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| Slots now filled in |
Chemistry was my worst subject at school. I could never remember whether the subscripts in the molecule applied to the element before or after the titchy little number. You remember, don’t you?
Little Willie was a chemist,
Now he is no more.
For what he thought was H-two oh
Was H-two S-oh four
In fact sulphuric acid.
I wasn’t much better at physics but RAF national service forced me to repair radio gear and a modicum of electronics was required for this. You will learn, they said. So I did.
Daughter PP (Professional Phlebotomist), who became a science teacher, is staying and she knows a lot of chemistry. I’ve encouraged her to chat. Did I know that water (H-two oh) is a complete freak? she asked. Why should two gases combine to create a liquid? The phenomenon is – I believe – unique in the natural world.
What’s more, we clever buggers who think we know everything cannot duplicate this process. And if you’re thinking the addition of an electrical spark might hurry things along, think again. The volatile hydrogen would explode and the oxygen would sustain the flames.
PP became dreamy and expatiated on the bits and pieces that constitute the periodic table of elements (see pic); I listened, fascinated. The symbolic expressions are so humdrum, yet the qualities differ so widely. Fitting mankind’s every need, you might say.
And there they are, all neatly laid out. Mind-bursting of all is that Mendeleyev , who made a huge contribution to the layout, left empty slots in the pattern to accommodate elements not yet discovered. Those slots will be filled, he said, and lo! They were. How about that for confidence?
More chemmy chats to come.
I remember Mr.Oates. He would write half a chemical equation on the blackboard (I think we now have white-boards, more sophisticated) and I would try to make myself disappear as he eyed the class, but inevitably settling on "Robinson, balance that equation." Huge embarrassment for me followed as I had never grasped the basics of what I suppose is a simple unfailing logic but balance I never did - just sat there feeling humiliated.
ReplyDeleteSir Hugh: In a very competitive world, Oates was the dullest teacher and the worst communicator I have ever met. Only now, via Professional Bleeder (otherwise elder daughter), am I finally beginning to be drawn into chemistry's technical attractions.
DeleteI think it was the moustache that did it.
I quit chemistry at school at the earliest opportunity. I exchanged it for French which was much easier.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to add that the reason I gave up chemistry was because not only was it all double Dutch to me, but the chemistry lab and the teacher smelled awful.
DeleteJean: Apart from a couple of years at school I have been doing face-to-face French lessons since 1972, sometimes conversation, sometimes grammar and syntax, more recently literature. I have found there is a peak in learning, after which French gets harder and harder. Mostly it's idiom which often must be learned by rote since the logic is usually lost in the mist of time.
DeleteHere's a good test, but only if you're just a tiny bit interested in sport. You'll be aware of the French daily newspaper, L'Equipe, which is entirely devoted to sport (Most important for me: detailed coverage of the TdF in July). It is also the veritable frontier of truly up-to-date idiom. Do you for instance know how many synonyms there are for "win", as in "win the match". On my French hols I'm never without L'Equipe and even deign to serve the male rest of my family by translating the juicy bits about soccer, a sport which otherwise leaves me cold.
RR - Oates was really a decent chap but as you say not so good at his job. He served as aircrew in WW2 and we used to try and "get him going" about it but with little success. Anybody who went through WW2 on active service, especially the RAF, has my respect.
ReplyDeleteSir Hugh: I would question his decency. He had a habit of confiscating items on the slightest pretext. Boys who arrived on bikes at school detached their tyre pump to prevent it being stolen while the bike was parked. They kept it it in their shoulder bag throughout the day. Oates, prowling the classroom, noticed a pump projecting from Whittaker, D.'s bag and abstracted it for no good reason. And Oates was notorious for never giving items back.
DeleteI never took chemistry. I struggled with science classes when I was young. It was all too abstract for me at the time. Now I think I could pass a class with a C. If I did all the homework faithfully and seriously, "maybe" a B. But an A in chemistry is certainly beyond my grasp.
ReplyDeleteColette: I have a vague theory. Too many teachers in my experience merely taught their subjects by rote: here's a fact, learn this. None of them seemed to think it was part of their job to arouse broad interest in their subject to begin with. Chemistry is all around us: inside our tubes of tooth-paste, in cakes that may rise or fall, in solvents that clean otherwise "impossible" stains. It shouldn't be beyond the wit of a chemistry teacher to spend time drawing attention to the fascination of the working world and chemistry's role in it, before getting on to the hard stuff.
DeleteYou suggest you may have progressed. Perhaps because you know more about the world than you did when younger.