The Seventh Issue of Catalyzer Magazine 25/07/2018
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CATALYZER7 THE SEVENTH ISSUE OF CATALYZER MAGAZINE 25/07/2018 Congratulations, now the competition is behind you! It’s time to breathe a sigh of relief, calm down your over activated brain cells, and get ready for a lot of fun. The fun will start for you tonight as soon as the train arrives at its destination: PRAGUEEEEEEEE! Prague, the capital of the Czech tional Chemistry Olympiad, for it will be a great chemical ride: arrival and the ceremony of Republic, is proud to have a the next few days. The Reunion party. At this very delivering the Olympic Relay to number of adventurous nick- Prague is literally filled with moment, as you are reading Prague? names; among others, the Moth- curiosities, enough to fill a this, the first bands are already er of All Cities, Hundred Towers, whole book, not just an article warming up at the University of REUNION PARTY and Gold One. It is home to the in Catalyzer. On the following Chemistry and Technology cam- PROGRAMME President, the government, and pages of today’s edition, you will pus, igniting the interest of pas- . Chemical experiments for both chambers of parliament. find only a very limited selection sers-by. The special chemical the public It was the seat of the Czech of noteworthy stories and a unit, the greatest pride of the . Examples of rescue Kings and the Roman-German small number of photos from an Czech Army, is showing off activities: Fire Department, Emperors. It belongs to the Top ocean of the city’s breathtaking its equipment to thousands of Czech Police, Czech Army 10 richest regions in Europe sights. We believe they will tune visitors. There will be plenty of . Photo booth and provides the background you up for the grand tour of good food and drinks around. In . Street food festival: 20 food to twelve universities. It is the Prague which is awaiting you in short, a great atmosphere out and Czech beer stands most visited city in the Czech the coming days. under the sky. Public demonstration by Republic and one of the most And what will the atmosphere the Czech Army Special beautiful cities in the world. And As we have just announced, escalate into at the moment Chemical Unit of course: It will also host you, you will already have your first when the visitors will spot the . Bands the participants in the Interna- date with Prague tonight. And biggest highlight: Your massive © WIKIMEDIA COMMONS INTERNATIONAL CHEMISTRY OLYMPIAD MAGAZINE / SLOVAKIA & CZECH REPUBLIC, 2018 Babies climbing the tower. Rolling Stones as a sponsor of Prague Castle. Wall as a symbol of freedom of speech. Prague is simply A CITY FULL OF UNEXPECTED CONNECTIONS Emperor Charles IV laid the the largest historic castle in the Tower's 324 m. It has the upper (each of them 100 kg, 3.5 m long foundation stone for Charles world. hand over the original, thanks to and 2.6 m high) climb the tower, Bridge on 9th July 1357, at 5:31 Prague Castle is wonderfully the fact that it stands on a hill. up and down. After its debut in A.M. This date was not selected illuminated at night thanks to Thus, it boasts a higher altitude 2000, the installation was such randomly. The Emperor was an The Rolling Stones. The band (378 m above sea level) than the a success that it became perma- astrologer and numerologist was invited to Prague in 1990 peak of the Eiff el Tower (361 m). nent. This year, the Babies will and chose the day and time by then newly-elected President Visitors can ascend the tower reach adulthood. because it is possible to write it Václav Havel, shortly after the using just 299 steps. down in sequence: 1-3-5-7-9-7- fall of the Communist regime. Prague's Jewish Quarter is 5-3-1 (year/day/month/time). After visiting the Castle, they There is a graffi ti wall dedicat- one of the few in Europe not suggested that Prague’s domi- ed to John Lennon, who never destroyed during World War II. The narrowest passageway in nant landmark should be illumi- visited Prague in person. The Hitler himself made the decision Prague leads from U Lužického nated. And because Czechoslo- fi rst graffi ti inspired by Lennon to spare the Jewish Quarter Semináře Street to Restaurant vakia, according to Havel, had and the Beatles appeared on from wartime destruction as Čertovka. It is only 50 cm more serious problems to solve, the wall shortly after Lennon’s he was planning to spend his (20 inches) wide, has steep the band members decided to death in 1980. Today, the wall retirement there. stairs, and has something pay for Spanish Hall lights out is considered not only a monu- unique at both ends: Traffi c of their own pockets. Thank you, ment to John Lennon, but also is Although the Czech Republic lies lights for pedestrians so that gentlemen. a symbol of freedom of speech in the heart of Europe, Prague's they avoid colliding while mov- and resistance to totalitarian residents do not have to go far ing through the passageway. Petřín Lookout Tower regimes. to visit the sea. The nearest is a loose copy of the shore of the Baltic Sea is only You do not have to come to famous Eiff el Tower Prague is often called a town of 365 km from Prague. The Adri- Prague to see its famous Astro- (at a ratio of 1:5), a hundred towers. The highest atic Sea is 490 km away and the nomical Clock. A faithful replica standing tower is Žižkov Television Tow- North Sea is only 5 km further. of Prague's Old Town Hall— 63.5 meters er (216 m). Apart from off ering including the clock—can versus panoramic views of Prague, it The longest street in Prague is be found in the center the Eiff el has an unusual artistic addition: Strakonická Street. It is 16 km of Seoul, the capital of Babies. Ten laminated toddlers long. Petra Ménová South Korea, where you will also fi nd a restaurant where Czech specialties and draught beer are served. The Pra- gue Cas- tle has an area of seven hectares (fi ve foot- ball fi elds) and is—accor- ding to the Guinness Book © 123RF of Records— © WIKIMEDIA COMMONS © 123RF KUTNÁ HORA Decorations made of human bones, silver fever, treasure bricked in the walls, bats in a temple. These aren’t scenes from an upcoming fantasy series, but the past and present of the medieval town of Kutná Hora. © 123RF Silver! Riches! These exclamations have chapel of the church. During its reconstruc- SILVER ORES been heard in the area surrounding today’s tion, architect J. B. Santini-Aichel came up As pure metal, silver occurs in nature Kutná Hora since the tenth century. The end with the idea of decorating it with the bones. only very rarely; it can usually be found of the thirteenth century brought with it His vision was completed by F. Rint, who in compounds. It can bind directly with a true “silver fever” related to the develop- used blanched bones to create these pecu- precious ores, the most important of them ment of mining. Soon, Kutná Hora became liar decorations. being acanthite (Ag2S) and its modification, one of the most important towns of the argentite, as well as proustite (Ag3[AsS3]) Czech Kingdom and it was rightly called the and pyrargyrite (Ag3[SbS3]). However, these treasury of Czech kings. Shortly after, a mint BONE BLANCHING are rarely found in our latitudes. Another, was established there, which coined the Bone blanching is usually done with more significant source are the ores of other Prague groschen—the strongest currency a solution of hydrogen peroxide. When metals which contain the addition of silver of Central Europe of the time. It did not take treating old (dark to black) bones, we such as galenite, sphalerite, and chalco- long for wealth to influence the appearance start with reduction whitening using pyrite. Silver content is usually in the tens of the city. The town's Stone House was built, of percent, and these ores have been used sodium dithionite (Na2S2O4) and only after as well as the Church of St. Jacob, the that, we continue with oxidation bleach- extensively. breath-taking Cathedral of St. Barbara, and ing with peroxide. If the bones are still the monumental Jesuit College. Kutná Hora stubbornly stained, we add phosphoric CHEMISTRY AND SILVER rightfully deserves its place on the UNESCO acid into the peroxide solution, which Its unique characteristics lend it a wide World Heritage List. disturbs the surface of the bone and range of possible uses including the manu- facilitates the penetration of the bleach. facture of formaldehyde, the improvement ST. BARBARA CATHEDRAL According to historical sources, F. Rint of corrosion resistance in aluminum alloys, A major town landmark is the cathedral, used chloride of lime to whiten the or—together with palladium as an alloy—the founded in 1388 and dedicated to the bones: a mixture of calcium salt of production of semi-permeable membranes patron of miners, St. Barbara. Its architec- hypochlorous and hydrochloric acid, for hydrogen diffusion. For decades, there ture is inspired by the French style and it wherein the main active component is has been growing interest in nanoparticles is so monumental and decorative that it calcium hypochlorite Ca(ClO) . of silver, used not only in medicine, pharma- bears comparison with Prague's St. Vitus 2 cology, and construction chemistry, but also cathedral.