperature of -26 degrees C tonight in Ottawa, same as the freezing point of vodka! If the vodka freezes, is it lower than -26 or is our vodka low quality?