Author Archives: markdowe1

Science

Questions of Science: The Periodic Table

Q: Does every element in the Periodic Table have a practical use?

MD overlapTHE Periodic Table is an elegant arrangement of chemical elements ordered by their atomic number and properties. Created by Russian chemist Dmitry I. Mendeleyev in the mid-19th century, it has been invaluable in the development of chemistry.

Most of the first 92 elements have some practical use while none of the chemical elements with atomic numbers higher than 98 – from einsteinium (99) to oganesson (118) – have any real applications. They are too dangerous, too expensive or too scarce – many can only be created in tiny amounts.

Thulium (atomic number 69) was once the butt of scientific jokes and parody because for many years it was not considered to have any practical applications. However, a thulium laser is being developed within medical science for the treatment of cancer.

Extremely short-lived elements such as actinium (89) and astatine (85) are used only in research or to produce isotopes of other elements for medical purposes.

Protactinium (91) is listed between uranium and thorium, which both have numerous applications. But owing to its scarcity, high radioactivity and high toxicity, there are no known uses for protactinium. The most stable isotope of francium (87), francium-223, has a half-life of 22 minutes, which means it does not have a practical use.

The extremely rare berkelium (97) has no known practical applications.

The Periodic Table

science in motion

Science-in-motion: a series of short articles following topics in science.

. Isotopes

Chemical elements can exist as two or more isotopes that have different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus. For example, while carbon always has six nuclear protons, it exists as three different naturally occurring isotopes with six, seven or eight neutrons. These isotopes are often written carbon-12, carbon-13 and carbon-14.

Chemically, different isotopes of an element are usually identical because their chemical properties are determined by their outer electrons. But different isotopes undergo nuclear decay at different rates. For instance, while most carbon on Earth is the stable isotope carbon-12, the isotope carbon-14 is radioactive and decays with a half-life of 5,700 years.

This underpins the technique of carbon dating. Constant interchange with the environment makes the ratio of carbon-14 to carbon-12 constant in a living tree, for instance, but the ratio drops with time in a predictable way after the tree dies. If ancient wood has just half the expected ‘living’ value of carbon-14, it must be about 5,700 years old.

. You might also like Questions of Science: Push and pull

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Britain, Military, Syria, United States

Syria: How Britain strategically could become involved

IN BRIEF

By Air: Eight GR4 Tornados based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus could be dispatched to fire Storm Shadow missiles at ground targets.

These missiles have a range of more than 150 miles, helping pilots to keep out of range of Syrian anti-air defences. The 2,900lb Storm Shadows use GPS systems and terrain-following equipment to fly low under radar to their targets.

Reaper MQ9 drones based in Kuwait but controlled by the RAF could be ordered to fire Hellfire missiles at Syrian military installations.

Tornado

An RAF GR4 armed with Storm Shadow missiles.

By Sea: The Royal Navy could fire Tomahawk missiles from its nuclear-powered Trafalgar-class submarines, one of which is constantly on patrol in the region. The vessels, whose immediate location is kept secret, carry a large number of the cruise missiles, which are exceptionally accurate.

Appendage:

Cyprus Map

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Britain, France, Russia, Syria, United States

Britain must now act against Syria’s regime

SYRIA

THESE are extremely dangerous times, more so than even during the years of the Cold War. Then, superpower tensions could be eased and constrained by hotline calls and summits such as those used to deliver arms reduction. The omnipresent threat of nuclear confrontation helped to concentrate the minds of the world’s leaders on peace not war.

Many of the old certainties have now gone with the complete erosion of the ideological battle-lines. These have been replaced with regional flash points, each with the potential to spill far beyond their own boundaries. The capacity of the Syrian civil war to draw other nations into its ghastly vortex has been apparent for some time. The risks are greater than ever.

. Related Lord Hague: We must act now to stop chemical warfare

The conflict now has NATO, Russia, Israel, Iran, Turkey (a NATO member but acting unilaterally and more in sync with Russia) and Saudi Arabia all involved to a greater or lesser extent, just at the very time when diplomatic communications with Moscow have irretrievably broken down for many other reasons – including electoral interference, cyber espionage and the chemical poisoning attack in Salisbury.

The apparent chemical weapons attack on Douma, a suburb of Damascus, has brought matters to a head. The U.S. had previously warned Assad to expect retaliation for breaching international law in this way and President Trump has already said there will be a heavy price to pay. He needs to make good on that threat otherwise it is meaningless. The American response needs to be surgical and proportionate.

It looks as if Israel has taken the opportunity to attack the Tiyas airbase in central Syria, which it has targeted before. This is by no means Israel’s first incursion into the civil war on self-defence grounds, but matters are complicated by Russian and Iranian backing for Syria’s despot leader. Tehran has already claimed that four Iranian nationals were killed in the raid on the airbase.

 

ON a visit to Denmark, the British Prime Minister said that, if chemical weapons were used, then the Syrian regime and their proxy backers must be held to account. But, how exactly? Russia denies a gas attack has even taken place and has threatened to retaliate if direct action is taken against Assad’s regime. With diplomatic missions being stripped down in the tit-for-tat expulsions of recent weeks, the scope for misunderstandings leading to a military clash is growing by the day. An end to the bloody civil war would clearly help calm matters; but, since Assad is winning, for what reason does he need to brook a political solution when he can use brute force to crush remaining rebel strongholds?

President Trump’s eagerness to pull out American forces has given the impression that the US has no long-term strategy for the region. Beyond pummelling ISIS and punishing Assad for breaching “red lines” over the use of chemical weapons, Washington does not wish to get involved in the Syrian imbroglio and Russia clearly knows it. The role of power-broker in Syria was ceded by Barack Obama in 2013 when he backed away from a threat to take military action in response to a sarin gas attack carried out by Assad’s air force.

America’s backtracking then was the baleful consequence of a vote in the British parliament against military action in Syria. Some may argue that Theresa May’s tough talking is unlikely to be backed up by British military action unless she can reverse that position.

It is telling, however, given this background that the first leader President Trump contacted to discuss the West’s response was not Theresa May but Emmanuel Macron of France, whom Washington presumably sees as a more reliable partner. France was also the lead country calling for the UN security council to meet to debate the Douma attack and its consequences. When Paris is the first port of call for an American president seeking an ally, the Syria conflict has shifted the balance of power in more ways than one.

Given the parlous state of UK-Russian relations, it might be tempting to let other European countries take the lead. But if the US and France are to act, Mrs May needs to ensure that the UK is not left on the sidelines unwilling to join in the punitive action she has rightly identified as being necessary.

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