Cannons and the 1812 Overture.

Ok, I'm a little nervous, the first not science topic on the blog, but I think I can manage it. I always loved Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture; it's so lovely and dramatic. And while not everybody is familiar with the entire overture, most people are familiar with the fun part: where cannons are adopted as musical instruments.

            Cannons have been around since the middle ages, it was first developed in china shortly after the invention of gunpowder and the technology eventually migrated to Europe. 

            The ignition process of cannons is achieved by ramming a charge of gunpowder down the barrel followed by a cannon ball, followed by igniting the fuse (after accounting for trajectory, wind and distance) and running away.

Getting back to the 1812 overture, it is a common misconception that it is meant to commemorate the war of 1812 but instead to commemorate Russia’s defense from Napoleon, which was also the turning point in the Napoleonic Wars (moral of all military campaigns in Russia: never invade in the winter). The cannons were incorporated to heighten the emotional effects of the music. AC/DC also used a cannon in their song “For Those About to Rock”

And here's a link to the song with cannons because it's awesome: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbxgYlcNxE8

Periodic Table of Videos

This is a lovely website that my chemistry teacher showed me back in high school. The people at the University of Nottingham who do these videos talk about each element in far greater detail than I would, and they do a fun experiment with them (usually) .I would love to try experiments for the blog with chemistry but the head guys in my dorm won't let me. 
Periodic Table of Videos

Feynman

I've been very busy this week ( I let my homework get to me), so in an effort to adhere to my weekly schedule, please enjoy this video of my favorite scientist Richard Feynman.

Why Love IS Chemistry

Sorry for the delay, I've been kinda busy, but I digress. I’ll spare you a biology lecture (I honestly couldn’t do it) but to summarize the point that I’m getting at: our brain communicates all emotions to us through chemicals known as neurotransmitters. And the balance of these chemicals essentially rules our emotions. Whilst I’m sure that the chemicals are numerous, we’re only going to talk about 5.

I believe it was DOW chemical works that originally came up with the slogan “If love is a chemical reaction, than chemistry can make the world a more harmonious place.” Turns out they were right. When you “love someone” your nerve cells are actually bathed in high levels of serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin. Conversely, if you’re depressed, you’re experiencing very low levels of serotonin and dopamine. In a biological sense, serotonin and dopamine are the only things that make you happy. Lastly there is Norepinephrine and Epinephrine, which in high levels give your body that “fight or flight” feeling.

When too much or too little of these chemicals are in your body, some strange things can happen. Research shows that Schizophrenics have excessively high levels of dopamine, the same chemical responsible for happiness. Such is the case that people with anxiety tend to have very low levels of dopamine.