Magic Acid, H2SO3F+, is one of the inorganic superacids. This extremely strong acid has a pKa of 20 and is strong enough to protonate saturated alkanes to form carbonium ions. Magic Acid is made by mixing antimonypentafluoride (SbF55) and fluorosulphonic acid. It is considered a superacid and is called Magic Acid because of its strength.
Read More »What is macrobiotics?
The word macrobiotic originates from the Greek word meaning ‘great or larger than life’. It is based on The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, the oldest-known book of Chinese medicine. It is attributed to Yellow Emperor Huang Ti (2704 BC), but was probably not written until about 500 BC. Macrobiotics is a healthy, holistic way of living a balanced …
Read More »What is lumbago?
It is a term for backache in the lumbar region of the backbone.
Read More »What is Loop Quantum Cosmology?
It is the theory on which the concept of the recycled universe is based. Loop Quantum Cosmology (LQC) has been teasing physicists since 2003 with the idea that our universe could conceivably have emerged from the collapse of a previous universe. It theories that our universe expands and then contracts over and over again, re birthing for infinity. According to …
Read More »What is liquid air?
Liquid air is a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen which have been compressed until they form a liquid. When the pressure on the liquid is released, it turns back into these two gases. The liquid is kept under great pressure in strong steel cylinders. Liquid air has a great many uses, because it enables large amounts of these two gases …
Read More »What is laser photonics fabrication?
This is a branch of physics which deals with the manufacture of devices that deploy lasers to transmit, gather and process information. Typical usage would be in optic fiber cables to move data over long distances and sensors to measure temperature in engineering structures. It’s a specialized area and scientists hope to use this to develop high speed communication devices.
Read More »What is kinship analysis?
Kinship analysis is typically used when an individual is deceased and no forensic / post-mortem specimens are available for testing. Since related individuals would have some DNA markers in common with one another, we can re-create a portion of the missing individual’s genetic profile from living relatives in order to perform paternity testing.
Read More »What is isinglass?
Isinglass, which is called so because of its glass-like translucency, refers to thin sheets of mica. It’s used as peepholes in boilers and lanterns. It was preferred over glass because it would not splinter on breaking due to extreme temperature gradients. The name also applies to a collagen derived from the swim bladders of fish, especially the Beluga Sturgeon, used …
Read More »What is Industrial Melanism?
It is caused when the natural environment of an organism is disturbed due to industrial pollution. As pollutants like soot and smoke darken the landscape, they disturb the environment of many organisms that rely on camouflage to avoid predation. This change makes them vulnerable to predators and creates a strong selective pressure due to which an organism with a darker …
Read More »What is immunohistochemis-try?
Immunohistochemistry is the process of localising proteins in cells of a tissue section exploiting the principle of anti-bodies binding specifically with antigens in biological tissues. It takes its name from the roots ‘immuno’, in reference to anti-bodies used in the procedure, and ‘histo’ meaning tissue. Immunohistochemistry is widely used in the diagnosis of abnormal cells such as those found in …
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