Friday, March 20, 2020

Top Summer Destinations for Students Approved by Travel Bloggers

Top Summer Destinations for Students Approved by Travel Bloggers â€Å"Travel more† is one of the most popular NY resolutions. However, setting a New Year resolution is only half the work. If you want to walk the talk, you should start doing first steps right away, such as choosing an incredible destination for your holiday. Below, you’ll find the list of eleven summer destinations affordable for a student’s budget. All the places were approved by travel bloggers as wonderful destinations for holidays. All of them are in different countries. If you are looking for something near you, check out our blog post on Best (and Cheapest) Summer Destinations that we previously published. Dubrovnik, Croatia If you want to visit a beautiful place steeped in history, visiting Dubrovnik is a must. While exploring Dubrovniks UNESCO-listed Old Town, you’ll see the locations used in series ‘Games of Thrones.’ The landscapes of Dubrovnik are really impressive and even fit backpacking. Even though harassing heat in summer is very likely, you still can enjoy this place if plan your visiting thoroughly. Advice from Kate McCulley from Adventurous Kate: Albufeira, Portugal Albufeira is known as a resort with an active nightlife. There are many bars, nightclubs, fast-food-joints. However, it’s also a place with nice golden sand beaches bordered by tall cliffs and small cozy seafood restaurant where you can eat and chat. The historic centre is also worth taking a look for its white buildings and beautiful pavement. If you like water sports, you’ll be interested in swimming on kayak or canoe in caves – quite scaring but exciting, right? Advice from Sonja Bolger from Migrating Miss: Migrating Miss on Facebook Migrating Miss on Twitter Migrating Miss on Instagram Karpathos, Greece Mountains, warm waters of Aegean Sea and colorful houses – this is what you will see on this island. Here, you’ll find peace and joy, fascinating natural views and nice villages. There are plenty of beaches on Karpathos where you can just relax or try windsurfing, kitesurfing or scuba diving. If you like different cultural festivals, you should plan a trip to Karpathos in summer as the biggest cultural festival, Tsambouna, takes place. Opinion of Don Stevens From MyGreeceTravelBlog: Agrigento, Italy This city will seem attractive for you for its prices, beautiful sights, ancients ruins, fresh air and delicious seafood! You can explore plenty of diverse ruins here, take a car to get to a picturesque village of Sciacca which lies on the Mediterranean and just chill from your everyday routine! Advice from Jonathan Lessuck From Travels in the 2nd half: Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh is the city that will immerse you into the atmosphere of the Medieval times. Take a tour of historic castles and palaces, mosey along the Old Town, visit galleries to see traditional and contemporary artworks and museums to see unique ancient and modern artifacts. For nature-lovers, there’s also one special place to visit – extinct volcano. Insight from Lucy Dodsworth from On the Luce : Mo’orea One of the most beautiful of French Polynesian islands. Its not as popular as Thaiti, but you can still take an advantage of it. You can spend your holidays much cheaper on Mo’orea, admire charming nature and get rest from noisy cities. The prices for accommodations start from $40. If you want to save even more money, buy food in grocery stores instead of eating in restaurants. The difference in prices is significant. Advice from The Smith Family from Our Family Passport: Oaxaca, Mexico Here, in Oaxaca, you have many things to do, including tasting local food, such as fried grasshoppers; visiting a UNESCO World Heritage Site of Monte Albn and the Museum of Oaxacan Cultures; enjoying fascinating architecture of the city. Also, you’d like watching the performances of dancers and signers on the main square, the Zolaco. Advice from HeatherJohn Widmer from Roaming Around the World: Phuket, Thailand Phuket is one more splendid (and cheap!) summer destination for those who adore having rest on the beach. Add to your to-do-list these items: visit Big Buddha; stroll down Bangla Road to experience city’s nightlife; relax on the beach; see Phuket FantaSea Show; visit beautiful Phuket temples. For animal-lovers, there’s one more specific item to visit – Phuket Elephant Sanctuary. It is organized in way that animals are not bothered by visitors. Opinion of Elin Chow: Tbilisi, Georgia The country of tasty cuisine, hospitable people, picturesque architecture and beautiful mountains. Tbilisi is a diverse town in which you can find modern cafes, restaurant, parks and galleries but also you can observe old narrow streets, balconied houses, small churches, 17-centuries-old Narikala Fortress and feel the community atmosphere. Opinion of Shannon O’Donnell from A Little Adrift: Bali, Indonesia Cheap prices, white sand beaches, friendly locals, exotic food – that is all about Bali. Here, you can go hiking or do some water sports, such as scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming with dolphins and other water inhabitants. Also, you should try unusual cuisine, swim in the ocean or dip into hot springs and get rest from the web. For some people bad internet connection is the worst thing in the world and for others it’s an opportunity to relax from all those informational noise. Bali Advice from Salt in our Hair: Bolivia Bolivia is full of adventures! Have you ever dreamt of paragliding, or extremal fishing, or riding? Bolivia is perfect for that. Try paragliding above incredible La Paz valleys, pull enormous fishes out of the Amazon river or climb the highest Andean peaks. Extreme-lovers would adore this place! If you are not that kind of person, you still have many things to do here, such as observing unique animal species, trying llama tenderloin, and investigating rich culture of the locals. Advice from Flora Baker from Flora the Explorer:

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Uranium Element Facts and Properties

Uranium Element Facts and Properties Uranium is an element well-known for its radioactivity. Here are a collection of facts about the chemical and physical properties of this metal. Uranium  Basic Facts Atomic Number: 92 Uranium Atomic Symbol: U Atomic Weight: 238.0289 Electron Configuration: [Rn]7s25f36d1 Word Origin: Named after the planet Uranus Isotopes Uranium has sixteen isotopes. All of the isotopes are radioactive. Naturally-occurring uranium contains approximately 99.28305 by weight U-238, 0.7110% U-235, and 0.0054% U-234. The percentage weight of U-235 in natural uranium depends on its source and may vary by as much as 0.1%. Uranium Properties Uranium generally has a valence of 6 or 4. Uranium is a heavy, lustrous, silvery-white metal, capable of taking a high polish. It exhibits three crystallographic modifications: alpha, beta, and gamma. It is a bit softer than steel; not hard enough to scratch glass. It is malleable, ductile, and slightly paramagnetic. When exposed to air, uranium metal becomes coated with a layer of oxide. Acids will dissolve the metal, but it is not affected by alkalis. Finely divided uranium metal is attached by cold water and is pyrophoric. Crystals of uranium nitrate are triboluminescent. Uranium and its (uranyl) compounds are highly toxic, both chemically and radiologically. Uranium Uses Uranium is of great importance as a nuclear fuel. Nuclear fuels are used to generate electrical power, to make isotopes, and to make weapons. Much of the internal heat of the earth is thought to be due to the presence of uranium and thorium. Uranium-238, with a half-life of 4.51 x 109 years, is used to estimate the age of igneous rocks. Uranium may be used to harden and strengthen steel. Uranium is used in inertial guidance devices, in gyro compasses, as counterweights for aircraft control surfaces, as ballast for missile reentry vehicles, for shielding, and for x-ray targets. The nitrate may be used as a photographic toner. The acetate is used in analytical chemistry. The natural presence of uranium in soils may be indicative of the presence of radon and its daughters. Uranium salts have been used for producing yellow vaseline glass and ceramic glazes. Sources Uranium occurs in minerals including pitchblende, carnotite, cleveite, autunite, uraninite, uranophane, and torbernite. It is also found in phosphate rock, lignite, and monazite sands. Radium is always associated with uranium ores. Uranium can be prepared by reducing uranium halides with alkali or alkaline earth metals or by reducing uranium oxides by calcium, carbon, or aluminum at elevated temperatures. The metal can be produced through electrolysis of KUF5 or UF4, dissolved in a molten mixture of CaCl2 and NaCl. High-purity uranium can be prepared by the thermal decomposition of uranium halides on a hot filament. Element Classification: Radioactive Rare Earth Element (Actinide Series) Discovery: Martin Klaproth 1789 (Germany), Peligot 1841 Uranium Physical Data Density (g/cc): 19.05 Melting Point ( °K): 1405.5 Boiling Point ( °K): 4018 Appearance: Silvery-white, dense, ductile and malleable, radioactive metal Atomic Radius (pm): 138 Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 12.5 Covalent Radius (pm): 142 Ionic Radius: 80 (6e) 97 (4e) Specific Heat (20 °C J/g mol): 0.115 Fusion Heat (kJ/mol): 12.6 Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): 417 Pauling Negativity Number: 1.38 First Ionizing Energy (kJ/mol): 686.4 Oxidation States: 6, 5, 4, 3 Lattice Structure: Orthorhombic Lattice Constant (Ã…): 2.850 Magnetic Ordering: paramagnetic Electrical Resistivity (0 °C): 0.280  µÃŽ ©Ã‚ ·m Thermal Conductivity (300 K): 27.5 W ·m−1 ·K−1 Thermal Expansion (25 °C): 13.9  µm ·m−1 ·K−1 Speed of Sound (thin rod) (20 °C): 3155 m/s Youngs Modulus: 208 GPa Shear Modulus: 111 GPa Bulk Modulus: 100 GPa Poisson Ratio: 0.23 CAS Registry Number: 7440-61-1