Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Welcome to the wiki discussion forum

Welcome to the wiki discussion forum

Polverone - 29-1-2016 at 16:49

Some months ago I set up a wiki for Sciencemadness members to replace the ad-laden Wikia one. It has now reached a sufficiently mature state that I am ready to announce it to a wider audience:

http://www.sciencemadness.org/smwiki/index.php/Main_Page

It is build on MediaWiki, just like Wikipedia. It doesn't have all of the bells and whistles that the main Wikipedia site does -- they run a lot of extensions -- but it should be mostly familiar to those who have used wikis before.

The biggest limitations are that you must be a forum member in good standing to get edit access to the wiki, and you must send me or zts16 a message requesting an account. Your wiki account will be named after your forum account but there is no automatic integration; passwords are separate and unsynchronized.

I have only done the technical setup for the forum. If you look at its edit history, you will see other members have contributed much more in the way of content.

I believe that this should become the long-term repository for writeups derived from Prepublication threads, tutorials, information compendia, etc.

[Edited on 2-1-2016 by Polverone]

Velzee - 29-1-2016 at 16:54

Yay! I've already had the wiki bookmarked a while back. It's really helpful, though many photos and some linked compounds are missing.

Thank you for all of your work; you and all of those who worked on the wiki!

diddi - 29-1-2016 at 16:54

thanks for the thread polverone. we might generate some more interest.

Texium - 29-1-2016 at 17:34

Quote: Originally posted by Velzee

Yay! I've already had the wiki bookmarked a while back. It's really helpful, though many photos and some linked compounds are missing.

Thank you for all of your work; you and all of those who worked on the wiki!

Yeah, many of the pictures still need to be transferred from the old wiki. Amos has downloaded them all and is intending to do most of that, but he's been busy lately.
I'm happy to see that there is now a dedicated subforum here, thank you Polverone.

j_sum1 - 29-1-2016 at 17:35

About time I did some more editing and contributions. It's been off my mind for a while. Thanks for the reminder.

blogfast25 - 29-1-2016 at 17:43

At the risk of sounding like a demented parrot, my main issue remains accessibility/promotion of the Wiki. Right now, when I want to access it I look for a zts16 post, for his signature.

Once that problem is resolved, I'll join, if I'm accepted of course...

j_sum1 - 29-1-2016 at 17:47

You have a point bloggers. But you could always make yourself a bookmark.

Personally, I would like to see a link at the top of every SM page, but I can't really use that as an excuse for not getting involved.

Texium - 29-1-2016 at 17:54

I agree that a link in the top navigation bar would be very convenient to have, though I'd understand if it would be difficult for Polverone to implement, as it may require changing parts of the forum software itself to fit it into the template. For now I suppose you can keep using the link in my signature... I certainly have plenty of posts, they're pretty easy to find.

@blogfast: I'm going to make a wiki account for you now, and whether you use it or not is up to you.

blogfast25 - 29-1-2016 at 18:14

Thanks, zts16.

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1

You have a point bloggers. But you could always make yourself a bookmark.

You miss my point. It's not about ME: it's about ALL SMers being able to find the Wiki very easily, that will increase both its usage and possible new contributors.

I've in the past suggested creating a 'subfolder':

Fundamentals > ScienceMadness Wiki

... just below 'Organic Chemistry'.

j_sum1 - 29-1-2016 at 19:29

I think you misunderstood me. I fully concur that a better link and better promotion is in order.

But in the meantime, there are probably more convenient options than tracking down zts's sig.

blogfast25 - 29-1-2016 at 19:38

@j_sum1:

Whatever. For this initiative to survive and thrive, relentless self-promotion is needed, at least for some time. To gain critical mass, so to speak.

In outer space, no one can hear you scream.

<hr>

I see that such a subfolder has now been, created, so mea culpa for sounding like an ungrateful brat.

I think this is definitely progress.

[Edited on 30-1-2016 by blogfast25]

Texium - 29-1-2016 at 20:10

Oh, yeah, I didn't catch that you hadn't realized that since this was the first thread started in said subforum!

Amos - 29-1-2016 at 20:29

Just my personal preference, but I assure you it would make me much more likely to resume work on the wiki at a heavy pace: Please consider using the editing engine that Wikia uses; it's much easier to do quick, painless work on articles with it. Especially with regards to adding images.

woelen - 30-1-2016 at 03:08

Good initiative. I'll join and I hope to contribute as well (pictures, articles, corrections etc.).
@Polverone: Can you give me an account so that I can login?

Texium - 30-1-2016 at 06:43

Quote: Originally posted by woelen

Good initiative. I'll join and I hope to contribute as well (pictures, articles, corrections etc.).
@Polverone: Can you give me an account so that I can login?

I took care of it for you, as I can also create accounts.

Mabus - 30-1-2016 at 06:59

Yay, this is a good idea. Thanks a lot Polverone!

blogfast25 - 30-1-2016 at 07:52

First page created. Still only a bit of a stub so far and will complete in the next days but that was relatively pain-free:

http://www.sciencemadness.org/smwiki/index.php/Potassium_hex...

crystal grower - 31-1-2016 at 02:33

Hello,
Has anyone the ability to delete pages?
These seems to be mistakes and should be deleted.
http://www.sciencemadness.org/smwiki/index.php/Antimony.jpg
http://www.sciencemadness.org/smwiki/index.php/Sodiumperchlo...

Texium - 31-1-2016 at 07:36

Alright, I deleted both of them

crystal grower - 1-2-2016 at 08:24

http://www.sciencemadness.org/smwiki/index.php/DeuteriumNote...
There is missing space between the Deuterium_and_Notes.
Is there a way to correct the title ?

crystal grower - 2-2-2016 at 00:01

Thanks for solving this problem

.

I have another question.
Could I make a category where will be listed all editors of the smwiki?

Texium - 3-2-2016 at 20:18

Already a built-in page for that: http://www.sciencemadness.org/smwiki/index.php/Special:ListU...

crystal grower - 3-2-2016 at 22:56

Ok.

PHILOU Zrealone - 4-2-2016 at 15:22

Quote: Originally posted by Polverone

Some months ago I set up a wiki for Sciencemadness members to replace the ad-laden Wikia one. It has now reached a sufficiently mature state that I am ready to announce it to a wider audience:

http://www.sciencemadness.org/smwiki/index.php/Main_Page

Just want to point out a mistake into the acetic acid page in that link
Quoted from there:
"Chemical
Acetic acid undergoes the typical chemical reactions of a carboxylic acid. Upon treatment with a standard base, it converts to metal acetate and water:
CH3COOH + MOH → CH3COOM + H2"

Water is H2O not H2

Texium - 4-2-2016 at 15:55

Thanks for pointing that out, I fixed it along with another error in the section.

Texium - 8-2-2016 at 17:00

There is now also a link to the wiki on the main page of the site: http://www.sciencemadness.org/

Thanks Polverone!

blogfast25 - 8-2-2016 at 17:10

Yep, that's positive.

IrC - 10-2-2016 at 14:53

http://www.sciencemadness.org/smwiki/index.php/Thulium

I notice on this page the image does not appear to be there. I remember someone asking if they could use one of my pics for the wiki and I agreed. It is on this page near the bottom:

http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=31107&...

Maybe someone can restore the image, top right image in the post is Th3.jpg, the one chosen by the author of the Thulium page.

Texium - 11-2-2016 at 14:01

Alright, I reuploaded it. There are currently a lot of missing pictures, but we're working on restoring all of them.

Mabus - 12-2-2016 at 13:12

On the old wiki, the second image from the Sulfur dichloride article is labeled "S2Cl2", which is Disulfur dichloride, a different compound. Can anyone please tell me if the compound from that image is really S2Cl2 or SCl2 but mislabeled?

Texium - 12-2-2016 at 13:50

Ah, that was tdep's picture. I'll ask him on Skype.

Tdep - 12-2-2016 at 14:39

Ah I'm bad at keeping up with skype, the iPad app is kinda shitty and buggy.
Yeah it seems misslabelled. While my SCl2 did turn into S2Cl2, it that context I am dedinitely talking about SCl2 so its an incorrect filename sorry

Mabus - 13-2-2016 at 09:02

OK then, I'll rename it SCl2 when I'll upload it on wiki.

Mabus - 20-2-2016 at 07:31

It has come to my attention that certain users are using upper case for all the first letters from the page title words, not just for the first one as it should be. Here's the problem:
1. It's grammatically incorrect
2. The wiki differentiates between an upper case and a lower case, which means that a page titled "Sodium Chlorate" will not link to "[[Sodium chlorate]]", when I write it with a lower case in a text. Also, it does not show up during search for the same reason. And due to this confusion I nearly created a page for sodium perchlorate with the former name, while said compound was already there under the latter name (with no categories, making it difficult to find), I consider this a serious matter and people should only write page titles as dictated by English grammar.
I have corrected all the wrong titles so far (and added summaries why), under the presumption that people will learn or remember it's grammatically incorrect. But I was wrong. As such, I feel that measures should be taken to prevent this from happening again.

And speaking of grammar, I know English is not everyone's first language (it isn't mine), but please, always check your grammar and especially punctuation.

blogfast25 - 20-2-2016 at 08:43

Quote: Originally posted by Mabus

It has come to my attention that certain users are using upper case for all the first letters from the page title words, not just for the first one as it should be.

I created one such page with all CAPS in the title, completely inadvertently. I wasn't worried about it because I was under the impression that I would be able to change the file name (e.g. BLAHBLAH.html) later on.

Alas, that doesn't seem possible which is quite unusual for a self-publishing tool (all blogging software that I know of allows changing post titles w/o problems).

It seems here the only possibility is to cut and paste the faulty page's content into Notepad, delete the page and recreate it with the correct title. Cumbersome...

<hr>

Another thing I've noticed is that on the sciencemadness.org page the link to the wiki seems to have disappeared?

[Edited on 20-2-2016 by blogfast25]

crystal grower - 20-2-2016 at 10:33

A little suggestion: It would be very useful to have a link to ptable somewhere in the main page. Do you agree?

Mabus - 20-2-2016 at 11:19

Yes, I think the Main page should be improved. We could add like categories, special pages, etc. I think a thread specially for it would be better.

crystal grower - 23-2-2016 at 13:09

Could anyone explain me how to add some info under the image in the infobox?
Thanks.

Texium - 23-2-2016 at 13:11

There should be a field for ImageName somewhere on there which you can use to add a caption
Also, see this for more help with infoboxes: http://www.sciencemadness.org/smwiki/index.php/How_to_infobo...

crystal grower - 23-2-2016 at 14:34

Thanks for answer.
I dont know why, but when I write caption at the | ImageName =... field it doesnt show up .
I must write :
| ImageCaption = ........
Anyway I know how to do it now, so nevermind.

Mabus - 24-2-2016 at 12:20

Why doesn't all the data I write in the infobox show up?

crystal grower - 25-2-2016 at 05:30

Quote: Originally posted by Mabus

Why doesn't all the data I write in the infobox show up?

I'm not sure but I think it doesn't show up when something isn't in copletely correct form (I don't understand that system very well).

Mabus - 25-2-2016 at 09:37

Quote: Originally posted by crystal grower

Quote: Originally posted by Mabus

Why doesn't all the data I write in the infobox show up?

I'm not sure but I think it doesn't show up when something isn't in copletely correct form (I don't understand that system very well).

Well none of the data from the Chembox Explosive and a few from Chembox Thermochemistry don't show up at all. There are also a couple of other data from the element infobox that don't show up, like the Group number.

crystal grower - 25-2-2016 at 11:26

Ok I will look at it, but zts16 would probably help you more.
Send him U2U if he didn't notice problem you mentioned here.

By the way thanks for your edits, you're probably the most active editor of smwiki

crystal grower - 25-2-2016 at 11:45

That's really weird, crystal structure doesn't show up too, even if it's exactly copied from wikipedia's infobox.

Mabus - 13-3-2016 at 07:16

I'm surprised no one has created a page for the humble chemistry lab until now.

aga - 13-3-2016 at 12:13

Some more filled in now.

Also moved the Ptable to the Periodic Table topic where it belongs.

Mabus - 19-3-2016 at 09:28

I need some help. Can someone please change the "S" from the "Sec-Butanol" page into lower case? I don't know how to do it.

gdflp - 19-3-2016 at 10:27

I just tried to change it. Apparently the wiki is configured so that the first character of a title is required to be a capital letter. For now, I've made it "2-Butanol" as that is grammatically correct at least.

[Edited on 3-19-2016 by gdflp]

Mabus - 19-3-2016 at 15:42

OK, if that's the only way.

Mabus - 10-4-2016 at 11:11

YES! I managed to change the first letter of the title to lower-case!
I used this template: {{DISPLAYTITLE:''sec''-Butanol}} at the beginning of the page. However it still might appear as upper-case in the activity log, but that's OK.
Now I can finally write the page for tert-butanol properly.

[Edited on 10-4-2016 by Mabus]

Mabus - 30-6-2016 at 09:58

I can't upload images on wiki. Can anyone help me?

dermolotov - 30-7-2016 at 13:49

A serious question:
When many pages have the only reference being "wikipaedia", what is the point of creating a separate wiki for these?
I suppose you simply want to make it better and more accessible/ comprehensive?

Texium - 30-7-2016 at 17:53

Yes, that is the idea. Though it would be great to have more original information contributed by forum members that can't be found on Wikipedia. Not that I'm one to complain since even though I created the thing I haven't contributed to the wiki in ages.

Mabus - 31-7-2016 at 03:41

For general stuff, Wikipedia is the most convenient source. But I agree, more info/experience from members should be on the wiki.

NitratedKittens - 31-12-2016 at 06:48

There is a mistake on the formic acid page

"The haloform reaction of ethanol/acetaldehyde and hypochlorite will yield chloroform and sodium formate."

It should be:

"The haloform reaction of ethanol/acetaldehyde and sodium hypochlorite will yield chloroform and sodium formate."

Otherwise, someone using calcium hypochlorite(pool chemicals) would obtain calcium formate.

Mabus - 17-4-2017 at 09:05

I uploaded all the missing photos since it was getting frustrating to keep seeing missing images on pages. The only images that I didn't upload are the ones for the Miscibility table, because I have different plans for that "abomination" and the images are useless anyway.
Now the only thing missing are the video links, maybe I'll take care of that too, I don't know.
I also uploaded a smiley face for the Whimsey template image, if anyone has a better image suggestion, feel free to change it.

Texium - 17-4-2017 at 09:32

Thanks for the update, Mabus! As always, the work you do on the wiki is much appreciated. I know I keep saying it and not delivering, but I'm hoping to get back to working on it soon as well.

Mabus - 17-4-2017 at 11:31

Thanks. Take your time, most of the "heavy work" is almost completed, so now it should be easier to add more info without having to begin from scratch.

physics inclination - 7-8-2017 at 18:16

Hello, I have one correction to the wiki page on "nitric acid" and I did not want to start a whole thread just to mention this, but in the "preparation" section it says:

Quote:

It is possible to produce nitric acid with an Ostwald reactor, or by reacting nitrogen and oxygen in air with an electric spark.

However this is incorrect, the device that makes HNO3 from NOx from the spark is called a Birkeland-Eyde reactor. On the other hand, I believe the Ostwald process uses a device that converts ammonia, usually from the Haber process, into nitric acid.
My sources are from wikipedia pages on each respective process:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkeland%E2%80%93Eyde_process
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostwald_process

This is kinda a specific thing I know, it's just what I know a bit about. But also kind of important because there are numerous interesting videos on the birkeland eyde reactor (like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_Z1caPa9_0) that one would not find if searching by the wrong name.

Geocachmaster - 7-8-2017 at 18:47

Quote:

It is possible to produce nitric acid with an Ostwald reactor, or by reacting nitrogen and oxygen in air with an electric spark.

The word "Or" is there because this sentence is talking about two different processes. It is possible to make nitric acid from ammonia using the Ostwald process, and N₂ + O₂ react in an electric spark to make NO_x, which is dissolved in water to yield nitric acid. It's just then name of the second process is not given.

[Edited on 8/8/2017 by Geocachmaster]

physics inclination - 7-8-2017 at 19:47

Quote: Originally posted by Geocachmaster

Ok sorry I must not have seen that "or" in the many times I read the article, my mistake oops. But maybe still mentioning the name of Birkeland-Eyde reactor would be helpful for others who are skimming through the article?

WangleSpong5000 - 25-12-2017 at 01:03

Hey everyone,

I really like the idea of what you're trying to achieve here and I'd like to ask a few questions relating to it if that's ok?

1. How is the design of the Wiki being dealt with? As in who has built it thus far? Are there any limitations due to how the site has been written that could be rectified by using a different writing practice (ie writing it using the React library and/or the Angular framework, Bootstrapping it so it works well on all devices)

2. Is there a clear consensus on how you want the site to function; other than the obvious? (its a Wiki...), how about how the site functions on a practical level? (info boxes, widgets, written tools, linking and info trail design? Does it look pretty while using a cool little 'bells and whistles"

3. What do you want this to be exactly? Just like a regular Wiki but one connected to the users and members of this board for the benefit of said board (project to share, peer encouragement, pure hedonism thru shared passion, teaching and inspiring younger, newer, less knowledgable members? ....

OR

Is there some epic ideal goal potentially in mind the scope of which is unknown at the juncture?

Let me know... I know alot of you are very busy people as you have very highly skilled jobs and probably study and work at the same time as alot of ppl do (i don't know how...) and it's difficult to work on outside project... well I have nothing but free time and before I go back into Normie world in the next year I'd like to make the most of the short time I have left in the free world to good use, where the pursuit of knowledge for knowledges' sake is possible and can't be sullied via carrot nor stick... only then can you get a true glimpse of why it's known as mankinds greatest virtue...

lol

symboom - 25-12-2017 at 13:55

Could I suggest to add to the wiki of nitric acid production such as the Oswald style nitric acid generator without platinum.
https://www.sciencemadness.org/whisper/viewthread.php?tid=71...

Also how can I get access to create new wiki pages or add info such as paraformidahyde with oxone or copper peroxide

[Edited on 25-12-2017 by symboom]

WangleSpong5000 - 26-12-2017 at 17:34

I don't have editing privilges at this point and at my level of knowledge on the subject it's a rather moot point anyway.

Regardless, there is no page covering NaO2. Thought I'd mention it...

Mabus - 31-12-2017 at 14:53

@symboom Contact Polverone or Zts if you want to edit the wiki. And yes, I'd really like to see more pages about synthesis made by our fellow chemists, there aren't many articles about personal experiments. Though I'd prefer if the person who performed the experiment wrote the text, as he knows more.

symboom - 10-1-2018 at 20:09

Thanks I just want to add the ones I have made
Contributing to the wiki

[Edited on 11-1-2018 by symboom]

Mabus - 11-2-2018 at 08:39

Since nobody answered what's the purpose of the Conveniences section supposed to be, I'm going to add various makeshift lab equipment in that section, like NurdRage's Dean-Stark jury rig thingy.

Mabus - 28-3-2018 at 12:18

Added a few chemistry apps to the software page, mostly a few Android apps I had time to test see if they're useful. I see that there are a few for iOS that are useful, but I don't have an iPhone, so I can't check them.

Login?

cogburnd02 - 24-12-2018 at 09:45

I can’t seem to log in to the wiki, but I can post here? Not sure if there’s something I need to do to get editing privileges.

If it’s too complicated, then could someone who has editing privileges add a link to

http://theodoregray.com/periodictable/PopSci/2007/02/1/Scan....

From the projects section of the copper sulfate page?

http://www.sciencemadness.org/smwiki/index.php/Copper%28II%2...

DavidJR - 24-12-2018 at 10:25

Quote: Originally posted by cogburnd02

I can’t seem to log in to the wiki, but I can post here? Not sure if there’s something I need to do to get editing privileges.

If it’s too complicated, then could someone who has editing privileges add a link to

http://theodoregray.com/periodictable/PopSci/2007/02/1/Scan....

From the projects section of the copper sulfate page?

http://www.sciencemadness.org/smwiki/index.php/Copper%28II%2...

It's a separate login - send a message to Texium (zts16) and they'll set up an account for you.

Draeger - 8-7-2020 at 14:54

Sorry for reviving this old thread, but I thought maybe it would be better if I kept this small question in a thread that has already been made.

Is it still possible for people to get an editor account for the wiki? There's been only one editor the furthest I could look into the history. I had already asked for permission to edit and I didn't get an answer for a while, so I thought that that may be the case.

Sorry if I missed something obvious.

B(a)P - 22-9-2020 at 16:06

I was just looking at the Barium Chlorate page on the wiki and I think that it has some erroneous information in the physical properties section.
http://www.sciencemadness.org/smwiki/index.php/Barium_chlora...
The page claims that barium chlorate is less soluble in water than potassium chlorate, which is not the case.
It then goes onto say that' "in a cooled solution of BaCl2 and potassium chlorate, the double displacement reaction proceeds almost fully." I do not think this is correct.
Weirdly the numerical solubility data presented is correct, as are the methods of preparation further down the page.
Do these pages get updated?

Draeger - 23-9-2020 at 08:15

Quote: Originally posted by B(a)P

I was just looking at the Barium Chlorate page on the wiki and I think that it has some erroneous information in the physical properties section.
http://www.sciencemadness.org/smwiki/index.php/Barium_chlora...
The page claims that barium chlorate is less soluble in water than potassium chlorate, which is not the case.
It then goes onto say that' "in a cooled solution of BaCl2 and potassium chlorate, the double displacement reaction proceeds almost fully." I do not think this is correct.
Weirdly the numerical solubility data presented is correct, as are the methods of preparation further down the page.
Do these pages get updated?

I'll update it. Thanks for reporting the error.

Draeger - 23-9-2020 at 08:23

Is it correct now?

B(a)P - 23-9-2020 at 12:06

Quote: Originally posted by Draeger

Is it correct now?

Yep all fixed, nice work thanks!