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Fluorine

Fluorine is an extremely reactive chemical element with atomic number 9. At standard conditions, pure fluorine is a toxic pale yellow diatomic gas. Fluorite, the element's primary mineral source, was first described in 1529, and fluorine was proposed as an element in 1810. As the lightest halogen and most electronegative reactive element, it is difficult to separate from its compounds, and several early experimenters died or were injured in the attempt. French chemist Henri Moissan finally succeeded in 1886 using low-temperature electrolysis, a process still used today. Global fluorochemical sales amount to more than US$15 billion a year, including in toothpaste and water fluoridation, refrigerants, Teflon for electrical insulation and cookware, pharmaceuticals, aluminium refining and steelmaking. Fluorocarbon gases are generally greenhouse gases. Fluorine has no known metabolic role in mammals, but a few plants and sea sponges synthesize poisonous fluorocarbons to deter predators. (Full article...)

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Māori warrior on the New Zealand shilling
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January 24: Day of the Unification of the Romanian Principalities (1859)

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Mac

The Mac (known as the Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The product lineup includes the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, and the iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro desktops. Macs are sold with the macOS operating system, previously known as OS X. The Macintosh project was conceived by Jef Raskin in 1979 and then redefined in 1981 by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, the first model being introduced in 1984 through an advertisement played during Super Bowl XVIII. The product evolved with the introduction of color in 1987 with the Macintosh II, and a new processor line in the Power Macintosh in 1994. Through most of the 1990s, the Mac was not fully competitive with commodity IBM PC compatibles. Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1996 and subsequently returned the Mac to the mainstream with the launch of the iMac series OS X. Many users, especially professionals, felt that the Mac was neglected during the 2010s under CEO Tim Cook, but a new line of Macs with the Apple silicon chipset has received more positive reviews. This photograph shows Jobs with the first Mac, at the time of its launch on January 24, 1984. The image on the computer screen is a digitized version of A Woman Combing Her Hair, a print by the Japanese artist Goyō Hashiguchi.

Photograph credit: Bernard Gotfryd; edited by W.carter and Janke

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