Scientists at Stony Brook University in New York have found that the bonds that salt forms with chlorine (making table salt) are not set in stone (er salt). Instead of atoms lining up in cubic form, with each sodium forming a single chemical bond with a chlorine as they do under normal conditions, they form much more exotic structures under extreme heat and pressure. 

When salt was squeezed under high pressure between two diamonds and then heated with lasers, the sodium and chlorine atoms bonded in new ways. For example, a single sodium atom might attach to three chlorine atoms or five or seven. Or two sodium atoms might link up with three chlorines. This unusual bonding changes salt’s normal structure. Its atoms form amazing shapes never before seen in table salt. 

Artem Organov, Ph.D., one of the Stony Brook chemists explained that the high temperature and pressure used by his team may replicate extreme conditions deep inside stars and planets. In fact, it's possible that the experiment's unusual metallic and conducting structures occur throughout the universe.

Scientists have long speculated that the exchange of electrons during ionic bonding would be altered under high pressure and temperature. Instead of just attached to one atom, electrons would move from atom to atom and form shared bonds like what took place in the Stony Brook University salt experiments. New metallic bonds made it possible for sodium and chlorine atoms to share electrons in weird ways. Go science!

Self-assembly of 3D Structures

As another holiday season of boxing and wrapping comes to a close, it might be fun to take a look at boxes on the micro and nanometer scales for those specialized gift-wrapping occasions. 

At those sizes, 3D containers are too tiny to be assembled by a machine. They have to come together on their own. Seem like science fiction? Well, engineers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and mathematicians at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island have found a way for polyhedra (many-sided structures) to fold and assemble themselves. With support from the National Science Foundation, Brown University mathematician Govind Menon and Johns Hopkins University chemical and biomolecular engineer David Gracias are developing self-assembling 3-D micro and nanostructures for a number of applications, including medicine.

The personalized delivery of an anticancer drug to a tumor, for example, has virtually no global side effects unlike the whole body chemotherapy treatments of today. It's like pouring salt on a slug on the sidewalk to kill it instead of spreading salt over the entire yard. 

Check out this video to see how the addition of heat causes 2D polyhedral nanostructures assemble into hollow 3D structures. Go science!

Origami, Space and Solar Arrays

I love creativity in all its forms so when I came across this video on how engineers turned to origami to solve astronomical space problems (e.g., solar array design), I was hooked. 

Found in nature as fractals, math (specifically geometry) is complex and elegant. I love looking at the patterns of minerals, ferns, snowflakes, etc. The mirroring and pattern progression are beautiful and mesmerizing. Enter engineers looking for a way to compact a large solar array into a much smaller space (launch space is expensive). Voila! Art and engineering collide to create a functional, economic solution. 

Who knew the origami we all played with as kids could further space research? In my mind it just goes to show that art and science are intricately intertwined. Go science! (and art and engineering!) 

Holiday Chemistry

The subtleties of nature never cease to amaze me. Even the difference in placement of one molecule in a chemical structure can make a world of difference.  

For a fairly simple example of this, check out the National Science Foundation video describing the difference between clove and nutmeg. (Hint: It's only the placement of one double bond.) The chemical formula of their main ingredients (eugenol and isoeugenol) is the same (C10H12O2), yet extensive expeditions and even wars were started over the search and possession of these spices in the ancient world. 

Cinnamon (cinnamaldehyde) is quite a bit different since its chemical formula (C9H8O) and structure are more complex. But, I pair cinnamon with cloves and nutmeg regularly during my holiday chemistry experiments known as baking. And the taste buds sit up and take notice of this chemical combo. How about you? What are your favorite spices to combine? Go Science!