Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Nitrogen Triiodide Chemistry Demonstration

Nitrogen Triiodide Chemistry Demonstration In this spectacular chemistry demonstration, crystals of iodine are reacted with concentrated ammonia to precipitate nitrogen triiodide (NI3). The NI3 is then filtered out. When dry, the compound is so unstable that the slightest contact causes it to decompose into nitrogen gas and iodine vapor, producing a very loud snap and a cloud of purple iodine vapor. Difficulty: Easy Time Required: Minutes Materials Only a few materials are required for this project. Solid iodine and a concentrated ammonia solution are the two key ingredients. The other materials are used to set up and execute the demonstration. up to 1 g iodine (do not use more)concentrated aqueous ammonia (0.880 S.G.)filter paper or paper towelring stand (optional)feather attached to a long stick How To Perform the Nitrogen Triiodide Demo The first step is to prepare the NI3. One method is to simply pour up to a gram of iodine crystals into a a small volume of concentrated aqueous ammonia, allow the contents to sit for 5 minutes, then pour the liquid over a filter paper to collect the NI3, which will be a dark brown/black solid. However, if you grind the pre-weighed iodine with a mortar/pestle beforehand a larger surface area will be available for the iodine to react with the ammonia, giving a significantly larger yield.The reaction for producing the nitrogen triiodide from iodine and ammonia is:3I2 NH3 → NI3 3HIYou want to avoid handling the NI3 at all, so my recommendation would be to set up the demonstration in advance of pouring off the ammonia. Traditionally, the demonstration uses a ring stand on which a wet filter paper with NI3 is placed with a second filter paper of damp NI3 sitting above the first. The force of the decomposition reaction on one paper will cause decomposition to occur on the other pa per as well. For optimal safety, set up the ring stand with filter paper and pour the reacted solution over the paper where the demonstration is to occur. A fume hood is the preferred location. The demonstration location should be free of traffic and vibrations. The decomposition is touch-sensitive and will be activated by the slightest vibration.To activate the decomposition, tickle the dry NI3 solid with a feather attached to a long stick. A meter stick is a good choice (dont use anything shorter). The decomposition occurs according to this reaction:2NI3 (s) → N2 (g) 3I2 (g)In its simplest form, the demonstration is performed by pouring the damp solid onto a paper towel in a fume hood, letting it dry, and activating it with a meter stick. Tips and Safety Caution: This demonstration should only be performed by an instructor, using proper safety precautions. Wet NI3 is more stable than the dry compound, but still should be handled with care. Iodine will stain clothing and surfaces purple or orange. The stain can be removed using a sodium thiosulfate solution. Eye and ear protection are recommended. Iodine is a respiratory and eye irritant; the decomposition reaction is loud.NI3 in the ammonia is very stable and can be transported, if the demonstration is to be performed at a remote location.How it works: NI3 is highly unstable because of the size difference between the nitrogen and iodine atoms. There is not enough room around the central nitrogen to keep the iodine atoms stable. The bonds between the nuclei are under stress and therefore weakened. The outside electrons of the iodine atoms are forced into close proximity, which increases the instability of the molecule.The amount of energy released upon detonating NI3 exceeds that requ ired to form the compound, which is the definition of a high yield explosive.

Monday, October 21, 2019

What Makes an Author Bundle Successful

What Makes an Author Bundle Successful What Makes an Author Bundle Successful? It’s no secret that we at Reedsy like to explore the power of communities and what they bring to authors and publishing professionals (maybe because we’re building one ourselves!). I firmly believe that authors grow stronger when they unite and work together, a prospect that–like indie publishing itself–only gets easier with new and better technologies.While the notion that â€Å"like attracts like† brings independent authors together with other indies, and hybrid authors in commune with other hybrid authors, the next wave of online community-building is a frontier awaiting those eager to experiment and explore new opportunities. Outside the Box: Women Writing Women is the perfect example of that: 7 indie and hybrid authors (all members of the Alliance of Independent Authors) launching  a â€Å"contemporary fiction† bundle, available for purchase on Amazon  for a limited time.Sharing resources, sharing readershipsThe idea behind such a co llective effort is simple: explore the power of the group. â€Å"I’ve admired the power that author collectives like Triskele Books have,† says Jane Davis, author of the novel An Unchoreographed Life, which is included in the Women Writing Women project. Creating a bundle, is, in a way, like forming a collective for a limited period of time.Boxsets usually have an â€Å"expiration date† that functions for two reasons: First, it creates a sense of rarity. This, coupled with the uniting of several prominent voices, makes it easier to generate excitement both among readers and in the media. Or as writer, editor, and bestselling ghostwriter Roz Morris told us in an email:â€Å"We’ve already been interviewed by The Guardian books pages, Books + Publishing (the Australian counterpart of Publisher’s Weekly) and have interest from the arts programmes of BBC Radio 4. If any of us had approached them on our own– impressive though our CVs might lookâ €“we probably wouldn’t have got even a reply.†More importantly, a bundle aggregates reader bases. While it’s likely that some of Davis’s readership already knows a couple of other authors in the bundle, they probably haven’t heard of a majority of authors included. So it’s still a bargain for them to get the bundle and the 4-5 books they haven’t read yet for $12.Cumulated reader bases usually result in cumulated sales. Though sales aren’t usually the #1 objective of forming a bundle, they can unlock additional discoverability potential. Let’s take the example of the Deadly Dozen. This boxset was released in March of last year by The Twelve, a consortium of thriller authors who joined their marketing and promotion efforts and managed to sell over 100,000 copies in the first six weeks, hitting both NYT and USA Today bestsellers lists.Though the boxed set was priced at a mere $0.99, appearing on both bestseller lists tre mendously increased the profile and discoverability of The Twelve, and gave its participant authors access to new readers they might have never have found on their own.The Twelve’s Deadly Dozen was pulled a few months after its release. The 7 authors from Outside the Box have also set an expiration date to the bundle: it will be available for 90 days, and not one more.Why run bundles on a limited period of time if they sell so well? First, there’s the rarity factor that comes with a â€Å"limited edition†. But more importantly, bundles usually record most of their sales in the first few weeks (as do most single books); box sets are more about aggregating existing readerships than finding new ones, unless you hit a list or special ranking or get exceptional PR – which all bring immediate results anyway. Once these readerships have purchased the bundle, there aren’t necessarily many more sales to be made.David Gaughran also shared a similar experienc e with me when I asked him about The Indie Author Power Pack, a box set he released in October 2014 together with Joanna Penn and Sean Platt/Johnny B. Truant:â€Å"The primary aim with the box was to shoot for the NYT. The original plan was to leave it up only for November and December for two reasons. 1) All the promo was front-loaded to try and hit the NYT so sales were naturally going to tail off anyway, and tail off faster than if we were aiming to, for example, maximize sales or maximize income. 2) Plan B if we missed the list was to slowly raise the price as it fell in the rankings and make some money out of it. And 3) Sales of the box set were cannibalizing sales of the individual titles, so it was always going to be a temporary thing.†Raising the voice and standard of self-publishingThere is something even more interesting in the Outside the Box initiative. When I asked the authors about their goals, they didn’t mention hitting lists or even making sales. Inste ad, they focused on the excitement this new projects brings both to them and to readers. Kathleen Jones expressed it perfectly in a recent email:â€Å"I’m intrigued by the contrasts and resonances that are set up when you put seven very different books and authors together. You know your work is going to be read by readers who wouldn’t normally have bought it. There’s an edge to that and it’s very exciting.†The main message that comes from this initiative, though, is really the desire to brandish and wave the indie flag as high as possible. By uniting 7 critically acclaimed works of indie contemporary fiction, their authors hope to demonstrate that author publishing is a valid quality route even in a genre that is still perceived by many as a traditional publishing chasse guardà ©e, according to Jane Davis:â€Å"I would like to change readers’ perception of self-published fiction, particularly those who are clinging to the belief that it i s the preserve of amateurs. I too was sold that line.The fact is that there is a new breed of hybrid authors who look at each writing project and decide if it is one to submit to their publisher or one to go it alone. With the Society of Authors advising their members that publishing contracts are no longer fair or sustainable, my belief is that the predicted growth in self-publishing will now come from authors who are currently under contract.†Roz Morris goes on to express a similar concern, which she hopes this bundle will continue to tackle:â€Å"We want to prove that fine, original authors are self-publishing as a mark of independence and integrity, and doing work of value and quality. You might ask: is that still necessary? Does anyone still consider self-publishing to be ‘vanity’ or second rate? They clearly do, because this is one of the issues we’ve been asked about most frequently.†To achieve this noble goal, the authors spared no effort whe n it came to giving the bundle the polished feel readers expect from sets managed in traditional publication. Each author contributed to production and promotion according to her strengths. Far from a collaboration in name only, the effort seems to have made a bona fide community of these writers that can only serve to better this project and the women’s individual endeavors.Finding the right balanceWhen we think about bundle success, a lot depends on pre-launch marketing and promotion, and on the number of authors involved. But I believe there is one inherent quality to a bundle that the author-partners absolutely must get right: the diversity balance.The books in the bundle must be diverse enough to make the box set interesting for readers (and to reduce their likeliness of having already read all its books). On the other hand, all books in a box set also have to be written in such a way that they appeal to the same target market–grouped either by genre, theme or cor e topic (non-fiction).Even within fiction, the landscape for bundles has become much more competitive. In his 2015 predictions for the publishing industry, Mark Coker announced that he believed this year would be one of collaboration between authors. If that is the case, we are about to see many more bundle efforts across all genres, which might threaten, in time, the â€Å"rarity† factor that has so much to do with their effectiveness.In that regard, the 7 authors of Outside the Box: Women Writing Women are ahead of their time; â€Å"contemporary fiction† bundles are rare due to the broadness of the generic distinction. But Outside the Box has been structured around an original common core that Joni Rodgers describes as â€Å"artistic integrity, serious craft chops and an unshakable belief that books by and about women are important.† Says Jane Davis:â€Å"I think it’s an incredibly strong set of books without borders. I don’t insult my readers b y assuming they only like to read one type of fiction. Visit any book club and you’ll see that readers welcome variety. But the irony of fighting against labels is that, ultimately, it was necessary to define what the box-set was about. Our decision was to focus on our characters and the boundary-breaking nature of our fiction.â€Å"It might very well be that OutsideThe Box: Women Writing Women is setting the template for indie author bundles in 2015. Here’s to their success.- - - We want to personally thank all the authors of â€Å"Outside the Box†, and David Gaughran, for their answers to our numerous questions on their respective experiences.This post was edited by our lovely editor Becca!You can find Ricardo (author of this post) and Reedsy on Twitter: @RicardoFayet  and @ReedsyHQ   What’s your take on author bundles? Have you ever contemplated doing similar? What’s been your personal experience? Do let us know what you think in the comm ents below!

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Christmas Tree Elephant Toothpaste Chemistry Demo

Christmas Tree Elephant Toothpaste Chemistry Demo Did you know you can do the elephant toothpaste demonstration to make a Christmas tree holiday chemistry demonstration? Its extremely easy, plus it makes an excellent demo to do before the  holiday break! Christmas Tree Elephant Toothpaste Materials There are a few ways to set this up to make a Christmas tree. The key is to add green food coloring to get the tree effect and then either perform the demonstration in an erlenmeyer flask, which naturally produces the tree shape, or else perform the reaction in a tube with a tree template placed over it. You can make a tree shape from aluminum foil, with slots cut up the side and an opening at the top to force the foam from the reaction out into the proper shape. 50 ml of detergent100 ml of 30% hydrogen peroxide10 ml of a saturated solution of potassium iodidegreen food coloringerlenmeyer flask or homemade Christmas tree model Procedure Place the erlenmeyer or your Christmas tree container on the lab bench. Add the detergent, peroxide and food coloring.Pour the potassium iodide solution into this mixture to catalyze the reaction.Optionally, touch a glowing splint to the foam tree to relight the splint and demonstrate that the bubbles are filled with oxygen. Safety Information Hydrogen peroxide is an oxidizer. This demonstration uses a higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide than the home variety, which means you need to wear gloves to protect your hands against an accidental splash or spill, which could cause a burn. Chemistry Hydrogen peroxide is catalytically decomposed into water and oxgen. This is a nice example of an exothermic reaction. The audience will be able to see steam rising from the foam. The overall equation for the elephant toothpaste chemical reaction is: 2 H2O2(aq) → 2 H2O(l) O2(g) The decomposition reaction of the hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen is catalzyed by the iodide ion. H2O2(aq) I-(aq) → OI-(aq) H2O(l) H2O2(aq) OI-(aq) → I-(aq) H2O(l) O2(g) Dishwashing detergent is added to capture the oxygen and form bubbles. This is an exothermic reaction which may produce steam. Kid-Friendly Version of the Demonstration If you cant obtain 30% hydrogen peroxide or simply want a demonstration that is safe enough for kids to perform, you can perform an easy variation of this demonstration: detergentwarm water3% hydrogen peroxide (the type sold at pharmacies)pack of active yeast (from a grocery store)green food coloring In an erlenmeyer or tree-shaped container, mix together 1/4 cup detergent, 1/2 cup of the 3% hydrogen peroxide and several drops of green food coloring.In a separate container, stir the packet of yeast into a small amount of warm water. Allow 5 minutes for the yeast to activate before proceeding with the demonstration.Perform the demonstration by pouring the yeast mixture into the peroxide and detergent mixture. This reaction does not produce the huge volume of foam of the traditional elephant toothpaste reaction, but all of the chemicals are safe enough for kids to handle. In this reaction, yeast catalyzes the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen gas: 2H2O2 → 2H2O O2(g) As in the other reaction, the detergent captures the oxygen to form bubbles. Less foam is produced because there is a smaller amount of hydrogen peroxide to decompose. Learn More Red and Green Color Change Christmas DemonstrationElephant Toothpaste VariationsBorax Crystal Snowflake Decoration

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Hospital Atmosphere and a Noble Profession Essay

Hospital Atmosphere and a Noble Profession - Essay Example I had always developed an impression that hospitals and patients would do better with more readily available service. Hospitals are perpetually short of hands and either fewer nurses are available, or hospitals are not employing enough of them. Many times I have noticed that patients are more in need of constant help, whereas hospitals are unable to provide such help. This usually ends in patient dissatisfaction and deprival. While being hospitalized, people need more individual attention, constant companionship and staff presence. It is very important for me to get admission into nursing, as I cannot compromise with another career easily. I do not like to take up a career for which I do not feel a positive response. I would like to do the work that motivates me. And till now, hospital work is the only work in which I am sure, that I will find fulfilment. Hospital atmosphere inspires me to be kind and helpful to fellow human beings who are, at that moment, in need of help. It could b e due to the right vibes I received from my mother’s routine work in the hospital, or could be my own mental make-up; I always thought that nursing is a noble profession and never changed my mind on that ideal. It is imperative for me to find the right career at this juncture of my life so that I could proceed about my future in a systematic way and avoid confusion about the chosen goal. I would like to impress that I am passionate about this work and hope to have a long and fulfilling career in it.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Facebook Investigation Scenario Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Facebook Investigation Scenario - Assignment Example Based on Ms Jones’ feelings, Peter Sampson posted the picture as a way of harassing and humiliating her. As a major in criminal justice, Ms Jones further presented her worries that the post by Mr Sampson may hurt her future career. On February 17th, 2014 at 9:30AM, I discovered that Ms Jones was a 20 year-old criminal justice major at the University of New Haven. At about 8:00AM that morning, one of Ms Jones friends texted to ask whether she has seen Peter Sampson’s Facebook post. It was at this point that I confirmed the post to be true. Ms Jones stated that she had â€Å"sexted† the picture MR. Sampson back in the fall of 2012 when they had just begun dating. Upon further investigation, Ms Jones explained her dating relationship with Mr Sampson and she had broken off their engagement with Mr Sampson. She said that it was after breaking off her engagement weeks earlier that she began dating Michael Davis who happened to be Mr Sampson’s roommate. Ms Jones therefor felt that it was due to these relationship issues that Mr Sampson decided to post the picture. On February 17th, 2014 at 2:45PM I also discovered that Peter Sampson was a 21 year-old criminal justice major in his junior in the same university. During an interview in Mr Sampson’s dorm room, Mr Sampson confirmed his relationship with Ms Jones as well as the breakup. However, he denied having anything to do with the posting and commenting of the picture on Facebook. Mr Sampson started that in his discovery of Ms Jones with Mr Davis, he deleted all digital photos as well as the correspondence between him and Ms Jones. Mr Jones further claimed to have used his Toshiba laptop which no one else had had access to over the past 24-hour period. I then asked him whether someone else had had used the computer in the past. His response was that in the fall of 2014 semester, he had loaned Michael Davis

Entrepreneurship Initiation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Entrepreneurship Initiation - Essay Example To begin with, it is vital to make some reasonable refinements and settle on decisions going to which particular piece of the new administration advancement hypothesis this study wishes to make a commitment. The typology contrived by Goldstein et al. (2002) closed to have an extensive level of functional significance and is accordingly the most evident one to utilize. This administration typology recognizes four administration sorts by utilizing two qualities. These traits, (1) Contact power, and (2) Variety were uncovered to be the basic typology traits by variable examination (Goldstein et al., 2002). While contact power is seen as the measure of interrelationships between workers furthermore clients, mixture is seen as the aggregate sum of decided appearances of the services. Rosen, (2002), claim that the contrast between these service sorts is that service sorts with a generally low mixed bag have a tendency to utilize conventional new product improvement apparatuses to create services. Because of constrained introduction to client changes, the attributes of these services look like, all things considered, the qualities of physical merchandise. By force is altogether different (Mathis, 2002). Considering the distinction in service advancement and instruments effectively accessible to service firms with low contact power, a more noteworthy commitment can be made to service advancement for firms with a high contact force and mixture, particularly when considering the little collection of writing covering this subject in this specific portion (Minkoff and Cline, 2003).

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Culture & Growth stages of Organizations Research Paper

Culture & Growth stages of Organizations - Research Paper Example The ethical and moral values of the people employed by the organization, their social background and their religious values define the culture of an organization. According to Schein (1992), organizational culture is determined by the shared assumptions and beliefs about the world, human nature and human relationships. Organizational culture includes the procedures, leadership styles, individuality, language and symbols used in the organization. The culture of an organization is shaped by values, beliefs and underlying assumption of the personnel of an organization. Values are the factors that represent the outlook of the culture of an organization. Values and beliefs of the people are prominent factors that are shaped by the underlying assumptions of the people. Underlying assumptions are the response of the environment in which the organization exists and these are unconsciously accepted by the people. The culture of an organization may be an obstacle in the way of achieving the mi ssion of the organization. If the mission of an organization and the culture of the organization are conflicting in nature, it might be difficult for the organization to achieve its objectives successfully. An organization must have complete support of the personnel in the organization in order to ensure successful implementation of the strategies set out by the organization to achieve its objectives. ... Leaders may use the style of communication in order to emphasize the need for change in the culture of an organization. Emotional outbursts also have positive impacts in case of bringing a change in the culture of an organization. In order to send a message to the personnel of an organization regarding a thing that is not important, a leader may choose to give no attention to that particular thing. In this manner, the perception of the organizational personnel regarding that thing would change and it would gradually be eliminated from the organization. A change in the culture of an organization can also be brought by the way the leader responds to the crisis. In the stages of growth of the organization, there are a number of things that require significant changes within an organization. An organization needs to acclimatize with its external environment. If the external environment of an organization changes the organization would also have to change. If the organization remains pers istent and does not bring any change, the organization would become vulnerable to a crisis. In this case, a leader plays an important role. In order to ensure that the change is supported throughout the organization, the leader might need to exaggerate the effect that the crisis might have on the organization. In such scenario, the leader may act as a savior and take some rigorous steps that have the potential to bring a change in the organization that would not have been possible otherwise. In order to tackle the change that must be brought in the culture of an organization at the time of growth in the organization, the leaders can bring the change by acting as a role model for others. Leaders can communicate their expectations through their own