Last week I presented a series of puzzles using symbols from chemistry and physics. Here they are unravelled.

1) Catch a wave:

Americurium Fermium

Answer: This is the easiest of the puzzles. The element symbol for Americurium is Am, and the symbol for Fermium is Fm. The answer is AM/FM, two of the consumer radio transmission methods. AM stands for amplitude modulation where variation in the height of the radio waves carries the signal. FM stands for frequency modulation where variation in the frequency carries the signal.

2) Running in circles:

Lithium, Hydrogen, Beryllium, Hydrogen, Boron, Fluorine, Helium...

Answer: Here the order of the elements is important. Replace each element with it's place on the table: 3141592. Hopefully, this will look familiar. Add a period and you get the values for Pi: 3.141592...

3) Not exactly alchemy:

If

O + He = Ne

and

Ne / He = B

and

H * H = H

then

N - C + F = ?

Answer: Again, the order of the elements is important. The last sequence translates as 7 - 6 + 9, which results in 10 or Ne. Neon is the tenth element in the periodic table, a non reactive noble gas since all it's valence electron spots are filled.

4) A Herculean puzzle:

What do these elements have in common?

Hg

U

Pu

Answer: The elements are mercury (Hg), uranium (U), and plutonium (Pu). They are named after gods from mythology. You might have guessed the solar planets Mercury, Uranus, and Pluto, which are also named after gods, but Pluto was recently reclassified as a dwarf planet.

5) Go the distance:

What is similar between gold and the distance between the Sun and the Earth?

Answer: The symbol for gold is Au. The distance from the Sun to the Earth is one Astronomical Unit, or AU.

What is similar between 0.0254 meters and the element Indium?

Answer: The symbol In. 0.0254 m is an inch.

6) Use the force Luke:

Dysprosium and neon = 10^-5 ?

Answer: Newtons. The symbol for dysprosium is Dy, the symbol for neon is Ne, together that spells dyne. One dyne, a unit of force, is exactly equal to 10^-5 newtons. Typically, newtons are used to measure force, but for small masses, dynes can be used.

7) The tower of Babel, here and there:

Aluminum, boron, erbium, tellurium, indium, sulfur, tellurium, indium, degrees, energy, vanadium, energy, angular momentum, oxygen, phosphorus, energy, degrees, thorium, energy, thorium, energy, oxygen, gas constant, yttrium, oxygen, fermium, rhenium, lanthanum, titanium, vanadium, iodine, tesla, yttrium.

Answer: This message can be pieced together from the element symbols, and the few physical symbols thrown in as well:

Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity.

Extra difficult bonus:

This caesar cipher contains two physics messages:

PLVUILHAEIUNCMXCDYKCGILZPX

Answer: A caesar cipher is a simple type of cipher where one letter stands for one other letter. The longer the message, the easier it is to decipher the message since more is known about it.

This cipher translates as: LIGHT IS BOTH WAVE AND PARTICLE.

The second hidden message is formed from the first letter of each word from the original message: PLVUI LH AEIU NCMX CDY KCGILZPX or PLANCK. Max Plank was an important figure in the field of quantum mechanics.