Storistir Pillows

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Arsenic is a toxic element, yet it has been used in chicken and hog feed in the past to increase their weight and prevent infections. Seafood, rice, rice products, mushrooms, and poultry contain arsenic.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Nickel, element 28, is believed to be the second most abundant element in the earth's core, and is a fair conductor of heat and electricity. Nickel is used primarily to make corrosion-resistant alloys like stainless steel, although it has been used for coinage as well. The US nickel, however, contained more copper than nickel.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Mercury or hydrargyrum (Latin for "water silver") is a neurotoxin, and is a liquid at standard room temperature. Dental fillings, especially older "silver" fillings, contain about 50% mercury and can increase the risk of mercury poisoning. Symptoms of mercury poisoning can include headaches, muscle weakness, kidney damage, mood swings, breathing difficulties, hair loss, immune system impairment, etc.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Neptunium, element 93, was named after the planet Neptune. Neptune is also the name of the Roman god of the sea, analogous to the Greek god Poseidon. Neptunium can make dangerous fissile, but was not used for nuclear bomb purposes.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Germanium was derived from the Latin Germania--yes, meaning Germany. Germanium was used in semiconductors from about 1947 to 1960, when silicon replaced it. The primary reason for this transition was because silicon was much more abundant and cheaper, although there were other reasons as well.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Krypton, element 36, is a noble gas, which has been used to light up airport runways among other applications. Imagine a planet being named after an element, which was name after the Greek word kryptos meaning hidden. Lol!

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! The number 13 is deemed unlucky in some cultures, although not typically associated with elements--lol. Aluminium is the most common metal found on the earth's crust. It is also found in many minerals including precious stones like ruby, sapphire and topaz. Aluminium is a recyclable metal with uses in boats, trains, planes, appliances, rockets, engines, frames, power lines, soda canes, etc.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Osmium is derived from the Greek word for smell (a porportedly unpleasant one). Osmium is the densest of all elements. It is toxic in its tetroxide (4 oxygens) form and is used in fingerprint detection and to harden alloys (e.g., for fountain pen tips, needles, electrical contacts, etc.). Osmium is part of the platinum group of elements along with Ruthenium (44), Rhodium (45), Palladium (46), Iridium (77) and Platinum (78).

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! The seven metals of antiquity include lead, tin, mercury, iron, copper, silver and gold. There are thousand year old lead pipes that still work as well as they did milleniums ago. Lead or Plumbum (in Latin) is a heavy, durable metal, which can accumulate in soft tissues and bones, and cause neurotoxicity, nausea, headaches and cancer.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Vanadium, element 23, was named after the Scandinavian goddess of beauty, love, death and fertility, Vanadis. Vanadium steel alloys are tough and has been used in axles, crankshafts, tools and armor plating. Vanadium is an essential trace mineral for humans, and a small amount of it is needed for bone formation and cellular metabolism.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Thorium, element 90, was named after the Norse god of thunder, Thor. Thorium is slightly radioactive, and more abundant than tin or uranium on the earth's crust. China has built the first thorium nuclear reactor providing electricity to about 1000 households. Plans for making more thorium reactors in the future are in the works.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Dubnium, element 105, was named after Dubna in Russia. However, other names like Hahnium and Nielsbohrium were also in the running. The Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry decided on Dubnium after some haggling on the names of several man-made elements.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Berkelium, element 97, was named after the city Berkeley in California. Berkelium was first synthesized at the University of California, Berkeley, and was used primarily to create even heavier, radioactive elements.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Protactiniuim, element 91, was named because Actinium was a direct decay/descendent product. Atomic weight normally increases as the number of protons increases. However, Protactinium weighs less than Thorium (element 90), and is one of four pair reversals in the Periodic Table.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! 100 FM sounds like it should be a radio station, but element 100, Fm, was named after Enrico Fermi, who created the world's first nuclear reactor at an underground squash court in Chicago.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Element 6, Carbon, in the right places can be delicious! Carbon is the building block of life on earth as we know it (currently). Chocolates contain carbon; scats contain carbon; plants contain carbon; you and I contain carbon. The earth is constantly, dynamically cycling carbon. If we can get less of this element in our air, and more growing from the ground, life could be sweet!

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Yes, sulfur is swell, but its compounds can sure smell! Sulfur, element 16, is a vital element for humans and contributes to healthy cells, tendons, tissues, and ligaments. Sulfur is in our bones, skin and muscles, and helps protect our cells from damage. Plants high in sulfur include kale and broccoli, and unsurprisingly garlic and onion.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Meitnerium, element 109, was named in honor of Lise Meitner. Meitner was nominated for the Nobel prize in Chemistry and Physics almost 50 times, but was did not receive the prize because of her sex and religion.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Scientists were hoping to create an isotope of Flerovium within the theoretical island of stability with a half life of thousands of years. However, the making of this isotope has been illusive so far.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Moscovium, Element 115, is in the Pnictogen (Nitrogen) family, Group 15 of the Periodic Table. Moscovium is a radioactive, short-lived, man created element with no known uses.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Copernicium, element 112, was named after Copernicus, considered by some as the "father of modern astronomy." Shortly before his death in 1543, Copernicus published "On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres" regarding the idea of a heliocentric (Earth revolved around Sun) system, which was considered quite heretical back then.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Tennessine, element 117, was created through teamwork. Oak Ridge provided the Berkelium (97) to Russia, which was then blasted by a beam of Calcium (20) to make Tennessine.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Helium is a noble gas. It's lighter than air and escapes the atmosphere. Even though the sun makes a lot of helium, it's a relatively rare element on Earth. Helium was in fact first noted in outer space!

There's love in science--taking beryllium beauty inside! Just don't eat it since beryllium is carcinogenic.

Nobelium appeared to have been named inadvertently. Russia was first to synthesize this element in 1956 and the US in 1958. However, the Nobel Institute of Physics in Sweden was the first to announce its discovery in 1957. By the time IUPAC addressed the issue, the name Nobelium had already stuck for element 102.

Krypton is an element name, not just Superman's home planet!

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Nobelium, element 102, appeared to have been named inadvertently. Russia was first to synthesize this element in 1956 and the US in 1958. However, the Nobel Institute of Physics in Sweden was the first to announce its discovery in 1957, which was approved by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) before later experiments disproved the Swedish claim. By the time IUPAC addressed the issue, the name Nobelium had already stuck.

Beryllium is not a perfect metal, and can cause damage to the lungs. Yet, for all its flaws, it is a heck of an element.

It's a work in progress! It's funny what an alkaline earth metal symbol can inspire.

Have fun with Beryllium on the light, carcinogenic side, just like the element!

It feels good to express some things with the lightest Alkaline Earth Metal.

Hydrogen may be the smallest element, but it is mighty! Hydrogen is lighter than air and provides lift. But watch out! The Hindenburg, roughly the size of the Titanic, and was powered and destroyed by hydrogen!

The poetry for Beryllium is in the form of a haiku or rather three consecutive haikus. Beryllium is a very light, tough, carcinogenic metal. Berylliosis is a form of metal poisoning. Bertrandite is an ore of beryllium. More illustrations along with facts and factoids that inspired this poem can be found in the illustrated Storistir storybook of Mary and Litted.

A simple message from a beautiful element.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Yttrium, element 39, is a transition metal, and is considered one of the rare earths sharing the same column as the Lanthanides. Yttrium is named after Ytterby, a village in Sweden, which has four elements name after it. Yttrium is used in lasers, ceramics, electronics and other applications.

The orbitals are swirling in Storistir to make holiday ornaments! Livermorium, Element 116, is a Chalcogen that is radioactive, short-lived, and man-made with no known uses.