Transcendent Human Endeavors: Art And Chemistry
What Can You Create?
Throughout all of history people have been expressing themselves through art. Different ways of painting have been around since prehistory, starting with people grinding up natural materials and painting on cave walls. Recent discoveries in Spain show that people have been painting for the past 42,000 years. That has evolved to people having different types of paint such as acrylic, oil, and watercolor. Since 4,000 BC, watercolor has been used as a decorative medium in homes.
Oil painting goes back hundreds of years and is one of the first types of paint. We have evidence that oil painting dates back to the 7th century where artists extracted oil from nuts or poppies in Afghanistan. Then, in the 1950’s acrylic paint was invented when chemists mixed synthetic resin to bind pigments together. It began to be popularized throughout the 60’s and 70’s. This was strongly due to the fact that it is fairly cheap to make and user friendly. Acrylic paints dry relatively fast once applied and can stick to a variety of different surfaces, both of these things are due to its chemical properties.
Steps of making acrylic paint:
Acrylic paint is made by having a powdered pigment mixed with a binder and a solvent.
There are three main components involved when making acrylic paint, a pigment, binder, and solvent. A pigment is the coloring paste or powder that is either made for a natural or synthetic material that we use to make paint certain colors. A binder is an acrylic polymer where pigment particles are suspended. The binder is also known as the vehicle. A vehicle is very similar to a binder, a liquid that holds particles of pigment together without dissolving them and acts as a binder which adheres the pigments to the painted surface. Finally a solvent is a petroleum-based chemical which dissolves the pigment and binding agent for application. Which causes the water to dry out and leaving paint behind. These all work together to make acrylic paint for us to use, an emulsion. In our case the vehicle water and the binder is the acrylic polymer, the pigment is what ever is the color
Small plastic particles spread in water through a polymerization process (particles link up to form chains). Which is a chemical reaction that is catalyzed by adding your chemical initiator, forming an acrylic polymer emulsion, then pigment is added to it. With the pigment, binder, and solvent in an emulsion, this is a special mixture. Meaning there are tiny droplets in insoluble complement dispersed in liquid. Both the pigment and plastic polymers are insoluble in water. Acrylic is so popular and versatile because of how quickly the water evaporates leaving color behind.
A polymerization reaction that is a synthetic reaction, is what occurs when making acrylic paint. The materials go through a process of synthesis reactions where two or more reactants are combined to form a larger molecule product. This is one type of a red-ox reaction, red-ox reactions over all occur when transferring one or more electrons between the products. Oxidation is where the molecules are losing electrons, while reduction is where a molecule is gaining electrons. This reaction requires energy in the form of light, heat, or catalyst in order to happen.
Oil painting goes back hundreds of years and is one of the first types of paint. We have evidence that oil painting dates back to the 7th century where artists extracted oil from nuts or poppies in Afghanistan. Then, in the 1950’s acrylic paint was invented when chemists mixed synthetic resin to bind pigments together. It began to be popularized throughout the 60’s and 70’s. This was strongly due to the fact that it is fairly cheap to make and user friendly. Acrylic paints dry relatively fast once applied and can stick to a variety of different surfaces, both of these things are due to its chemical properties.
Steps of making acrylic paint:
Acrylic paint is made by having a powdered pigment mixed with a binder and a solvent.
- Add water or a clear alcohol, such as vodka, to a pile of pure ground pigment.
- Mix with spatula.
- Once the pigments are completely dispersed, add the binder - in this case a matte acrylic gel medium.
- Mix with spatula.
- The result is an acrylic paint that is similar to manufactured acrylic paint.
- Using a paintbrush, the acrylic paint is applied to a white canvas.
There are three main components involved when making acrylic paint, a pigment, binder, and solvent. A pigment is the coloring paste or powder that is either made for a natural or synthetic material that we use to make paint certain colors. A binder is an acrylic polymer where pigment particles are suspended. The binder is also known as the vehicle. A vehicle is very similar to a binder, a liquid that holds particles of pigment together without dissolving them and acts as a binder which adheres the pigments to the painted surface. Finally a solvent is a petroleum-based chemical which dissolves the pigment and binding agent for application. Which causes the water to dry out and leaving paint behind. These all work together to make acrylic paint for us to use, an emulsion. In our case the vehicle water and the binder is the acrylic polymer, the pigment is what ever is the color
Small plastic particles spread in water through a polymerization process (particles link up to form chains). Which is a chemical reaction that is catalyzed by adding your chemical initiator, forming an acrylic polymer emulsion, then pigment is added to it. With the pigment, binder, and solvent in an emulsion, this is a special mixture. Meaning there are tiny droplets in insoluble complement dispersed in liquid. Both the pigment and plastic polymers are insoluble in water. Acrylic is so popular and versatile because of how quickly the water evaporates leaving color behind.
A polymerization reaction that is a synthetic reaction, is what occurs when making acrylic paint. The materials go through a process of synthesis reactions where two or more reactants are combined to form a larger molecule product. This is one type of a red-ox reaction, red-ox reactions over all occur when transferring one or more electrons between the products. Oxidation is where the molecules are losing electrons, while reduction is where a molecule is gaining electrons. This reaction requires energy in the form of light, heat, or catalyst in order to happen.
This is an acrylic paint monomer, when a catalyst is added they react with one another to create a very long reprealter chain called a polymer. This specific reaction is a red-ox reaction or a synthesis reaction, where smaller, less complex molecules react with one another to make a larger and more complex molecule.
Above is acrylic monomer molecule-basic structure consisting of single and double covalent bonds, strong bonds.
For this project I loved the idea of being able to connect both art and chemistry. I knew I wanted to paint for my art piece because that is one of my favorite, easy to use mediums. Although I struggled with deciding what to create and I wanted to find a way to involve my audience at all school exhibitions. So I decided to have different materials that the community can choose from and everyone can have a few minutes with a given prompt. With a central theme or guiding question I think the people can make something beautiful that is fun and interactive. I thought it would be really interesting to get the community involved and see their perspective on how art and chemistry interact. This led me to decide to get the audience involved and have them paint a collaborative piece on this.
Putting everything together was a fairly simple process, there were only a few main steps. First brainstorming and deciding what I wanted to ask my audience and have something for them to create. I decided on asking my participants what their interpretation of art is. To see what inspires them and how they would create something given a certain medium. Next I gathered all of the necessary materials: a canvas, acrylic paint, a table, brushes, pallets, and water cups. Then I set all of my materials up at the exhibition and prepared to interact with my participants.
Putting everything together was a fairly simple process, there were only a few main steps. First brainstorming and deciding what I wanted to ask my audience and have something for them to create. I decided on asking my participants what their interpretation of art is. To see what inspires them and how they would create something given a certain medium. Next I gathered all of the necessary materials: a canvas, acrylic paint, a table, brushes, pallets, and water cups. Then I set all of my materials up at the exhibition and prepared to interact with my participants.
Chemistry Of Food and Cooking Chai Recipe Card
The Chemistry Of Cooking Project Reflection
- How successful was your experiment in helping you understand your food and/or improve its characteristics? What would be next steps if you were to continue research on this topic?
- How did your cooking process transform your food macroscopically and affect the food’s overall characteristics?
- In what way(s) are cooking and doing science similar and in what way(s) are they different? How are a cook and a scientist investigating food similar or different?