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Petrichor
Petrichor ( ) is the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil. The word was coined by Isabel Joy Bear and Richard Grenfell Thomas , the ethereal fluid that is the blood of the gods in Greek mythology. Origins A brief note on the phenomenon by (1833–1908) appeared in ''The Chemical News'' on 17 April 1891 and was re-published in its entirety, a month later, in '' The Scientific American'', in which he wrote, "This subject, with which I was occupied more than twenty-five years ago, appears from a paragraph in the last number of the ''Chemical News'' to have recently attracted the attention of Professor Berthelot and onsieur G.Andre." Phipson was referring to a short paper read by Berthelot and André at the meeting of the French Académie des Sciences on 23 April 1891, and printed in Volume 112 (1891) of ''Comptes Rendus'', entitled "Sur l'odeur propre de la terre" ("On the earth's own smell"). Phipson continues, "I find, on referring to my old notes, which are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Grenfell Thomas
Richard Grenfell Thomas (29 March 1901 – 16 May 1974) was an Australian mineralogist and biochemist. He was a senior research scientist in the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), ending his career as chief of the Division of Mineral Chemistry. In 1964 he and Isabel Bear scientifically described the smell of rain, for which he coined the term "petrichor". Early life Thomas was born on 29 March 1901 in Kapunda, South Australia. He was the son of a pastoralist. As a child he became interested in minerals after exploring abandoned copper mines near his home. In later life he recalled one of his earliest experiments as placing pieces of atacamite into a fire to obtain a blue-green flame. In 1919, aged 18, Thomas participated in Herbert Basedow's medical expedition to outback South Australia and adjoining portions of Queensland. His main task was to look after the expedition's horses, while Basedow assessed the health of the local Aboriginal p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isabel Joy Bear
Isabel Joy Bear (4 January 1927 – 8 April 2021) was an Australian chemist who worked at CSIRO for over forty years. She was the first woman to be awarded the Royal Australian Chemical Institute Leighton Medal. She was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2005. Bear identified several metastable zirconium sulphate hydrates, and with Dick Thomas was the first to scientifically describe "petrichor", the smell of rain on dry soil. Early life and education Bear was born in Camperdown, Victoria. Her parents were Isabel Hilda Bear and Rolfe William Bear. Her father had served in the Australian Defence Force, and bought a dairy farm in Derrinallum after returning from World War I. She attended the Derrinallum and South Caulfield State Schools and Hampton High School, where she was the school prefect. Toward the end of her school career, Bear had become interested in scientific research. In 1944, at only seventeen years old, Bear joined a chemistry laboratory in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geosmin
Geosmin ( ) is an irregular sesquiterpenoid with a distinct earthy or musty odor, which most people can easily smell. The geosmin odor detection threshold in humans is very low, ranging from 0.006 to 0.01 micrograms per liter in water. Geosmin, along with the irregular monoterpene 2-methylisoborneol, together account for the majority of biologically-caused taste and odor outbreaks in drinking water worldwide and in Fish farming, farmed fish. Geosmin is also responsible for the earthy taste of beetroots and a contributor to the strong scent, known as petrichor, that occurs when rain falls after a spell of dry weather or when soil is disturbed. In chemical terms, geosmin is a bicyclic molecule, bicyclic alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with chemical formula, formula , a derivative of decalin. It is produced from the universal sesquiterpene precursor farnesyl pyrophosphate (also known as farnesyl diphosphate), in a two-step -dependent reaction. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rain
Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water for hydroelectricity, hydroelectric power plants, crop irrigation, and suitable conditions for many types of ecosystems. The major cause of rain production is moisture moving along three-dimensional zones of temperature and moisture contrasts known as weather fronts. If enough moisture and upward motion is present, precipitation falls from convection, convective clouds (those with strong upward vertical motion) such as cumulonimbus (thunder clouds) which can organize into narrow rainbands. In mountainous areas, heavy precipitation is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation which forces moist air to condense and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by restricting the former term specifically to displaced soil. Soil consists of a solid collection of minerals and organic matter (the soil matrix), as well as a porous phase that holds gases (the soil atmosphere) and water (the soil solution). Accordingly, soil is a three- state system of solids, liquids, and gases. Soil is a product of several factors: the influence of climate, relief (elevation, orientation, and slope of terrain), organisms, and the soil's parent materials (original minerals) interacting over time. It continually undergoes development by way of numerous physical, chemical and biological processes, which include weathering with associated erosion. Given its complexity and strong internal connectedness, soil ecologists ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geosmin
Geosmin ( ) is an irregular sesquiterpenoid with a distinct earthy or musty odor, which most people can easily smell. The geosmin odor detection threshold in humans is very low, ranging from 0.006 to 0.01 micrograms per liter in water. Geosmin, along with the irregular monoterpene 2-methylisoborneol, together account for the majority of biologically-caused taste and odor outbreaks in drinking water worldwide and in Fish farming, farmed fish. Geosmin is also responsible for the earthy taste of beetroots and a contributor to the strong scent, known as petrichor, that occurs when rain falls after a spell of dry weather or when soil is disturbed. In chemical terms, geosmin is a bicyclic molecule, bicyclic alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with chemical formula, formula , a derivative of decalin. It is produced from the universal sesquiterpene precursor farnesyl pyrophosphate (also known as farnesyl diphosphate), in a two-step -dependent reaction. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aerosol
An aerosol is a suspension (chemistry), suspension of fine solid particles or liquid Drop (liquid), droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be generated from natural or Human impact on the environment, human causes. The term ''aerosol'' commonly refers to the mixture of particulates in air, and not to the particulate matter alone. Examples of natural aerosols are fog, mist or dust. Examples of human caused aerosols include particulate air pollutants, mist from the discharge at hydroelectric dams, irrigation mist, perfume from Spray nozzle, atomizers, smoke, dust, Pesticide, sprayed pesticides, and medical treatments for respiratory illnesses. Several types of atmospheric aerosol have a significant effect on Earth's climate: volcanic, desert dust, sea-salt, that originating from biogenic sources and human-made. Volcanic aerosol forms in the stratosphere after an eruption as droplets of sulfuric acid that can prevail for up to two years, and reflect sunlight, lowering tempera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Streptomyces
''Streptomyces'', from στρεπτός (''streptós''), meaning "twisted", and μύκης (''múkés''), meaning "fungus", is the largest genus of Actinomycetota, and the type genus of the family Streptomycetaceae. Over 700 species of ''Streptomyces'' bacteria have been described. As with the other Actinomycetota, streptomycetes are gram-positive, and have very large genomes with high GC content. Found predominantly in soil and decaying vegetation, most streptomycetes produce spores, and are noted for their distinct "earthy" odor that results from production of a volatile metabolite, geosmin. Different strains of the same species may colonize very diverse environments. Streptomycetes are characterised by a complex secondary metabolism. Between 5-23% (average: 12%) of the protein-coding genes of each ''Streptomyces'' species are implicated in secondary metabolism. Streptomycetes produce over two-thirds of the clinically useful antibiotics of natural origin (e.g., neomy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ozone
Ozone () (or trioxygen) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , breaking down in the lower atmosphere to (dioxygen). Ozone is formed from dioxygen by the action of ultraviolet (UV) light and electrical discharges within the Earth's atmosphere. It is present in very low concentrations throughout the atmosphere, with its highest concentration high in the ozone layer of the stratosphere, which absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Ozone's odor is reminiscent of chlorine, and detectable by many people at concentrations of as little as in air. Ozone's O3 chemical structure, structure was determined in 1865. The molecule was later proven to have a bent structure and to be weakly diamagnetism, diamagnetic. At standard temperature and pressure, ozone is a pale blue gas that condenses at cryogenic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scientific American
''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Prize-winners being featured since its inception. In print since 1845, it is the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. ''Scientific American'' is owned by Springer Nature, which is a subsidiary of Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. History ''Scientific American'' was founded by inventor and publisher Rufus Porter (painter), Rufus Porter in 1845 as a four-page weekly newspaper. The first issue of the large-format New York City newspaper was released on August 28, 1845. Throughout its early years, much emphasis was placed on reports of what was going on at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Patent Office. It also reported on a broad range of inventions including perpetual motion machines, an 1860 devi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leaf With Droplets
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, flower, and fruit collectively form the Shoot (botany), shoot system. In most leaves, the primary Photosynthesis, photosynthetic Tissue (biology), tissue is the palisade mesophyll and is located on the upper side of the blade or lamina of the leaf, but in some species, including the mature foliage of ''Eucalyptus'', palisade mesophyll is present on both sides and the leaves are said to be isobilateral. The leaf is an integral part of the stem system, and most leaves are flattened and have distinct upper (Glossary of botanical terms#adaxial, adaxial) and lower (Glossary of botanical terms#abaxial, abaxial) surfaces that differ in color, Trichome, hairiness, the number of stomata (pores that intake and output gases), the amount and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Live Science
Live Science is a science news website. The publication features stories on a wide range of topics, including space, animals, health, archaeology, human behavior, and planet Earth. It also includes a reference section with links to other websites. Its stated mission is to inform and entertain readers about science and the world around them.{{r, mission History Live Science was originally made in 2004. It was acquired by ediaNetwork, later called Purch, in 2009.{{r, purch Purch consumer brands (including Live Science) were acquired by Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ... in 2018. Reception In 2011, the '' Columbia Journalism Review''{{'s "News Startups Guide" called Live Science "a purebred Web animal, primarily featuring one-off stories and photo gall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
