Chemistry July 3: A question of balance and alchemy

Post your thoughts on the diet suggestions in pH Balance: Acids &Alkalis & Anti-Oxidants

It's interesting that the alkaline to acid gradient here seems to fall along the same lines of healthy to unhealthy for many other factors, such as fake sugars/unhealthy fats/high processed foods etc. It looks like "alkaline" can be almost synonymous with "healthy". I know our western medicine teacher says that alkaline diets are a fad because our body pH has to stay within a very small, specific margin, and if we were truly "acidic" it would be a medical emergency. I wonder where the truth lies...

Classical Physics

• Newton’s Three Laws and me
• Our “Energy Efficient” Culture
• Descartes has a lot to answer for!

1) Newton's 3 laws are as follows:

1. Every object in a state of uniform motion will remain in that state of motion unless an external force acts on it
2. Force equals mass times acceleration 
3. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction

In terms of the first law, I figure this includes the force of the molecules making up the atmosphere around an object, and wonder if that means that an object accelerating within a vacuum is the only type of object that would not eventually stop or slow acceleration. The second is pretty straightforward, and as for the third...you could definitely apply this law beyond physics! Although when I think about it, sometimes it doesn't work out. Like, if you punch someone, they might punch you back. Maybe that's equal, but is it opposite? Possibly, if you see a punch going in the opposite direction as "opposite" to that first punch. But if you are caring for someone, and they care for you back, is that opposite? Seems more "the same" than opposite. Maybe its not possible to translate this physics equation into human interactions after all.

2) I really hope that our culture becomes more energy efficient. Right now, it feels like we're so wasteful. So many lights on in rooms with no one in them, such dirty fuel being burned when there are many viable alternatives. I wonder why the gym I go to isnt being powered by the energy created from all those treadmills rather than an outside (and likely dirty) electricity source. We need to become more efficient, as quickly as possible. It still may not be enough to stave off the worst effects of global warming, but its worth a shot

Cell Biology: HIV and AIDS

• How do you feel about western approaches to HIV/AIDS?
• What are your thoughts on the issues around the PrEP treatment?
• Can TCM strengthen our immune systems?

1) I think that medical professionals are doing what they can, with the tools that they have, to prevent the spread of and improve the life of those with HIV/AIDs. Antiretroviral drugs and preventative medicines like PrEP and PeP have saved, prolonged, and improved many lives. I'd like to see more of a focus on curing the disease, and on getting these life-saving medications to the global population 

2) I think PrEP is vital and important medicine. I have many friends who are on it, and I sleep more soundly at night knowing they are protecting themselves in this way. I think the main barriers to access are a lack of education/information, and slut-shaming/guilting of people who could benefit from it. The fact is, humans have sex, often with people we don't know well, and we need to get over puritanical attitudes about morality. These are the same attitudes that prevented public and governmental mobilization when HIV was first spreading in the US - and resulted in the deaths of so many people. PrEP saves lives, and it should be available at no cost to anyone who needs it. 

3) Of course! TCM supports the body to achieve a greater state of harmony, which strengthens all of our systems, including our immune systems. I think TCM can be helpful for anyone who is struggling with autoimmune diseases

Cell Biology and Cancer

• How sophisticated is our understanding of cancer?
• How does a TCM approach to cancer differ?

1) I think we are still in the middle stages of understanding cancer. If we were further along, we would have more effective cures and prevention protocols. Cancer is tricky because while there are some overlapping facts about all cancers, every kind of cancer is unique, and even specific types of cancers are different in different bodies. This makes cancer more of an umbrella term for many diseases, and the unique-ness of every person's cancer means that standardized approaches, which western medicine is so fond of, doesn't always work well. 

2) TCM is about treating a person with cancer, rather than treating cancer. So, rather than giving someone a drug or treatment that is meant to attack or kill a person's cancer cells, TCM practitioners would focus on strengthening a person's constitution and helping to balance their energy so the person's system was strong enough to fight the cancer off on its own. 

Physics Week 7 - Chaos Theory

• Ordered Chaos - does this sound familiar?
• Fractals as patterns of complex systems
• Consciousness out of chaos?

Ordered chaos sounds familiar! Reminds me of my bedroom when I was a kid, or the roads in cities in Iran. It looks totally wild and chaotic, but somehow it still functions. This could also be applied to our government, which is completely enmeshed in a million rules and procedures but somehow is still totally chaotic. 

Fractals: It seems to me like fractals are a representation of looking at the micro to understand the macro, and vice versa, which is something we do in TCM. Somehow, even in complex systems where chaos seems to reign supreme, certain patterns and relationships emerge. 

Consciousness: I think consciousness is a way that order comes out of chaos, and that its ordered-ness is very precarious. It's a way for the universe to notice, and to observe, and there are patterns that can be observed through consciousness. However I think because of entropy we are always sliding back towards chaos

Chemistry Week 6

• Test your understanding of hypotheses – try Avogadro's Hypothesis and report back on your findings
• What exactly is a mole? - try "What Is a Mole, Checking Out the Mole"

Avogadro's hypothesis site not working :(

What is a mole: The mass of substance containing the same number of fundamental units as there are atoms in exactly 12.000 g of ¹²C. Fundamental units may be atoms, molecules, or formula units, depending on the substance concerned. An amount of any chemical compound that is equal to the combined atomic weights or the molecular weight, expressed in grams, contains 602,213,670,000,000,000,000,000 molecules.

Physics Week 6: Vibrations

Are all vibrations "good":
- the first thing that comes to my mind if earthquakes, and how if you're a human hanging out when the earth shakes around you, it's not a good vibration! It is interesting to note that earthquakes often create new environments for new plants and animals, so guess it all depends on your perspective. 

Resonance in my world:
- I live in west oakland, near where the nimitz freeway collapsed. There's a little memorial park that's kindof overgrown and forgotten-looking, and I wonder how many people living in west oakland today were directly affected by that disaster. I know if will only be a matter of time before the next quake, and I wonder if there is any way to predict what kind of resonance a quake will produce

Connections between Energy and Qi:
I think that qi is energy that is temporarily in your body. It is your being's energy, the energy of your life-force that you borrow from the universe. Qi moves in waves and has far-reaching effects, and can move out of your body as you expend energy and when you die. 

Biology: The Pattern of Life

Distinguishing between living and non-living systems:

- for me, living means some kind of push towards growth and homeostasis. Also some kind of respiration i.e. taking in from the environment and processing on the inside. But I'm open to changing my mind/being proven wrong (I'm thinking about crystals and how they grow and change over time and wondering if they could be classified as living by some standards). 

Getting back to nature:

- As a certified plant and nature person, I know that I need to spend time outside and in nature as often as possible in order to feel balanced, peaceful, and alive. I'm wary of "fixes" like grounding mats that try to say "get the benefits of nature without actually interacting with nature!" because I think its truly missing the point and having a reductionist view of the benefit of time spend in nature. It's similar to how western medicine extracts one thing from a plant and says that the medicine is better/as good as the plant. There's a lot to be missed when you don't actually spend quality time outside, and a lot of it cant be quantified. 

Chemistry Week 5

Colors of your kitchen:

There are many colors in my kitchen! The colors in my cupboards and fridge ranges from green (arugula, kale, zucchini) to blue(berries), pink (chard), yellow (beans), red (beans, fruit), and orange(s). I guess that means I'm staying up on the colors to take care of my whole physical and energetic body! I don't always have blue and purple foods around, and should probably buy more purple yams and cabbage. 

Physics Week 5

My Asymmetrical World:
I like thinking about how the world is actually asymmetrical. I think as humans we often see balance and symmetry as some kind of goal or ideal, when really that's pretty unrealistic and unnatural. I'm thinking about asymmetry when it comes to power and relationships, and how people don't need to be exactly balanced in order to thrive and can achieve harmony through interpersonal support. For example I'm really good at organization, emotional support and keeping track of what needs to be done when, my partner is really good at fixing things when they break and de-escalating conflict, and my housemate/best friend is really good at taking care of our animals and plants and cooking. We don't need to be perfectly symmetrical within ourselves to be part of a functioning whole. 

CP violation: I think this is fascinating! I don't exactly know what the implications are, why it happens or what it ultimately means, other than it means that there is more going on than we can comprehend. And I love that! What is the hidden force that led to our current matter-dominant universe? Maybe we're not meant to know. 

Chemistry Week 4

: ØDiscover your “Transitional Metal of the Week” and post a brief description ØPost your thoughts on Green Chemistry 

Transitional Metal of the Week: Titanium

Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It is the 9th-most abundant element in the earth's crust and has a silver color, low density, and high strength. Titanium is resistant to corrosion in sea water, aqua regia, and chlorine, making it a favorite for industry. It is often alloyed with iron, aluminum, vanadium, molybdenum and other elements to produce strong, lightweight alloys for aerospace. It is used in medical prosthesis, dental, agriculture, automotive, jewelry, and cellphones. Significant titanium-bearing deposits exist in western Australia, Canada, China, India, Mozambique, New Zealand, Norway, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Ukraine. Nettles contain about 80 parts per million of titanium. 

Thoughts on Green Chemistry:
I think the goals of green chemistry are excellent. It would be prudent for these concepts to be incorporated by all manufacturers and businesses working with and creating chemicals. It's funny that many industry-supporting politicians and people wouldn't support these initiatives because they would consider them to be "bad for business", but what's really the worst for business is our planet becoming uninhabitable. 

Physics Week 4

- I'm sure e=mc2 has affected me in many ways that I can't conceptualize. I know the equation explains how matter can be converted to energy and energy can be converted back to mass, which is how nuclear fusion works. From what I can gather, none of the stars or other masses in the universe would exist the way they do without the impact of this equation..so clearly I wouldn't exist either. 

-Compare the 4 forces:

- Strong Nuclear force: a force that acts between 2 or more protons and neutrons inside the nucleus of an atom. It is the fastest force and stores a large amount of energy. The strongest force present in nature. 
- Weak nuclear force: acts between leptons, is stronger than gravity, is involved in decay, most effective in short distance
- Electromagnetic-  is the combination of all electrical and magnetic forces, acts between particles, can attract or repulse.
- Gravity: gravity causes objects to curve towards each other in space-time, such as placing two objects on a stretched out sheet