Daniel
@danieljprice.bsky.social
Previously: Researcher (soft matter, magnetochemistry, crystallography).
Currently: Educator (Chemistry, University of Glasgow).
Prefer to be: Outside (West of Scotland)
Currently: Educator (Chemistry, University of Glasgow).
Prefer to be: Outside (West of Scotland)
I've a lecture course on f-block chemistry comming up. This ferrocerium fire starter is an excellent demonstration of just how electropositive lanthanides are.🧪
November 6, 2025 at 5:23 PM
I've a lecture course on f-block chemistry comming up. This ferrocerium fire starter is an excellent demonstration of just how electropositive lanthanides are.🧪
Today's beans have arranged themselves in the p4mm plane group. And I'm thinking it would have been a better lesson if I'd given students objects and specified a plane group in which to arrange them. Hindsight!🧪
November 6, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Today's beans have arranged themselves in the p4mm plane group. And I'm thinking it would have been a better lesson if I'd given students objects and specified a plane group in which to arrange them. Hindsight!🧪
Ignoring the developmental and genetic differences in my beans, can you tell what I've been teaching?
That's right, "How to identify a plane group", and this layout is p4. 🧪
That's right, "How to identify a plane group", and this layout is p4. 🧪
November 6, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Ignoring the developmental and genetic differences in my beans, can you tell what I've been teaching?
That's right, "How to identify a plane group", and this layout is p4. 🧪
That's right, "How to identify a plane group", and this layout is p4. 🧪
Molecules I've made (in model from). My very first synthesis in a research context; 4-Ethoxyiodobenzene. The paper described a "yellow oil", for me, colourless crystals that blocked the condenser. Downside; having to muck about with the vacuum distillation. Upside; more pure than those guys. 🧪
September 4, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Molecules I've made (in model from). My very first synthesis in a research context; 4-Ethoxyiodobenzene. The paper described a "yellow oil", for me, colourless crystals that blocked the condenser. Downside; having to muck about with the vacuum distillation. Upside; more pure than those guys. 🧪
Self-indulgent, but found my old Cochrane's student model kit. Making molecules to which I have a connection. From those PhD days (~1992) I made this rhenium(I) trithiacyclononane tricarbonyl cation (unpublished). Spectacular proton NMR, magnetic inequivalence, an AA'A"BB'B"CC'C"DD'D" spin system.🧪
September 3, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Self-indulgent, but found my old Cochrane's student model kit. Making molecules to which I have a connection. From those PhD days (~1992) I made this rhenium(I) trithiacyclononane tricarbonyl cation (unpublished). Spectacular proton NMR, magnetic inequivalence, an AA'A"BB'B"CC'C"DD'D" spin system.🧪
Bit of a renovation project.
Designed by Prof L.F.Fieser, originally sold by Aldrich, these vintage molecular model kits allow students to understand "... conformational and steric effects as well as geometric relationships". #ChemEd 🧪
Designed by Prof L.F.Fieser, originally sold by Aldrich, these vintage molecular model kits allow students to understand "... conformational and steric effects as well as geometric relationships". #ChemEd 🧪
September 2, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Bit of a renovation project.
Designed by Prof L.F.Fieser, originally sold by Aldrich, these vintage molecular model kits allow students to understand "... conformational and steric effects as well as geometric relationships". #ChemEd 🧪
Designed by Prof L.F.Fieser, originally sold by Aldrich, these vintage molecular model kits allow students to understand "... conformational and steric effects as well as geometric relationships". #ChemEd 🧪
Which is not what I thought it was going to be.
August 26, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Which is not what I thought it was going to be.
Not all of the molecular model sets I've recently acquired are tatty and grubby. I believe this is a Catalin space-filling model with Bakelite atoms. Oh the excitement, it's like Lego from the 1940s, what shall I make? 🧪 #SciComm
August 22, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Not all of the molecular model sets I've recently acquired are tatty and grubby. I believe this is a Catalin space-filling model with Bakelite atoms. Oh the excitement, it's like Lego from the 1940s, what shall I make? 🧪 #SciComm
This is camphor; a rigid and chiral ketone. It finds little use these days, but you may encounter it as a component of the taste of Rosemary.🧪#SciComm
August 21, 2025 at 11:25 PM
This is camphor; a rigid and chiral ketone. It finds little use these days, but you may encounter it as a component of the taste of Rosemary.🧪#SciComm
This is Anethole; the flavour of aniseed. Soluble in ethanol, but not in water, you see this compound as the cloudy precipitate when you pour your Ricard/Sambuca/Ouzo/Raki over ice. 🧪 #SciComm
August 19, 2025 at 10:37 PM
This is Anethole; the flavour of aniseed. Soluble in ethanol, but not in water, you see this compound as the cloudy precipitate when you pour your Ricard/Sambuca/Ouzo/Raki over ice. 🧪 #SciComm
Adjacent to this iconic mountain today; Buachaille Etive Mor. Secretly quite pleased when eldest decided it was too midgy to continue, and we could retire to The Green Welly. #Scotland
August 17, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Adjacent to this iconic mountain today; Buachaille Etive Mor. Secretly quite pleased when eldest decided it was too midgy to continue, and we could retire to The Green Welly. #Scotland
This is Zingerone. A much better name than the legal IUPAC one; 4-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl) butan-2-one!
Cooking ginger chemically transforms the gingerol molecule into sweeter and more flavoursome zingerone.🧪 #SciComm
Cooking ginger chemically transforms the gingerol molecule into sweeter and more flavoursome zingerone.🧪 #SciComm
August 17, 2025 at 9:05 PM
This is Zingerone. A much better name than the legal IUPAC one; 4-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl) butan-2-one!
Cooking ginger chemically transforms the gingerol molecule into sweeter and more flavoursome zingerone.🧪 #SciComm
Cooking ginger chemically transforms the gingerol molecule into sweeter and more flavoursome zingerone.🧪 #SciComm
Another small molecule from the "antique" model set:
(R)-Linalool ( C black, H white, O red) is the molecule responsible for the smell of lavender. #SciComm 🧪
(R)-Linalool ( C black, H white, O red) is the molecule responsible for the smell of lavender. #SciComm 🧪
August 16, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Another small molecule from the "antique" model set:
(R)-Linalool ( C black, H white, O red) is the molecule responsible for the smell of lavender. #SciComm 🧪
(R)-Linalool ( C black, H white, O red) is the molecule responsible for the smell of lavender. #SciComm 🧪
"One man's rubbish is another man's treasure"
Rescued lots of grubby old chemistry model sets from a teaching lab clear out. This one scrubbed up well. Not so good free standing - heavy balls, long springs- but okay with the right support.
(R)-Carvone aka spearmint flavour #SciComm 🧪
Rescued lots of grubby old chemistry model sets from a teaching lab clear out. This one scrubbed up well. Not so good free standing - heavy balls, long springs- but okay with the right support.
(R)-Carvone aka spearmint flavour #SciComm 🧪
August 15, 2025 at 10:27 PM
"One man's rubbish is another man's treasure"
Rescued lots of grubby old chemistry model sets from a teaching lab clear out. This one scrubbed up well. Not so good free standing - heavy balls, long springs- but okay with the right support.
(R)-Carvone aka spearmint flavour #SciComm 🧪
Rescued lots of grubby old chemistry model sets from a teaching lab clear out. This one scrubbed up well. Not so good free standing - heavy balls, long springs- but okay with the right support.
(R)-Carvone aka spearmint flavour #SciComm 🧪
Tiny treasure revealed by the low tide at Cove today. Uranium glass #Everydayelements 🧪
Popular and fashionable between 1880-1920, which coincides with the post industrial movement of wealthy Glaswegian merchants out of the city to large country houses in this corner of the Firth of Clyde.
Popular and fashionable between 1880-1920, which coincides with the post industrial movement of wealthy Glaswegian merchants out of the city to large country houses in this corner of the Firth of Clyde.
August 3, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Tiny treasure revealed by the low tide at Cove today. Uranium glass #Everydayelements 🧪
Popular and fashionable between 1880-1920, which coincides with the post industrial movement of wealthy Glaswegian merchants out of the city to large country houses in this corner of the Firth of Clyde.
Popular and fashionable between 1880-1920, which coincides with the post industrial movement of wealthy Glaswegian merchants out of the city to large country houses in this corner of the Firth of Clyde.
This vertex and edge truncated (maybe bevelled) tetrahedron seems to be a great shape to build carbon based molecular models. I need to grow it into the diamond structure.🧪
July 31, 2025 at 11:59 PM
This vertex and edge truncated (maybe bevelled) tetrahedron seems to be a great shape to build carbon based molecular models. I need to grow it into the diamond structure.🧪
Seem to be doing an impromptu tour of the erratics of Loch Long today. #notthebedrock #Scotland
July 31, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Seem to be doing an impromptu tour of the erratics of Loch Long today. #notthebedrock #Scotland
My surprising fact for today. Needed the centroid to vertex distance for this cuboctahedron. Thought I'd got the sum wrong; it is the same as the edge length!
Apparently the only polyhedron where this is true!🧪
Apparently the only polyhedron where this is true!🧪
July 30, 2025 at 8:23 PM
My surprising fact for today. Needed the centroid to vertex distance for this cuboctahedron. Thought I'd got the sum wrong; it is the same as the edge length!
Apparently the only polyhedron where this is true!🧪
Apparently the only polyhedron where this is true!🧪
I like this pair: Dodecahedron disguised as a cube and cube disguised as a dodecahedron. Helping to show the related symmetries #SciComm 🧪
July 24, 2025 at 7:34 AM
I like this pair: Dodecahedron disguised as a cube and cube disguised as a dodecahedron. Helping to show the related symmetries #SciComm 🧪
Been trying to make some Platonic solids (reinventing the wheel), because every budding scientist should have a set of these. Nearly there. Each of these has the same sized circumsphere, diameter 8 cm, which means the net of each one fits nicely on A4. #SciComm 🧪
July 16, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Been trying to make some Platonic solids (reinventing the wheel), because every budding scientist should have a set of these. Nearly there. Each of these has the same sized circumsphere, diameter 8 cm, which means the net of each one fits nicely on A4. #SciComm 🧪
One offspring belaying the other. I'm claiming that parental success. And much gratitude to the wonderful Barnaby Ling, my former science teacher and outdoor enthusiast.
July 9, 2025 at 10:47 PM
One offspring belaying the other. I'm claiming that parental success. And much gratitude to the wonderful Barnaby Ling, my former science teacher and outdoor enthusiast.