3/18/2020 0 Comments Chemistry in Daily Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 wordsChemistry in Daily Life - Essay Example This world is made up of matter. We human beings are part of matter as we live in this world. Our body is made up of matter of different kinds. Matter is embedded in everything that contributes to protect our life - right from the food we have to the environment we live in. And, from what we eat to where we live, it is all related to chemistry. The human body thrives on organic compounds like proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, etc., and defends itself with enzymes such as catalase, reducing agents such as glutathione and cysteine, and we eat antioxidants such as vitamin C, E and polyphenol, etc.,) as our food to survive. Men in pre-historic age lived by using natural things / materials to a large extent. By the passage of time, man has now learnt to use natural resources to develop things for us as per his needs. Today, there is hardly any area in which Chemistry does not play a critical role in a man's daily life. Toiletries, cosmetic and beautifying products are some other items which are of use in our daily life. There are products like carbolic acids, toothpaste, mouth-fresheners, moisturizers, skin creams, face powders, deodorants, shampoos and soaps which sets off a day in our life. In all these products, lots of chemical ingredients are used. Carbolic acids are used as disinfectants to protect the bathroom and toilets from causing infections and keeping them clean. We start our day early morning by brushing our teeth. We use tooth paste to keep our teeth fresh, shiny and to protect them from decaying. We also use mouth fresheners (liquid) to keep bad breath - Halitosis in scientific term - at bay. Toothpaste includes water (H2O), Glycerol (CH2OH), Dibasic calcium phosphate (CaHPO4), Sodium N-lauroyl sarcosinate, Carrageenan, Fluorides, etc., and some toothpastes even contain salt in their ingredients. Isn't it amazing that there are so many chemical ingredients involved in a small tube of toothpaste! Cosmetic items like moisturizers, skin creams, face powders, deodorants, lipsticks, shampoos and soaps include numerous ingredients like water, emulsifiers, preservatives, thickener, color and fragrance components. A bathing soap may contain chemical additives like caustic soda, citric acid, sodium chloride, mineral oil, scent, etc. Similarly, a detergent soap and powder and dishwasher soap or powder may contain many chemical compositions. Chemistry and food As we enter the kitchen, the main object that stands out is the stove. Most of the kitchen in this modern world is furnished with gas stoves. A gas stove mainly runs on cooking gas containing butane, ethane and propane and may also include methyl or ethyl mercaptans. Though not substantially used of late, stoves running on fuel like kerosene and gasoline had been of much use in the yesteryears and are still in use in remote places where there is scarcity of cooking gas. What is essential to lead a healthy life is food. Every food that is cooked includes chemicals which further multiply into more chemicals due to the reaction while cooking. For instance, rice contains carbohydrates and when it is cooked, it undergoes many chemical reactions, multiplying the available chemical elements into numerous other chemical
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12/26/2019 0 Comments The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 29Someone was trying to make her drink out of a glass. Elena's sense of smell was so acute that she could taste what was in the glass already – Black Magic wine. And she didn't want that! No! She spat it out. They couldn't make her drink. “Mon enfant, it is for your own good. Now, drink it.†Elena turned her head away. She felt the darkness and the hurricane rushing up to take her. Yes. That was better. Why wouldn't they leave her alone? In the very deepest trenches of communication, a little boy was with her in the dark. She remembered him, but not his name. She held out her arms and he came into them and it seemed that his chains were lighter than they had been…when? Before. That was all she could remember. Are you all right? she whispered to the child. Down here, deep in the heart of communion, a whisper was a shout. Don't cry. No tears, he begged her, but the words reminded her of something she couldn't bear to think of, and she put her fingers to his lips, gently silencing him. Too loud, a voice from Outside came rumbling in. “So, mon enfant, you have decided to become un vampire encore une fois.†Is that what is happening? she whispered to the child. Am I dying again? To become a vampire? I don't know! the child cried. I don't know anything. He's angry. I'm afraid. Sage won't hurt you, she promised. He's already a vampire, and your friend. Not Sage… Then who are you afraid of? If you die again, I'll be wrapped in chains all over. The child showed her a pitiable picture of himself covered by coil after coil of heavy chains. In his mouth, gagging him. Pinning his arms to his sides and his legs to the ball. Moreover, the chains were spiked so that everywhere they dug into the child's soft flesh, blood flowed. Who would do such a thing? Elena cried. I'll make him wish he'd never been born. Tell me who's going to do this! The child's face was sad and perplexed. I will, he said sadly. He will. He/I. Damon. Because we'll have killed you. But if it's not his fault… We have to. We have to. But maybe I'll die, the doctor says… There was a definite lilt of hope in the last sentence. It decided Elena. If Damon was not thinking clearly, then maybe she wasn't thinking clearly, she reasoned out slowly. Maybe…maybe she should do what Sage wanted. And Dr. Meggar. She could discern his voice as if through a thick fog. †– sake, you've been working all night. Give someone else a chance.†Yes…all night. Elena had not wanted to wake up again, and she had a powerful will. “Maybe switch sides?†someone – a girl – a young girl – was suggesting. Little in voice, but strong-willed, too. Bonnie. “Elena…It's Meredith. Can you feel me holding your hand?†A pause, then very much louder, excitedly, “Hey, she squeezed my hand! Did you see? Sage, tell Damon to get in here quick.†Drifting… “…drink a little more, Elena? I know, I know, you're sick of it. But drink un peu for my sake, will you?†Drifting… “Trs bon, mon enfant! Maintenant, what about a little milk? Damon believes you can stay human if you drink some milk.†Elena had two thoughts about this. One was that if she drank any more of anything, she might explode. Another was that she wasn't going to make any foolish promises. She tried to speak but it came out in a thread of a whisper. “Tell Damon – I won't come up unless he lets the little boy free.†“Who? What little boy?†“Elena, sweetie, all the little boys on this estate are free.†Meredith: “Why not let her tell him?†Dr. Meggar: “Elena, Damon is right here on the couch. You've both been very sick, but you're going to be fine. Here, Elena, we can move the examination table so you can talk to him. There, it's done.†Elena tried to open her eyes, but everything was ferociously bright. She took a breath and tried again. Still much too bright. And she didn't know how to dim her vision anymore. She spoke with her eyes shut to the presence she felt in front of her: I can't leave him alone again. Especially if you're going to load him with chains and gag him. Elena, Damon said shakily, I haven't led a good life. But I haven't kept slaves before, I swear. Ask anyone. And I wouldn't do that to a child. You have, and I know his name. And I know that all he's made of is gentleness, and kindness, and good nature…and fear. The low rumble of Sage's voice, “…agitating her…†the slightly louder murmur of Damon's: “I know she's off her head, but I'd still like to know the name of this little boy I'm supposed to have done this to. How does that agitate her?†More rumbling, then: “But can't I just ask her? At least I can clear my name of these charges.†Then, out loud: “Elena? Can you tell me what child I'm supposed to have tortured like this?†She was so tired. But she answered aloud, whispering, “His name is Damon, of course.†And Meredith's own exhausted whisper, “Oh, my God. She was willing to die for a metaphor.â€
12/12/2019 0 Comments Essay --Imagine yourself strapped upright in a chair, so tightly that you can move nothing, not even your head. A sort of pad grips your head from behind, forcing you to look straight in front of you. This place is bigger than most of the cells you had been in. But you hardly notice your surroundings. All you notice is that there are two small tables straight in front of you, each covered with green baize. One is only a meter or two from you; the other is further away, near the door.
For a moment you're alone; then the door opens and I come in. You asked me once what's in Room 101. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing that's in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world. The door opens again. A guard comes in, carrying something made of wire, a box or basket of some kind. He sets it down on the further table. Because of the position in which I'm standing, you can't see what the thing is. The worst thing in the world varies from individual to individual. It may be burial alive, or death by fire, or by drowning, or by impalement, or fifty other deaths. There are cases where it's some quite trivial thing, not even fatal. You move a little to one side, so that you have a better view of the thing on the table. It's an oblong wire cage with a handle on top for carrying it by. Fixed to the front of it is something that looked like a fencing mask, with the concave side outwards. Although it is three or four meters away from you, you could see that the cage is divided lengthways into two compartments, and that there's some kind of creature in each. They're scorpions. In your case, the worst thing in the world happens to be deathstalker scorpions. A sort of premonitory tremor, a fear of you're not certain what, ha... ...ck panic takes hold of you. You're blind, helpless, mindless. [As didactically as ever:] It was a common punishment in ancient Persia. The mask is closing on your face. The wire brushes your cheek. And then -- no, it's not relief, only hope, a tiny fragment of hope. You're falling backwards, into enormous depths, away from the scorpions. You're still strapped in the chair, but you'd fallen through the floor, through the walls of the building, through the earth, through the oceans, through the atmosphere, into outer space, into the gulfs between the stars -- always away, away, away from the scorpions. You're light-years distant, but I'm still standing at your side. There's still the cold touch of wire against your cheek. But through the darkness that envelopes you, you hear another metallic click, and know that the cage door had clicked shut and not open. Wake up now. |