Recent content by Tam Le

Thank you for replying meBigGuy. After reading your link and others, I think I cleared the confusion: I thought that since conductors are good at moving charges throughout them, they must also be good at transferring their charges. Hence, I thought that if I rubbed two different, electrically...

If you rub two electrically neutral pieces of insulation together, one piece becomes charged and the other piece becomes oppositely charged. Does this transfer of electron depend merely on the electron affinities of the two pieces, or does the conductivity of the two insulations play a part? I...

Also, Borek, are the two metals really not interacting? Suppose copper metal is placed in a solution of ionic lead (Pb2+ (aq)). Then, according to what you said, nothing should happen, because Pb is more active than Cu. However, I imagine that the electrons do momentarily transfer from Cu to...

So, in some ways, the activity series is similar to heat flow: Heat flows from a hotter object to a colder object; electrons migrate from a more willing/better conductor to a less willing/poorer conductor. And if one wanted to reverse this flow/movement of electrons, work would have to be done.

Thank you Borek for replying. I think the activity series simply list the willingness of certain elements to become oxidized (lose electrons): Those on the top are more willing to oxidize than those on the bottom. What I do not understand is why Cu wouldn't react with Pb(NO3)2. Wouldn't Cu...

Thank you for responding goodphy and tech99. In my mind, you should still hear the fundamental frequency as the pitch: The larger amplitude of the 3rd harmonic simply stretches the complex sound wave vertically; it only affects the intensity/perceived loudness, so the overall frequency/pitch of...

If you pluck a guitar or cello string, the string vibrates at its fundamental and harmonic frequencies. Suppose the 3rd harmonic has the greatest vibrational amplitude out of all the other rung-out natural frequencies. Do we still associate the pitch with the fundamental, or will the pitch now...

According to my chemistry textbook, Cu will not be oxidized by Pb(NO3)2, for Cu is lower on the activity series relative to Pb; Cu will not react with Pb(NO3)2. Why is that? Copper should still be able to oxidize regardless of its position on the activity series. So, why does its position on...

I understand that, in the molecule H2O, O has a slight negative charge while the two H's have a slight positive charge. However, I do not understand why the molecule as a whole is considered electrically neutral. Also, how is electrically neutral defined? Does it mean that the electrical...

So, NaCl (aq) would imply Na+ and Cl- ions, plus water if it is relevant to the reaction at hand?

Essentially, heat is a form of energy associated with an object's "internal vibrations, and other jiggling." Now, if an object moves from point A to point B, it has translational kinetic energy. If an object were lifted up high relative to the earth, it has gravitational potential energy. Yet...

When in doubt, go to wikipedia. Thanks jedishrfu.

Thank you jfizzix for replying. However, if I understand correctly, you say that heat is a form of energy. But, can't an object possess/hold onto this "thing" called energy. Therefore, an object can possess/hold onto heat, which it should not be able to do.

Is it simply the gaseous state of a liquid substance? For instance, water vapor, in this context, would be the gas state of water after having transitioned from a liquid state.

What do we mean when we say an object gained heat? According to my understanding, heat is not a "thing" that an object can have: It is internal energy that is transferred from a hotter object to a colder object. In other words, it is an energy transfer process. So, if an object gained heat, it...