Newswise — With calls to "Bring it on!" coming from all political corners, the main event of the 2004 election is shaping up to be a scorcher. And if fashion trends continue, the various campaigns will enlist our bodies as well as our bumpers in this heated race. However, the accessorizing options that are available to the proselytizing voter can be creatively extended beyond buttons, ball caps and tote bags. Might I suggest smart-looking element lapel pins from the American Chemical Society?
A sort of political peace offering from my wife, her financial planning colleague occasionally can be seen proudly sporting a tungsten pin on a Brooks Brothers lapel. W is the atomic symbol for the heavy metal tungsten. Why W? It wasn't that T was taken, rather W is short for wolfram (its original name in Germany), which was derived from "foam from the wolf" in German. This menacing name alludes to the "tin-devouring" foam formed by a tungsten-containing mineral during the process of tin smelting.
The square pin is rather dapper, about half an inch in size. It is made of brass, with a big red ocher W and small gold numbering, all on a white enamel background. Still, my wife's colleague wanted to make sure that he wouldn't inadvertently be sending the wrong message. "Is tungsten a tough element?" he asked. I assured him that it is the strongest of the refractory metals under high-temperature conditions, not melting until 3410 oC. This, and the fact that it conducts electricity, makes it ideal for use in light bulb filaments. Even so, when the tungsten filament fails, the entire bulb must be replaced.
It is amusing to note the stark contrast with gallium, which has the peachy atomic symbol Ga. Discovered by a French chemist, gallium was named in honor of France, or Gallia in Latin. Gallium is also a metal. Curiously, while it is a solid at room temperature, it will melt in your hand if you pick it up.
Meanwhile, on the other side, my wife and her bosom buddies fashionably flaunt their potassium pins wherever they might attract attention. K is the atomic symbol for the alkali metal potassium, one down from sodium on the periodic table. K is short for kalium, the Latin word for potash. This mellow name refers to the ancient process of preparing potassium salts, used for fertilizer, by boiling wood ashes in a pot.
Although the elemental form of potassium reacts vigorously with water, it is an essential mineral in its ionic form, as found in saline solutions. While there is a minimum level of potassium ion concentration needed for proper "electrolyte balance", a concentrated solution of potassium chloride is used to cause cardiac arrest in execution by lethal injection. Moderation with potassium, K, is therefore key to good health and stability.
While Al Gore is highly unlikely to wear one, nitrogen lapel pins might interest some Reform-minded voters. N is the atomic symbol for nitrogen, whose obsolete name azote means "without life". The original name was suggested by Antoine Lavoisier, the great French chemist who shares the credit for discovering oxygen. He found that when oxygen is removed from air, the remaining gas (mostly nitrogen) could not support life. Unfortunately for him, and for the science of chemistry, the first revolutionary government of France sent him, and all the other "Farmers-General", to the guillotine, allegedly for putting water in the tobacco they sold. Iodine lapel pins are also available for the less partisan among the electorate. I is the atomic symbol for iodine, two down from chlorine on the periodic table. Both are halogens, as in halogen headlights. In this case there is no confusion over the meaning of the symbol: I is short for iodine. However, I is also short for Independent: American for "don't take my vote for granted."
Anxious about a particular referendum? Consider the possibilities of the nobelium element pin, atomic symbol No. Or how about tandem element pins, such as yttrium and einsteinium, with the atomic symbols Y and Es, respectively.
Each pin has the same format, straight off the periodic table, but the color schemes reflect the chemical properties of the element. For instance, the background color of carbon's is black while cobalt's is blue.
Readers who want a slightly more dignified way of initiating political discourse can get these pins, and others, by browsing at the American Chemical Society's Online Store at store.acs.org . Besides, how many times have you seen a Lexus with a bumper sticker?
Preston MacDougall, Public Relations Chair for the Nashville Section of the American Chemical Society, is a chemistry professor at Middle Tennessee State University.
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