User:Milton Beychok/Sandbox: Difference between revisions

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== Terminology ==


The following definitions describe the technical terms that have a special meaning to the study or discussion of acid rain:
I have just learned that I was elected to both the Management Council and the Editorial Council. I am deeply honored by that ... deeply.


'''''Acid rain:''''' A  broad term that includes both wet and dry deposition of material from the atmosphere which contain higher than normal amounts of acids (predominantly sulfuric acid and nitric acid)..
I joined CZ in January of 2008, almost 3 years ago. Since I joined, I have created 169 articles and contributed significantly to 34 others. Citizendium currently has 149 approved articles, of which 28 are articles that I created. In other words, I created 19% of  Citizendium's Approved articles ... and I am deeply honored to have had that many of the articles I created achieve that level of Approval from my fellow Editors.


'''''Wet deposition:''''' A term that refers to acidic rain, snow, fog, or mist that falls onto the ground from the atmosphere.
Citizendium was based on the concept that it would value expertise and many, if not most, of us who joined Citizendium did so because that concept of valuing expertise differentiated us from Wikipedia and other Wikis.


'''''Dry deposition:''''' A term that refers to the acids that may become incorporated into the dust and other particulates in the atmosphere and fall onto the ground, buildings, homes, cars, and trees. Dry deposition is washed from these surfaces by rainstorms, causing an increase in the acidity of the runoff water.
I am completely dumbfounded and disappointed by one result of the election. How could people who profess to value expertise have elected someone to our Management Council who is, to say the least, far from being an expert?? How did that happen?? What does it say about the level of belief in expertise by my fellow members of Citizendium?


'''''Precipitation:''''' A term that refers to either or both wet and dry deposition.
As of today, I am taking a lengthy leave of absence from Citizendium and I don't know when or if I shall return to being active.  


'''''Acids:'''''  A term that refers to the acids found in acid rain. The atmosphere contains acid precursors (chemical forerunners) such as gaseous sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that originate from natural sources as well as man-made (anthropogenic) sources. Those gases react with water and oxygen in the atmosphere to form mild (low concentration) solutions of sulfuric and nitric acids.  
I would like to say thanks for having worked with me to Paul Wormer, Hayford Pierce, Howard Berkowitz, Daniel Mietchen, Anthony Sebastian, Chris Key, Daniel Finn, Peter Schmitt, Joe Quick, Chris Day, Drew Smith, Caesar Chinas, Stephen Ewen, Matt Innis and many, many others.


'''''Acidity:''''' The acidity of acid rain is measured using a scale called "[[pH]]". The lower is the pH of a substance, the higher is its acidity (i.e., the more acidic it is). The pH scale ranges from 0 (strongly acidic) to 14 (strongly alkaline or basic). Pure water has a pH of 7.0 which  is considered to be "neutral", meaning that it is neither acidic or basic. However, normal rainfall is slightly acidic because [[carbon dioxide]] (CO<sub>2</sub>) in the atmosphere dissolves in the rain to form [[carbonic acid]] (H<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>) which is weakly acidic and results in the rainfall having a pH of about 5.6.
Milt Beychok

Revision as of 23:52, 21 October 2010

I have just learned that I was elected to both the Management Council and the Editorial Council. I am deeply honored by that ... deeply.

I joined CZ in January of 2008, almost 3 years ago. Since I joined, I have created 169 articles and contributed significantly to 34 others. Citizendium currently has 149 approved articles, of which 28 are articles that I created. In other words, I created 19% of Citizendium's Approved articles ... and I am deeply honored to have had that many of the articles I created achieve that level of Approval from my fellow Editors.

Citizendium was based on the concept that it would value expertise and many, if not most, of us who joined Citizendium did so because that concept of valuing expertise differentiated us from Wikipedia and other Wikis.

I am completely dumbfounded and disappointed by one result of the election. How could people who profess to value expertise have elected someone to our Management Council who is, to say the least, far from being an expert?? How did that happen?? What does it say about the level of belief in expertise by my fellow members of Citizendium?

As of today, I am taking a lengthy leave of absence from Citizendium and I don't know when or if I shall return to being active.

I would like to say thanks for having worked with me to Paul Wormer, Hayford Pierce, Howard Berkowitz, Daniel Mietchen, Anthony Sebastian, Chris Key, Daniel Finn, Peter Schmitt, Joe Quick, Chris Day, Drew Smith, Caesar Chinas, Stephen Ewen, Matt Innis and many, many others.

Milt Beychok

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