Latelastnight, I wasreadinganarticleinthejournalHerewhichsaid, FirstflooringasfoundinNature, and I wasamazed.
I reallycouldn't seeevenwhen I readthetitlehowitcouldpossiblybe.
Anditturnsouttobequiteaninterestingeffectandsomethingthathasbeenpuzzlingchemistsfornearly 200 years.
Itconcerns a mineralorchemicalcalledflowrightCalciumFluoride C.
A F two.
Thisisfoundquitewidelyinnatureandisnormally a colorlesscrystal.
Youcanseehere, thisis a lumpofit.
There's anotherpieceherethat's brokenonDhe.
ItlooksalmostlikeglassKnow.
About 200 yearsago, itwasdiscoveredthatinoneparticularmindinGermany, andthensubsequentlyinotherplacestherewas a formofflowright, whichwasquitedarklycolored.
Soinsteadofbeingcolorless, ittenderdarks, purplishreddishcolorandwhenyougroundthisup, so I brokeitup.
Whenyouweremining, therewas a terriblesmellcameoutofit.
Isthat a lumpofthismaterialhasbeenputinananimalmachinenuclearmagneticresonance, whichcandetectvariouschemicalformsofFlorin, theelement F andfromtheanimalsignaltheyworkedoutthatinthissmelly, fetid, flewright, therearetinybubblesofFlorin f too.
Professor, whydoesn't reallyreactwiththecalciumthatit's splitapartfrom?
Well, presumably, whathappensisthatthey'retinycracksorwhateverinthecrystalonthegasdiffusesawaysufficientlyfarthatwhenit's trappedthere, it's separatedfromtheclusterofcalciumatoms, andthere's noreasonwhyitshouldgobacklike a bubbleinthespiritlevel, perhaps, oranythingthat's included a cherryinthecakelikeyoucanseeupthereonDDE.
WhenyougrinduptherockoutitcomesNo, Theexperimenthastriedsmellingvariousdifferentgaseshydrogenfluoride, variousflowridesofsulfurandalsoHydrofluoricacid, H f, andnoneofthemquitesmokedthesameasthe F twoguests.
I'm slightlysurprisedbecause F toreactwithwaterveryquickly, toformhydrogenfluoride, andsincetheinsideofone's notedwet, I wouldhavethoughtitwouldhavereactedimmediately.
Butperhapsbecausesmellis a verycomplicatedsense, itdoesn't ripbehaveinquitethesamewayas H F andgivesyou a differentsensation.
Buttheimportantthingisthatthisexperimentshowsusthatourmostcherishedbeliefsthat F twoissoreactivethatitcouldneveroccurinnature.
He's wrongonDhe.
A zoomayhaveheardmesayingonothervideos, It's reallyimportantforchemistrythatwekeeponhavingourideaschallenged, thatwereshownthatthingsthatwebelieve a wrongbecausethatwillgiveusallsortsofnewideasthatcouldbeveryuseful.