S?ren S?renson and the 'Power of Hydrogen'

By?STEVE?SAYER , Sayer Consulting / Auditing, LLC

Those ubiquitous plastic-encased indicator Hydrion litmus strips have been around for decades now - which makes 'Elementary 101 pH Detection' - easy, smart, and macro - accurate.

Trained QA / QC personnel monitor pathogenic interventions like boot sanitizing baths and production glove dips - by utilizing pH litmus strips among many other production uses - to ensure the pH of the anti-bacterial mix is within the permissible range that is recommended by the chemical manufacturer - and - within the legal pH parameters of the USDA / FDA - Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) limits.

pH?

pH stands for the 'Power of Hydrogen.'

Power of Hydrogen?

The 'Power of Hydrogen' is a term used that represents pH, such as?the measurement of acidity or alkalinity in any water-soluble substance.

pH values are represented on a logarithmic scale with colored numbers 1-14 with 7 being a neutral point as depicted below.

Hydrogen?

Hydrogen?is the?chemical element?with the?symbol?H?and?atomic number?1.

Hydrogen is the lightest element of 'em all.

At?standard conditions -?hydrogen is a?gas?of?diatomic molecules?having the?formula?H2.

Hydrogen is the?most abundant chemical substance in the entire?Universe - constituting roughly 75% of all?normal?matter.

Hydrogen is?colorless,?odorless,?tasteless,?non-toxic - and highly combustible.

Stars?such as our?Sun?are mainly *composed of hydrogen in the?plasma state.

Most of the hydrogen down on Earth exists in?molecular forms?such as?water?and?organic compounds.

pH is an important quantity that reflects the chemical conditions of a solution.

The pH can control the availability of nutrients, biological functions, microbial activity, via the fascinating / seemingly Alchemic reactions of chemicals.

Because of this, monitoring or controlling the pH of soil, water, foods and beverage products, even one's health - is important for a wide, wide variety of diverse applications.

Today, the?118 known chemical elements are widely regarded as one of the most significant achievements in all of science.

The Periodic Table depicted below, has evolved to reflect over 150 years of scientific development and understanding in chemistry and physics.

In the modern Periodic Table cited above, the 118 elements are listed in order of increasing atomic number (number of protons in atomic nucleus) - with Hydrogen being number 1, which indelibly evinces that Hydrogen has one (1) proton within its atomic nucleus as cited below.

The Periodic Table separates the 118 elements into three (3) groups - Metals, Non-metals and - Metalloids which are properties of both metals and non-metals.

As mentioned, nearly three quarters of our sun is *hydrogen, which is constantly fusing together and thus creating - Helium - by a process called nuclear fusion.

The second lightest element - Helium - makes up almost the entire remaining quarter of stars' mass.?

At its core - our sun burns 600 million of tons of hydrogen - every second - by nuclear fusion - the heat and the rays of light that eventually reaches Earth.

When one admires those Milky Way nights - it's nuclear fusion powering the star lights one enjoys - via massless photon particles - making their way to ones pupils - all sent (depending on a stars distant from earth) eons upon eons ago.

Another perceptive Danish astronomer,?Ole Christensen?R?mer??(1644–1710) - became the first person to measure the speed of light in 1676.

R?mer?measured the speed of light - by cleverly timing eclipses of Jupiter's moon Io.

Pictured above - is Dr. S?ren Peder Lauritz S?rensen (1868 -1939) - who held a PhD from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and directed the chemical department at the Carlsberg Laboratory.

In 1909, S?rensen was working on the effect of ion concentration in the analysis of proteins. S?rensen would subsequently became a leader in the application of thermodynamics to protein chemistry.

What does more H+ ions mean?

It's the measure of Hydrogen ions (H+) in a solution.

When the Hydrogen ions outnumber the hydroxide ions, the solution is acidic.

If the reverse is true, then the solution is alkaline.

Simple.

Until S?ren S?rensen developed and was credited for the first pH scale back in 1909, as a way of expressing acidity - {the negative logarithm of hydrogen ion concentration} - there was no widely accepted methodologies of expressing hydrogen ion concentrations.?

Sixteen (16) years later in 1924, pH was modernized to accommodate definitions and measurements in terms of electrochemical cells.

I've remarked before in previous post - the rich and remarkable history of the Danes who have accomplished much in the sciences / humanities, which is rather remarkable for a country roughly the size of the state of Maryland with nearly 6 million people.

From the remarkable Danish Astronomer Tycho Brahe (Dec. 14, 1546?- Oct. 24,1601) a Danish?astronomer - known for his comprehensive and unprecedentedly accurate?astronomical observations. Tyco was known during his lifetime as an astronomer,?astrologer and an?alchemist. Tycho was the last major astronomer before the invention of the?telescope - which occurred around 1607 in the Netherlands.

To - Hans Christian Joachim Gram?(13 Sept. 1853 - 14 Nov. 1938) - a?brilliant Danish?bacteriologist noted for his ingenious development of the?Gram stain, which is still a standard technique in 2023 to classify bacteria while making them more visible under today's incredible electron microscopes - by color staining.

To - 2022s *Dr. Morten Meldal - among many others.

Since the?Nobel Prize?was established as per 'the will' of?Swedish?inventor?Alfred Nobel?in 1895, 14 of the prize winners have been from?Denmark through - 2022.

The Nobel Prize is comprised of six (6) categories:?physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, peace, and *economics (*added in in 1968).

The Nobel Prize is widely regarded as the most prestigious for intellectual achievement in the world.

The first Danish Nobel laureate was?Niels Ryberg Finsen, who won a Nobel Prize for medicine in 1903 for his work on using?light therapy?to treat diseases.

The most recent Danish Nobel Prize winner was?*Dr. Morten Peter Meldal (born Jan.16, 1954) -?who was awarded the Golden Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2022 (shared with Carolyn R. Bertozzi and?K. Barry Sharpless ) - for the development of Click Chemistr y and Bioorthogonal Chemistry .

Their collective efforts could lead to some major developments in medicine, including targeted cancer treatments.??

Morten Meldal, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022 - YouTube

To date, of the 14 Nobel Prizes won by Danes, five (5) have been for medicine, three (3) have been for physics, three (3) have been for literature, two (2) have been for chemistry, and one (1) has been for - - - peace.

Below is the formidable?list of Danish Nobel laureates since the Nobel Prize was first established / awarded in 1901.

If - - - one could describe the long diverse history of the Danes on the periodic table - it'd undoubtedly would be -

Gold

Gold is?element 79?with its symbol being Au.

The Latin name for gold is Aurum. Gold is denoted by the symbol ‘Au.’

XTRA XTRA XTRA DANISH TRIVIA

Denmark, as per Danish mythology, refers to a land of long, long ago and was called way back when - King Dan.

Denmark is called 'Denmark' in English and 'Danmark' in Danish because they are different but related languages. Both names are a demonym - 'Danmark' being an endonym used by Danish speakers and 'Denmark' being an exonym used by English speakers.

There are no mountains in Denmark - only hills and rolling verdant knolls with peppered castles - here - there - nearly everywhere.

"Mark" in Danish means "Field" in English.

Add in a sprinkle of King Dan and you have Dan's Field - or - Danmark.

The Danmark name fits and snaps in perfectly just like those clever / sublime Danish invented Lego (play) toys - and - the ten (10) Legoland(s) (Playland's) amusement parks World-Wide.

LAST REMARK - ON - DANMARK

In 1949, there were twelve (12) founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Alliance:

Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Another smart / prudent / foretelling decision by Denmark - who were 'blitzkrieg' by Hitler's Nazis on Apr. 9,1940 - in one (1) day.

The Danes know all too well that history has a propensity in repeating itself - even in 2023.

Today, the NATO Alliance consists of?thirty (30) independent member countries - with several countries - presently applying.

Currently, I'm a consultant to OSHA, EPA, GFSI, USDA, FDA, Human Resources and Humane Handling of feed animals / birds. I'm a technical writer for multiple industries, as well as a part-time maintenance worker for California State Beaches - in San Clemente, California.

From LinkedIn 03/07/2023

"He has done it again ?? !

24-year-old Albert Sneppen is behind another surprising discovery and can bring us closer to an answer to how old the universe is.

In his thesis, he investigated a so-called kilonova, which is an enormous explosion in space. The expectation was that it was flattened, but it turns out to be shaped like a perfect sphere ??

The thesis has been published in the journal Nature. It is far from the first time that Albert Sneppen, who has just started as a PhD student at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen, is attracting international attention.

In the past, he has, among other things, published a global climate study, solved a riddle about black holes, and he is also behind a research result on the weight of stars, which is of great importance for our understanding of the Universe."

Perhaps another Danish Nobel laureate in the making?

Additional Danish stories from past LinkedIn post are pictured below and are available on my LinkedIn page.