Buttercups Glow at Night

Biology, Plants
Believe it or not, buttercups glow at night. Before bed, I take our rather large dog for her nighttime walk so there will be no “accidents.” I am old and weigh 300 lbs., so I take the direct route, along the driveway. There are margins of grass and weeds on either side. In late summer, for about the past several years, I have seen these tiny lights glow, then fade, glow then fade. When I first spotted them, I hustled back to get a flashlight so I could see what the little accordion-like creatures. Turns out they were glowworms. Sing with Me Now Of course the song Glow Little Glow Worm by the Mills Brothers came immediately to mind. But imagine my surprise when, one night in mid-spring I saw a…
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The Iron Sandwich Compound Ferrocene

Chemistry
[caption id="attachment_6151" align="alignright" width="440"] Ferrocene - an Iron Sandwich Compound[/caption] Who doesn't love a ham and cheese sandwich? Or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Well, there are special chemical substances that resemble sandwiches. There is, for example, the sandwich compound ferrocene, (C₅H₅)₂Fe. It consists of an atom of iron "sandwiched" between two cyclopentadiene molecules. Sandwich Compound The classification of such metallic organic compounds is metallocene. D-orbital electrons in the iron atom add to the pi-electrons of two cyclopentadiene molecules. This stabilizes the structure, since the cyclopentadienyl anion (-1 charge) has aromatic properties. The iron atom adopts, in effect, a ferrous (+2) electrical charge. Other Metallocenes In general, metallocenes have mostly been of laboratory interest. Some do exhibit a marked level of importance. One application is in catalysis. Other metallocenes…
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