Uses for Silicon Dioxide?
Silicon (Si) is an element that does not exist in its original form. In order to exist it always needs the assistance of another element. For instance, even the most abundantly found form of silicon is silicon dioxide (SiO2). If you want to have a look at it, just visit any area that has a lot of sand. Yes, silicon dioxide is most commonly found as sand. Apart from sand, it is also found in its quartz form and also as diatoms. These are the naturally occurring forms. There are various forms of silicon dioxide, or silica, as it is commonly referred to, like silica gel, silicic acid (hydrated silica used in toothpastes to remove plaque from teeth), etc. that are synthetically manufactured. The various forms of silicon dioxide have various uses. This Buzzle article gives you information about some of the uses of silica.
Glass
When silica is heated long enough and hot enough, even without any other external factors, it turns into glass all on its own. This property of turning itself into glass is honed and used to make different types of glass objects.
Food
Using silicon dioxide in food helps in many ways. The main use of silicon dioxide being used in food is the health it renders to our bones and joints. Regular intake of silicon dioxide is helpful in maintaining the strength and density of bones, thus reducing the risk of diseases like arthritis and osteoarthritis.
Ceramics
Since silica is found in sand form, its use in the ceramics industry is quite obvious. Silica is one of the main constituents of ceramic glaze that is produced. Without silica, the other ingredients would not be able to bind themselves because silica is the one that when heated forms glass. This is what keeps the other ingredients together. However, only melted silica has no real use by itself. Read the rest of this entry »
The Mystery of Stonehenge Been Solved?
Posted by este in Archaeology on October 17, 2011
Researchers have released the results of carbon-dating done on human remains found at Stonehenge, one of the world’s most famous standing-stone circles.
Their results, they said, indicate that the sacred site was in fact a burial ground for an elite or royal family thousands of years ago.
“It’s now clear that burials were a major component of Stonehenge in all its main stages,” said Mike Parker Pearson, a professor of archaeology at the University of Sheffield in England, and the director of the Stonehenge Riverside Archaeological Project.
The radiocarbon-dating of the burnt remains indicates that burials were conducted at the site as long ago as 3000 B.C., and continued for about 500 years.
The remains had been excavated from the Stonehenge site in the 1950s and stored at a nearby museum. The discovery is significant because it is the first time any of the Stonehenge remains had been carbon-dated.
Parker Pearson read a statement to the press which said, “Stonehenge was a place of burial from its beginning to its zenith in the mid third millennium B.C. The cremation burial dating to Stonehenge’s sarsen stones phase is likely just one of many from this later period of the monument’s use and demonstrates that it was still very much a domain of the dead.”
But some Stonehenge experts are careful to point out that while it may have been used as a sacred burial site, that was by no means its sole function. Read the rest of this entry »
Life Cycle of an Angiosperm
Angiosperms are plants that produce flowers, which are nothing but the reproductive machinery of the plant. The life cycle of angiosperms begin with pollination and end in the formation of fruits which contains seeds that germinate into new plants which mature till they reach the flowering stage, thereby, completing a full circle. Now, before we discuss the details of the life cycle of angiosperms, let’s check out the different parts of the flower that participate in the reproductive cycle to continue the species even after the parent plant dies or withers away.
Parts of Flower that Participate in the Reproduction Cycle
Following are those parts of a flower that actually facilitate the entire reproductive mechanism which results in the production of seeds. This seed, when it finds a combination of favorable environmental conditions (right kind of soil, adequate moisture, sufficient amount of air and temperature, etc.), sprouts into seedlings, which then grow into plants. On reaching maturity, the new, young plants grow flowers themselves, and the process starts all over again.
Stamen: This is the male reproductive part of a flower, and it consists of a long, slender filament, which can be seen occurring as a number of long, pliant stalks arranged in a circle on the inside of the flower, surrounded by petals. These filaments are topped with small, often oblong, head like structures known as anthers. The stamen is where the pollen grains are produced, and these pollen grains are carried from the anthers to the female reproductive organ, where they fertilize the ovules, but we’ll discuss that later. So, to put it simply, male parts of a flower = stamens = filaments + anthers!
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