How many and what kind of chemical monuments are known? Composition and technology of ancient materials

Municipal budgetary educational institution "Secondary school No. 4" in Safonovo, Smolensk region Project The work was carried out by: Ksenia Pisareva, 10th grade Anastasia Strelyugina, 10th grade Supervised the work by: Natalya Ivanovna Sokolova, teacher of biology and chemistry 2015/2016 academic year Project Theme "Chemical substances used in architecture" Project typology: abstract individual short-term Purpose: integration on the topic "Architectural Monuments" of the subject "World Artistic Culture" and information about chemical substances used in architecture. Chemistry is a science associated with many fields of activity, as well as with other sciences: physics, geology, biology. It did not bypass one of the most interesting types of activity - architecture. A person working in this field inevitably has to deal with different types of building materials and somehow be able to combine them, add something to them for greater strength, durability, or to give the most beautiful appearance to the building. To do this, architecture needs to know the composition and properties of building materials, it is necessary to know their behavior in normal and extreme environmental conditions of the area in which construction is being carried out. The purpose of this work is to introduce the buildings that are most interesting in their architectural design and talk about the materials used in their construction. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Project section Assumption Cathedral St. Isaac's Cathedral Intercession Cathedral Smolensk Assumption Cathedral St. Vladimir Church Presentation Objects used Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Vladimir Assumption Cathedral It is located in Vladimir. The “Golden Age” of the construction of ancient Vladimir is the second half of the 12th century. The Assumption Cathedral of the city is the earliest architectural monument of this period. Built in 1158-1160 under Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, the cathedral later underwent significant reconstruction. During the fire of 1185, the old Assumption Cathedral was severely damaged. Prince Vsevolod III, “who did not look for craftsmen from the Germans,” immediately began to restore it using local craftsmen. The building was made of hewn white stone, which formed a powerful “box” of the wall, which was filled with rubble and durable lime mortar. For information, rubble stone is large pieces of irregular shape measuring 150-500 mm, weighing 20-40 kg, obtained during the development of limestones, dolomites and sandstones (less commonly), granites and other igneous rocks. The stone obtained during blasting operations is generally called “ragged”. The rubble stone must be homogeneous, have no signs of weathering, delamination or cracks, and not contain loose and clayey inclusions. The compressive strength of stone from sedimentary rocks is not less than 10 MPa (100 kgf/cm), the softening coefficient is not less than 0.75, frost resistance is not less than 15 cycles. Rubble stone is widely used for rubble and rubble concrete masonry of foundations, walls of unheated buildings, retaining walls, ice cutters and tanks. The new Assumption Cathedral was created in the era of Vsevolod, about whom the author of “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” wrote that the prince’s warriors could “splash the Volga with their oars.” The cathedral from one-domed becomes five-domed. There is relatively little sculptural decoration on its facades. Its plastic richness lies in the profiled slopes of slit-like windows and wide perspective portals with an ornamented top. Both its exterior and interior take on a new character. The interior decoration of the cathedral amazed contemporaries with its festive folk quality, which was created by the abundance of gilding, majolica floors, precious utensils and especially fresco murals. St. Isaac's Cathedral One of the no less beautiful buildings is St. Isaac's Cathedral, located in St. Petersburg. In 1707, the church, called St. Isaac's, was consecrated. On February 19, 1712, the public wedding ceremony of Peter I and Ekaterina Alekseevna took place there. On August 6, 1717, the second St. Isaac's Church was founded on the banks of the Neva, built according to the design of the architect G.I. Mattarnovi. Construction work continued until 1727, but already in 1722 the church was mentioned among the existing ones. However, the place for its construction was chosen poorly: the banks of the Neva had not yet been strengthened, and the beginning of soil sliding caused cracks in the walls and arches of the buildings. In May 1735, a fire broke out from a lightning strike, completing the destruction that had begun. On July 15, 1761, by decree of the Senate, the design and construction of the new St. Isaac's Church was entrusted to S.I. Chevakinsky, the author of St. Nicholas Cathedral. But he did not have to carry out his plan. Construction dates have been postponed. Having ascended the throne in 1762, Catherine II entrusted the design and construction to the architect Antonio Rinaldi. The cathedral was conceived with five intricately designed domes and a high bell tower. Marble cladding should add sophistication to the color scheme of the facades. This rock got its name from the Greek “mramoros” - brilliant. This carbonate rock is composed primarily of calcite and dolomite, and sometimes includes other minerals. It arises in the process of deep transformation of ordinary, that is, sedimentary limestones and dolomites. During metamorphic processes occurring under conditions of high temperature and high pressure, sedimentary limestones and dolomites recrystallize and become compacted; Many new minerals are often formed in them. For example, quartz, chalcedony, graphites, hematite, pyrite, iron hydroxides, chlorite, brucite, tremolite, garnet. Most of the listed minerals are observed in marble only in the form of single grains, but sometimes some of them are contained in significant quantities, determining important physical, mechanical, technical and other properties of the rock. Marble has a well-defined grain: on the surface of the chipped stone, reflections are visible that appear when light is reflected from the so-called cleavage planes of calcite and dolomite crystals. The grains are small (less than 1 mm), medium and large (several millimeters). The transparency of the stone depends on the size of the grains. Thus, Carrara white marble has a compressive strength of 70 megapascals and it collapses faster under load. The tensile strength of fine-grained marble reaches 150-200 megapascals and this marble is more resistant. But construction was extremely slow. Rinaldi was forced to leave St. Petersburg without completing the work. After the death of Catherine II, Paul I commissioned the court architect Vincenzo Brenna to hastily complete it. Brenna was forced to distort Rinaldi’s project: reduce the size of the upper part of the cathedral, build one instead of five domes; The marble cladding was extended only to the cornice; the upper part remained brick. The raw materials for sand-lime brick are lime and quartz sand. When preparing the mass, lime makes up 5.56.5% by weight, and water 6-8%. The prepared mass is pressed and then heated. The chemical essence of the hardening process of sand-lime brick is completely different than with a binder based on lime and sand. At high temperatures, the acid-base interaction of calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 with silicon dioxide SiO2 is significantly accelerated with the formation of calcium silicate salt CaSiO3. The formation of the latter ensures the bond between the sand grains, and, consequently, the strength and durability of the product. As a result, a squat brick building was created that was not in harmony with the ceremonial appearance of the capital. On April 9, 1816, during an Easter service, damp plaster fell from the vaults onto the right choir. Soon the cathedral was closed. In 1809, a competition was announced to create a project for the reconstruction of St. Isaac's Cathedral. Nothing came of the competition. In 1816, Alexander I instructed A. Betancourt to prepare regulations for the reconstruction of the cathedral and select an architect for this. Betancourt suggested entrusting this work to a young architect who came from France, Auguste Ricard de Montferrand. A. Betancourt presented the album with his drawings to the king. Alexander I liked the work so much that he issued a decree appointing Montferrand “imperial architect.” Only on July 26, 1819, the solemn act of renovation of St. Isaac's Church took place. The first granite stone with a gilded bronze plaque was placed on the piles. Granites are among the most common construction, decorative and facing materials and have played this role since ancient times. It is durable, relatively easy to process into different shapes, holds polish well and weathers very slowly. Typically, granite has a granular, uniform structure and, although it consists of multi-colored grains of different minerals, its overall color tone is uniform pink or gray. A geologist called granite a crystalline rock of deep igneous or mountain origin consisting of three main minerals: feldspar (usually about 30-50% of the rock volume), quartz (about 30-40%) and mica (up to 10-15%) . This is either pink microcline or orthoclase, or white albite or onigoclase, or two feldspars at once. Similarly, micas are either muscovite (light mica) or biotite (black mica). Sometimes other minerals are present in granite instead. For example, red garnet or greenhorn blende. All the minerals that make up granite are chemically silicates, sometimes with a very complex structure. On April 3, 1825, the Montferrand processing project was established. When constructing walls and support pylons, lime mortar was carefully prepared. Sifted lime and sand were alternately poured into the tubs so that one layer lay on top of the other, then they were mixed, and this composition was kept for at least three days, after which it was used for brickwork. Interestingly, lime is the oldest binding material. Archaeological excavations have shown that in the palaces of ancient China there were wall paintings with pigments fixed with slaked lime. Quicklime - calcium oxide CaO - was produced by roasting various natural calcium carbonates. CaCO₃ CaO +CO₂ The content of small amounts of undecomposed calcium carbonate in quicklime improves the binding properties. Lime slaking comes down to converting calcium oxide into hydroxide. CaO + H₂O Ca (OH)2 + 65 kJ Hardening of lime is associated with physical and chemical processes. Firstly, mechanically mixed water evaporates. Secondly, calcium hydroxide crystallizes, forming a calcareous framework of intergrown Ca(OH)₂ crystals. In addition, Ca(OH)₂ interacts with CO₂ to form calcium carbonate (carbonation). Poorly or “falsely” dried plaster can lead to peeling of the oil paint film due to the formation of soap as a result of the interaction of calcium alkali with drying oil fats. The addition of sand to lime paste is necessary because otherwise, when hardened, it shrinks severely and cracks. The sand serves as a kind of reinforcement. Brick walls were built from two and a half to five meters thick. Together with marble cladding, this is 4 times the usual wall thickness of civil buildings. External marble cladding, 5-6 cm thick, and internal, 1.5 cm thick, were made together with the brickwork of the walls and connected to it with iron hooks. The ceilings were made of brick. The sidewalk was supposed to be made of Serdobol granite, and the space behind the fence was to be paved with red marble platforms and a red granite border. White, gray, black and colored marbles are found in nature. Colored marbles are very widespread. There is no other decorative stone, with the exception, perhaps, of jasper, which would be characterized by very diverse colors and patterns, like colored marble. The color of marble is usually caused by a finely crystalline, often dusty, admixture of brightly colored minerals. Red, violet, purple colors are usually attributed to the presence of red iron oxide, the mineral sematite. Intercession Cathedral Intercession Cathedral (1555-1561) (Moscow) Built in the 16th century. by the brilliant Russian architects Barma and Postnik, the Intercession Cathedral - the pearl of Russian national architecture - logically completes the ensemble of Red Square. The cathedral is a picturesque structure of nine high towers, decorated with fancy domes of various shapes and colors. Another small figured (tenth) dome crowns St. Basil's Church. In the center of this group rises the main tower, sharply different in size, shape and decoration - the Church of the Intercession. It consists of three parts: a tetrahedron with a square base, an octagonal tier and a tent ending with an octagonal light drum with a gilded head. The transition from the octagonal part of the central part of the tower to the tent is carried out using a whole system of kokoshniks. The base of the tent rests on a wide white stone cornice shaped like an eight-pointed star. The central tower is surrounded by four large towers, located along the cardinal points, and four small ones, located diagonally. The lower tier rests with its edges on a complex-shaped and beautifully designed plinth made of red brick and white stone. Red clay brick is made from clay mixed with water, then molded, dried and fired. Formed brick (raw) should not crack when drying. The red color of the brick is due to the presence of Fe₂O₃ in the clay. This color is obtained if firing is carried out in an oxidizing atmosphere, that is, with an excess of oxygen. In the presence of reducing agents, grayish-lilac tones appear on the brick. Currently, hollow bricks are used, that is, they have cavities inside of a certain shape. For cladding buildings, two-layer bricks are made. When molding it, a layer of light-burning clay is applied to an ordinary brick. Drying and firing of two-layer facing bricks is carried out using conventional technology. Important characteristics of brick are moisture absorption and frost resistance. To prevent damage from weathering, brickwork is usually protected with plaster and tiling. A special type of fired clay brick is clinker. It is used in architecture for cladding the plinths of buildings. Clinker bricks are made from special clay with high viscosity and low deformability during firing. It is characterized by relatively low water absorption, high compressive strength and high wear resistance. Smolensk Assumption Cathedral From whichever direction you approach Smolensk, you can see the domes of the Assumption Cathedral - one of the largest churches in Russia - from afar. The temple crowns a high mountain located between two ravines deeply cut into the coastal slope. Crowned with five chapters (instead of seven according to the original version), festive and solemn, with lush Baroque decor on the facades, it rises high above the urban development. The grandeur of the building is felt both outside, when you stand at its foot, and inside, where, among the space filled with light and air, a gigantic, unusually solemn and magnificent gilded iconostasis rises upward, shimmering with gold - a miracle of wood carving, one of the outstanding works of decorative art of the 18th century , created in 1730-1739 by the Ukrainian master Sila Mikhailovich Trusitsky and his students P. Durnitsky, F. Olitsky, A. Mastitsky and S. Yakovlev. Next to the Assumption Cathedral, almost close to it, there is a two-tier cathedral bell tower. Small, it is somewhat lost against the background of the huge temple. The bell tower was built in 1767 in the forms of the St. Petersburg Baroque according to the design of the architect Pyotr Obukhov, a student of the famous Baroque master D.V. Ukhtomsky. In the lower part of the bell tower, fragments of the previous building from 1667 are preserved. The Assumption Cathedral in Smolensk was built in 1677-1740. The first cathedral on this site was founded back in 1101 by Vladimir Monomakh himself. The cathedral became the first stone building in Smolensk, it was rebuilt more than once - including the Assumption Cathedral in Smolensk by the grandson of Monomakh, Prince Rostislav, until in 1611 the surviving defenders of Smolensk, who defended themselves for 20 months from the troops of the Polish king Sigismund III, finally, when the Poles They broke into the city and blew up the powder magazine. Unfortunately, the cellar was located right on Cathedral Hill, and the explosion practically destroyed the ancient temple, burying many Smolensk residents and the ancient tombs of Smolensk princes and saints under its rubble. In 1654, Smolensk was returned to Russia, and the pious Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich allocated as much as 2 thousand silver rubles from the treasury for the construction of a new main temple in Smolensk. The remains of the ancient walls, under the leadership of the Moscow architect Alexei Korolkov, were dismantled for more than a year, and in 1677 the construction of a new cathedral began. However, due to the fact that the architect violated the specified proportions, construction was suspended until 1712. Assumption Cathedral in Smolensk. In 1740, under the leadership of architect A.I. Shedel, the work was completed and the temple was consecrated. In its original form, it stood for only twenty years, due to the presence of different architects and constant changes in the project. It ended with the collapse of the central and western chapters of the cathedral (there were seven in total at that time). The top was restored in 1767-1772, but with a simple traditional five-domed structure, which we now see. This cathedral is not only visible from everywhere, it is also truly huge - twice the size of the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin: 70 meters high, 56.2 meters long and 40.5 meters wide. The decoration of the cathedral is made in the Baroque style both outside and inside. The interior of the cathedral amazes with its pomp and luxury. Work on painting the temple lasted 10 years under the leadership of S.M. Trusitsky. Assumption Cathedral in Smolensk. The magnificent iconostasis, 28 meters high, has survived to this day, but the main shrine - the icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria - disappeared in 1941. Assumption Cathedral in Smolensk The cathedral bell tower, fading against the background of the huge temple, was built in 1763-1772. from the northwest of the cathedral. It was erected on the site of the previous bell tower, and the ancient foundations have been preserved at the base. At the same time, the cathedral fence was built with three high gates, shaped like triumphal arches. From the central street, a wide granite staircase of the same time leads up to Cathedral Hill, ending in a walkway. The cathedral was spared both by time and the wars that passed through Smolensk. After taking the city, Napoleon even ordered a guard to be posted, marveling at the splendor and beauty of the cathedral. The cathedral is now operational and services are held there. St. Vladimir's Church in Safonovo, Smolensk Region In May 2006, the city of Safonovo celebrated a significant anniversary - a hundred years ago the first church parish was opened on the territory of the future city. At that time, on the site of the current city blocks there were a number of villages, villages and farmsteads surrounding the railway station, which was called “Dorogobuzh” after the nearby county town. The closest village to the station was the village of Dvoryanskoye (current Krasnogvardeyskaya Street) and across the Velichka River from it was the landowner Tolstoy estate (now in its place is a small park). Tolstoy, which received its name from the Tolstoy nobles, has been known since the beginning of the 17th century. By the beginning of the 20th century it was a small owner's estate with one yard. Its owner was an outstanding public figure of the Smolensk province, Alexander Mikhailovich Tukhachevsky, a relative of the famous Soviet marshal. Alexander Tukhachevsky in 1902-1908 headed Dorogobuzh local government - zemstvo assembly, and in 1909-1917. led the provincial zemstvo council. The noble families owned the Leslie and Begichev families. The construction of a railway station on the banks of the Velichka River in 1870 turned this remote place into one of the most important economic centers of Dorogobuzh district. Timber warehouses, inns, shops, a postal station, a pharmacy, bakeries appeared here... The population of the station village began to grow. A fire brigade appeared here, and with it in 1906 a public library was organized - the first cultural institution of the future city. It is probably no coincidence that in the same year the spiritual life of the area received organizational form. In 1904, a stone temple was erected next to Tolstoy in the name of Archangel Michael, thereby turning the owner's estate into a village. Probably, the Archangel Church was for some time assigned to one of the nearby villages. However, already on May 4 (May 17 - according to the current style) 1906, a decree of the Holy Government Synod No. 5650 was issued, which stated: “At the newly built church in the village of Tolstoy, Dorogobuzh district, open an independent parish with a clergy of a priest and a psalm-reader in order to maintain The clergy of the newly opened parish relied exclusively on exquisite local funds.” Thus began the life of the parish of the village of Tolstoy and the Dorogobuzh station. Nowadays, the heir to the church in the village of Tolstoy is the St. Vladimir Church located in its place. Fortunately, history has preserved for us the name of the builder of the Archangel Michael Church. He was one of the most famous Russian architects and engineers, Professor Vasily Gerasimovich Zalessky. He was a nobleman, but initially his family belonged to the clergy and was known in the Smolensk region since the 18th century. People from this family entered the civil and military service and, having reached high ranks and ranks, claimed noble dignity. Since 1876, Vasily Gerasimovich Zalessky served as a city architect at the Moscow City Government and erected most of his buildings in Moscow. He built factory buildings, public houses, and private mansions. Probably the most famous of his buildings is the house of sugar refiner P.I. Kharitonenko on Sofiyskaya Embankment, where the residence of the English ambassador is now located. The interiors of this building were decorated by Fyodor Shekhtel in an eclectic style. Vasily Gerasimovich was a leading specialist in Russia in ventilation and heating. He had his own office, engaged in work in this area. Zalessky carried out extensive teaching activities and published a popular textbook on building architecture. He was a corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Society of Architects, a member of the Moscow Architectural Society, and headed the Moscow branch of the Society of Civil Engineers. At the end of the 19th century, V.G. Zalessky acquired a small estate of 127 acres in the Dorogobuzh district with the village of Shishkin. It was picturesquely located on the banks of the Vopets River. Now Shishkino is the northern outskirts of the city of Safonov. The estate was bought by Zalessky as a summer cottage. Despite the fact that Shishkino was a place of rest for Vasily Gerasimovich from his extensive professional activities, he did not remain aloof from the life of the local area. At the request of the chairman of the Dorogobuzh district assembly, Prince V.M. Urusov, Zalessky drew up plans and estimates for free for the construction of zemstvo primary schools with one and two classrooms. Two miles from Shishkin in the village of Aleshina, the Dorogobuzh zemstvo began to create a large hospital. In 1909, Vasily Zalessky accepted the obligation to be a trustee of this hospital under construction, and in 1911 he offered to equip it with central heating at his own expense. At the same time, the zemstvo asked him “to take part in supervising the construction of the hospital in Aleshin.” V.G. Zalessky was an honorary trustee of the fire brigade of the Dorogobuzh station and a donor of books for its public library. It is curious that in addition to the Archangel Michael Church in the village of Tolstoy, V.G. Zalessky is also related to the Smolensk Assumption Cathedral. According to his relatives, he installed central heating there. Soon after the opening of the parish, a parochial school appeared in the village of Tolstoy, which had its own building. The first mention of it dates back to 1909. The current St. Vladimir Church of Safonov is famous for its beautiful church choir. A remarkable fact is that a century ago the same glorious choir was in the church in the village of Tolstoy. In 1909, in an article in the Smolensk Diocesan Gazette, dedicated to the consecration of the newly built large nine-domed church in the village of Neyolova, it was reported that during the solemn service, the singing choir from the Dorogobuzh station sang beautifully. The Archangel Michael Church, like any newly built church, did not have ancient icons and was probably quite modest in its interior decoration. In any case, the rector of the temple noted in 1924 that only two icons - the Mother of God and the Savior - have any artistic value. Currently, the name of only one rector of the temple is known. From December 1, 1915 and at least until 1924, he was Father Nikolai Morozov. He probably served in the Tolstoy church in subsequent years. In 1934, the church in the village of Tolstoy was closed by decree of the Smolensk Regional Executive Committee No. 2339 and was used as a warehouse for high-quality grain. During the Great Patriotic War, the church building was destroyed and only in 1991, according to the only surviving photograph, the destroyed church was rebuilt through the efforts of its abbot, Father Anthony Mezentsev, who now heads the community of the Boldinsky Monastery with the rank of archimandrite. Thus, the first temple of Safonov completed the circle of its life, in some ways repeating the path of the Savior: from crucifixion and death for faith to the resurrection by Divine Providence. Let this miracle of the revival from the ashes of the destroyed Safonov shrine become for the residents of the city a vivid example of the creative power of the human spirit and the faith of Christ.

Today, a huge number of unusual, funny or even frightening monuments are scattered around the world. Modern sculptors are not afraid to experiment; there are no limits to their creativity. Tourists line up to take pictures in front of such unusual structures.
There is a legend according to which a person who touches all these unusual monuments will become a superman.But only a limited contingent knows about the existence of monuments to substances.

Salt Monument

In the city of Solikamsk in the Urals (Russia), a very unusual monument was opened - a monument to salt... and even with ears.

The city has been known since ancient times for its salt making traditions. And the city residents themselves were nicknamed “salty ears” back in the old days. The nickname comes from the way salt was loaded in the old days. The salt poured into bags was loaded onto barges for further transportation to markets. The loaders carried the bags, throwing them on their backs, so the salt spilled on their heads, down their collars and on their ears, making them blush and look funny. The bronze monument has the shape of a salt shaker with large ears; it was installed in the center of the city for public viewing - the monument “Permyak-Salty Ear”

And here is another monument in the city of Solikamsk, the center of industrial salt production. A monument to a bronze loaf of bread with a salt shaker.

Salt was once worth its weight in gold. It was usually mined from salt lakes. One of these lakes was Lake Elton, from where, during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, a road was built to Pokrovskaya Sloboda (now the city of Engels). The foundation of the settlement dates back to1747 and is associated with the decree of Empress Catherine II on the beginning of salt mining on the lake. The symbol of the city of Engels is the salt bull. The sculpture represents a bull with a salt shaker emerging from the city’s coat of arms, made using the “forged copper” technique. The height of the monument is 2.9 m, length – 4.5 m.

Sugar Monument

Monument to refined sugar, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Danilovsky sugar refinery. Installed in 2009, on the territory of a former factory, it is closed from the view of not only tourists, but also random passers-by. The monument is designed quite simply, but at the same time succinctly and concisely: on the pedestal there is a white cube, symbolizing that famous refined sugar.

And they were the first to “invent” refined sugar in the Czech Republic, in 1843, there is also a monument there in the city of Dacica. It was installed in 2003 to mark the 160th anniversary of the invention of refined sugar. The monument to refined sugar was installed on the site where the sugar factory used to be and is a snow-white, shiny cube with polished edges, symbolizing refined sugar, placed on a pedestal made of gray granite. The date is stamped on the pedestal: 1843.

The monument to refined sugar was also opened in Sumy on the 355th anniversary of the city in memory of the former sugar glory of Sumy. You can climb the stone cubes onto the large refinery cube with missing sugar cubes to take a photo at the landmark, which symbolizes the wealth of the area.

Oil Monument

In the city of Kogalym there is an original monument “Drop of Oil”. Monument “Drop of Oil” or as it is called differently
“A Drop of Life” perfectly reflects the essence of the city’s emergence. After all, the emergence of Kogalym is associated with the discovery of several oil fields in the 70s of the last century. It is made of black metal. On the sides there are inserts, on the one hand, Khanty, symbolizing the indigenous people, on the other hand, oil workers pumping the wealth of the earth - oil, as well as the bride and groom, symbolizing the future of the city.

Iron Monument

Atomium has a younger brother of Russian origin - a small monument to the peaceful atom in the city of Volgodonsk.

Molecule Monument

“The Glory of Soviet Science” in the form of a DNA molecule adorns Voronezh.

Monument to the molecule in Brovary (Ukraine)

Chemicals are widely used not only for conducting chemical experiments, but also for making various crafts, and also as building materials.

Chemicals as building materials

Let's consider a number of chemical elements that are used in construction and more. For example, clay is a fine-grained sedimentary rock. It consists of minerals of the kaolinite, montmorillonite or other layered aluminosilicates group. It contains sand and carbonate particles. Clay is a good waterproofing agent. This material is used to make bricks and as a raw material for pottery.

Marble is also a chemical material that consists of recrystallized calcite or dolomite. The color of marble depends on the impurities it contains and may have a striped or variegated tint. Iron oxide gives marble its red color. With the help of iron sulfide it acquires a blue-black hue. Other colors are also due to impurities of bitumen and graphite. In construction, marble refers to marble itself, marbled limestone, dense dolomite, carbonate breccias and carbonate conglomerates. It is widely used as a finishing material in construction, to create monuments and sculptures.

Chalk is also a white sedimentary rock that is insoluble in water and is of organic origin. It mainly consists of calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate and metal oxides. Chalk is used in:

• medicine;
• sugar industry, for purification of glassy juice;
• production of matches;
• production of coated paper;
• for rubber vulcanization;
• for the production of compound feed;
• for whitewashing.

The scope of application of this chemical material is very diverse.

These and many other substances can be used for construction purposes.

Chemical properties of building materials

Since building materials are also substances, they have their own chemical properties.

The main ones include:

1. Chemical resistance - this property shows how resistant the material is to other substances: acids, alkalis, salts and gases. For example, marble and cement can be destroyed by acid, but they are resistant to alkali. Silicate building materials, on the contrary, are resistant to acids, but not to alkali.
2. Corrosion resistance is the ability of a material to withstand environmental influences. Most often this refers to the ability to keep moisture out. But there are also gases that can cause corrosion: nitrogen and chlorine. Biological factors can also cause corrosion: exposure to fungi, plants or insects.
3. Solubility is a property in which a material has the ability to dissolve in various liquids. This characteristic should be taken into account when selecting building materials and their interaction.
4. Adhesion is a property that characterizes the ability to connect with other materials and surfaces.
5. Crystallization is a characteristic in which a material can form crystals in a state of vapor, solution or melt.

The chemical properties of materials must be taken into account when carrying out construction work in order to prevent incompatibility or unwanted compatibility of some building substances.

Chemically cured composite materials

What are chemical curing composite materials and what are they used for?

These are materials that are a system of two components, for example, “powder-paste” or “paste-paste”. In this system, one of the components contains a chemical catalyst, usually benzene peroxide or another chemical polymerization activator. When the components are mixed, the polymerization reaction begins. These composite materials are often used in dentistry for the manufacture of fillings.

Nanodispersed materials in chemical technology

Nanodispersed substances are used in industrial production. They are used as an intermediate phase in the preparation of materials with a high degree of activity. Namely, in the production of cement, the creation of rubber from rubber, as well as for the production of plastics, paints and enamels.

When creating rubber from rubber, finely dispersed carbon black is added to it, which increases the strength of the product. In this case, the filler particles must be small enough to ensure the homogeneity of the material and have high surface energy.

Chemical technology of textile materials

Textile chemical technology describes the processes of preparing and processing textiles using chemicals. Knowledge of this technology is necessary for textile production. This technology is based on inorganic, organic, analytical and colloidal chemistry. Its essence lies in highlighting the technological features of the processes of preparation, coloring and final finishing of textile materials of various fibrous compositions.

You can learn about these and other chemical technologies, such as the chemical organization of genetic material, at the Chemistry exhibition. It will take place in Moscow, on the territory of the Expocentre.

B. G. Andreev

When a person unfamiliar with shorthand observes a stenographer’s hand quickly sliding across the paper at a meeting, it seems extremely surprising to him that he can reconstruct the speaker’s speech word for word with the help of the “mysterious” hooks and squiggles that appear on the paper. And he is involuntarily amazed at what conveniences, what opportunities and what enormous time savings this conventional system of shorthand symbols provides.

Rice. 1. Chemical symbols used in Alexandrian chemistry books.

Rice. 2. Alchemical symbols of 1609

Dalton symbols.

Rice. 3. Snapshot from Dalton's table depicting atoms and molecules. Below is the structure of some “complex atoms” according to Dalton’s contemporary data.

At a lecture by an English alchemist.

John Dalton (1766-1844).

Jacob Berzelius, creator of modern chemical language (1779-1848).

Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794).

Chemical symbols seem no less mysterious to a person unfamiliar with chemistry - Latin letters of different sizes, numbers, arrows, pluses, dots, commas, complex figures and combinations of letters and dashes... But those who know chemistry are well aware of what possibilities, what conveniences and what kind of Saving time comes from the skillful use of modern chemical language, which is equally understandable to a chemist of any nationality.

One should not, however, think that this extremely convenient language appeared immediately in its modern perfect form. No, like everything else in the world, it has its own history, and a long history that has been stretching for over two thousand years.

Let us transport ourselves mentally to the sunny shores of the Mediterranean Sea - to the Egyptian port of Alexandria. This is one of the oldest cities in the world; it was founded by Alexander the Great more than three hundred years BC. Soon after its founding, this city became the most important cultural center of the Mediterranean. Suffice it to say that the famous Alexandrian library, burned by religious fanatic Christians in 47 AD. e., contained 700 thousand volumes of works on various branches of knowledge, including chemistry.

Metallurgy, glass making, fabric dyeing and other chemical industries developed in ancient Egypt provided a lot of empirical material, which Greek and Arab scientists, attracted to Alexandria by its cultural values, tried to generalize and systematize. Fortunately, some monuments of this culture survived the barbaric destruction by Christians, including some works on chemistry. They survived, despite the fact that in 296 AD. The Roman Emperor Diocletian, in a special decree where, by the way, the word “chemistry” was officially mentioned for the first time, ordered the burning of all books on chemistry in Alexandria.

And so, in the works of Alexandrian authors we already encounter chemical symbolism. Looking at Fig. 1, the reader will see how much easier our modern chemical symbols are to remember than this symbolism. However, the same technique that we also use is sometimes used here: the symbols for vinegar, salt, and arsenic were obtained by abbreviating the corresponding Greek words.

The situation is more complicated with metals. The then known metals were dedicated to the heavenly bodies: gold - to the Sun, silver - to the Moon, copper - to Venus, mercury - to Mercury, iron - to Mars, tin - to Jupiter and lead - to Saturn. Therefore, metals are designated here by the signs of the corresponding planets. From this association of metals with planets it followed, by the way, that before undertaking any chemical operations with a given metal, it was necessary to inquire about the location of the corresponding “patron planet” in the sky.

The successors of the chemists of the ancient world were the alchemists, who also adopted the comparison of metals with planets. It is interesting to note that traces of this remain even in some modern chemical names: for example, mercury in English, French and Spanish is called mercury (mercurg, mercure, mercurio). However, the accumulation of chemical facts and the discovery of many new substances caused the development of special alchemical symbolism (Fig. 2). This symbolism, which lasted for many centuries, was no more convenient to remember than the Alexandrian one; Moreover, it was not distinguished by either consistency or uniformity.

An attempt to create rational chemical symbolism was made only at the end of the 18th century by the famous John Dalton, the founder of chemical atomism. He introduced special symbols for each chemical element known at that time (Fig. 3). At the same time, he made a very important clarification, which formed the basis of modern chemical symbolism: Dalton denoted with a certain sign not a given element in general, but one atom of this element. Dalton designated chemical compounds (as is done now) by a combination of symbols included in a given combination of elements; in this case, the number of icons corresponded to the number of atoms of a particular element in a “complex atom,” that is, a molecule of a compound.

The above figures show, however, that Dalton’s symbols were not particularly convenient for memorization, not to mention the fact that the formulas of more complex compounds become very cumbersome with this system. But, looking at Dalton’s icons, one can notice one interesting detail: Dalton denoted some elements with the initial letters of their English names placed in circles - iron (iron), copper (copper), etc. It was this detail that the creator of the modern chemical language drew attention to Jacob Berzelius, the same Berzelius to whom the school authorities wrote in his graduation certificate that he “justified only dubious hopes,” and who later became the most famous chemist of his time.

Berzelius proposed denoting chemical elements by the first Latin letter of their names, usually taken from Latin or Greek. If the names of several elements begin with the same letter, then one of them is designated by one letter (for example, carbon C), and the others by two (calcium Ca, cadmium Cd, cerium Ce, cesium Cs, cobalt Co, etc.). At the same time, like Dalton, the symbol of an element has a strictly quantitative meaning: it denotes one atom of a given element and at the same time as many weight units of this element as the number of units its atomic weight contains. For example, the sign O represents one oxygen atom and 16 wt. units oxygen, sign N - one nitrogen atom and 14.008 wt. units nitrogen, etc.

There is nothing easier than writing the formula of a chemical compound using the Berzelius system. To do this, you do not need to pile a large number of circles next to each other, like Dalton, but you should just write next to each other the symbols of the elements that make up the given compound, and at the bottom right, next to each symbol, mark with a small number the number of atoms of this element in the molecule (the unit is omitted) : water - H 2 O, sulfuric acid - H 2 SO 4, berthollet salt - KSIO 3, etc. This formula immediately shows what elements the molecule of a given compound consists of, how many atoms of each element are included in its composition and what are the weight ratios elements in a molecule.

With the help of such formulas, chemical reactions are simply and clearly represented by special equations. The principle of composing such equations was established by the famous Lavoisier, who wrote:

“If I distill an unknown salt with sulfuric acid and find nitric acid in the receiver and vitriol in the residue, I conclude that the original salt was saltpeter. I arrive at this conclusion by mentally writing down the following equation, based on the assumption that the total weight of everything remains the same before and after the operation.

If x is the acid of an unknown salt and y is an unknown base, I write: x [+] y [+] sulfuric acid = nitric acid [+] vitriol = nitric acid [+] sulfuric acid [+] caustic potash.

From this I conclude: x = nitric acid, y = caustic potash, and the original salt was saltpeter.”

Now we will write this chemical reaction in the Berzelius system simply:

2KNO 3 + H 2 SO 4 = 2HNO 3 + K 2 SO 4.

And how much this small line of signs and numbers says to a chemist of any nationality. He immediately sees which substances are the starting materials in the reaction, which substances represent its products, what is the qualitative and quantitative composition of these substances; using a table of atomic weights and simple calculations, he will quickly determine how many starting substances need to be taken in order to obtain a certain amount of the substance he needs, etc.

The system of chemical symbolism developed by Berzelius was so expedient that it has been preserved to this day. However, chemistry does not stand still, it is rapidly developing, new facts and concepts are constantly appearing in it, which, naturally, are reflected in chemical symbolism.

The flourishing of organic chemistry gave rise to the appearance of formulas for the structure of chemical compounds, formulas that were often complex in appearance, but at the same time surprisingly harmonious and clear, telling a person who knew how to understand them much more than many lines and even pages of text. For example, the symbol for benzene, which at first glance seems artificial and as if reminiscent of an alchemical dragon devouring its own tail, turned out to so faithfully reflect the basic properties of this compound and its derivatives that the latest crystallographic studies have brilliantly confirmed the actual existence of the combination of atoms represented by this symbol.

Even in the time of Berzelius, signs like Ca, Fe, etc. appeared in chemistry, but they soon disappeared and were resurrected again only after Arrhenius’s theory of electrolytic dissociation was established in chemistry. Berzelius initially designated with dots the number of oxygen atoms associated with a given element , and commas - the number of sulfur atoms; thus the symbol "Ca" denoted calcium oxide (CaO), and the symbol "Fe" - iron disulfide (FeS 2). These signs lasted the longest in mineralogy, but eventually, there, too, dots and commas were replaced by modern symbols of oxygen and sulfur. Now, dots and commas near the symbol of atoms (or groups of atoms) have a completely different meaning: they indicate positively or negatively charged ions, that is, atoms (or groups of atoms) that have lost or added one or more electrons. Ionic equations further simplify the depiction of the essence of a number of chemical reactions; for example, any reaction of the formation of a silver chloride precipitate from solutions of various salts will be represented by a simple: and visual ionic equation:

Ag ˙ + Cl’ ˙ = AgCl

Before our eyes, a new type of chemical symbolism has appeared and won its citizenship rights, reflecting the amazing achievements of recent years in the field of revealing the secrets of the structure of atoms and the transformation of elements. Just recently, any chemist would have been completely bewildered by formulas like the following:

Now we know that here the small numbers at the bottom of the element symbol still indicate the number of atoms of a given element in the molecule, and the small numbers at the top indicate the atomic weight of the corresponding isotope (isotopes are elements that are identical in chemical properties, i.e., in nuclear charge, but have different atomic weights). And the equation

tells us that when nitrogen is bombarded with alpha particles (the nuclei of helium atoms), some of its atoms are converted into an isotope of oxygen with an atomic weight of 17; the numbers below here already indicate ordinal numbers or, in other words, the magnitude of the positive charge of the nucleus of the atom of the corresponding element.

Some of these equations contain symbols that were not in any chemistry book just a few years ago:

The first of them denotes a proton [+] (a positively charged nucleus of a protium atom, i.e. hydrogen with atomic weight 1), the second - a neutron (a neutral particle with the mass of a proton), the third - a positron (a particle similar in mass to an electron, but having a positive charge).

The icons and numbers given in the last examples symbolize the most amazing achievements of modern science, which the talented creator of the foundations of the now accepted international chemical language could hardly have dreamed of.

Moscow
14/IX 1936

Man has always sought to find materials that leave no chance for his competitors. Since ancient times, scientists have been looking for the hardest materials in the world, the lightest and the heaviest. The thirst for discovery led to the discovery of an ideal gas and an ideal black body. We present to you the most amazing substances in the world.

1. The blackest substance

The blackest substance in the world is called Vantablack and consists of a collection of carbon nanotubes (see carbon and its allotropes). Simply put, the material consists of countless “hairs”, once caught in them, the light bounces from one tube to another. In this way, about 99.965% of the light flux is absorbed and only a tiny fraction is reflected back out.
The discovery of Vantablack opens up broad prospects for the use of this material in astronomy, electronics and optics.

2. The most flammable substance

Chlorine trifluoride is the most flammable substance ever known to mankind. It is a strong oxidizing agent and reacts with almost all chemical elements. Chlorine trifluoride can burn concrete and easily ignite glass! The use of chlorine trifluoride is practically impossible due to its phenomenal flammability and the impossibility of ensuring safe use.

3. The most poisonous substance

The most powerful poison is botulinum toxin. We know it under the name Botox, which is what it is called in cosmetology, where it has found its main application. Botulinum toxin is a chemical produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. In addition to the fact that botulinum toxin is the most toxic substance, it also has the largest molecular weight among proteins. The phenomenal toxicity of the substance is evidenced by the fact that only 0.00002 mg min/l of botulinum toxin is enough to make the affected area deadly to humans for half a day.

4. The hottest substance

This is the so-called quark-gluon plasma. The substance was created by colliding gold atoms at near light speed. Quark-gluon plasma has a temperature of 4 trillion degrees Celsius. For comparison, this figure is 250,000 times higher than the temperature of the Sun! Unfortunately, the lifetime of matter is limited to a trillionth of one trillionth of a second.

5. The most caustic acid

In this nomination, the champion is fluoride-antimony acid H. Fluoride-antimony acid is 2×10 16 (two hundred quintillion) times more caustic than sulfuric acid. It is a very active substance and can explode if a small amount of water is added. The fumes of this acid are deadly poisonous.

6. The most explosive substance

The most explosive substance is heptanitrocubane. It is very expensive and is used only for scientific research. But the slightly less explosive octogen is successfully used in military affairs and in geology when drilling wells.

7. The most radioactive substance

Polonium-210 is an isotope of polonium that does not exist in nature, but is manufactured by humans. Used to create miniature, but at the same time, very powerful energy sources. It has a very short half-life and is therefore capable of causing severe radiation sickness.

8. The heaviest substance

This is, of course, fullerite. Its hardness is almost 2 times higher than that of natural diamonds. You can read more about fullerite in our article The Hardest Materials in the World.

9. The strongest magnet

The strongest magnet in the world is made of iron and nitrogen. At present, details about this substance are not available to the general public, but it is already known that the new super-magnet is 18% more powerful than the strongest magnets currently in use - neodymium. Neodymium magnets are made from neodymium, iron and boron.

10. The most fluid substance

Superfluid Helium II has almost no viscosity at temperatures close to absolute zero. This property is due to its unique property of leaking and pouring out of a vessel made of any solid material. Helium II has prospects for use as an ideal thermal conductor in which heat does not dissipate.