Volume 3B Number 1

Volume 3B Number 1

In This Issue

PIRExS
 
James P. Birk
Bravais
 
Philip I. Pavlik
About This Issue

John W. Moore
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706-1396

Note:
This issue is out of print.

By allowing teachers or students to predict the products for a wide variety of inorganic reactions PIRExS will be useful to anyone who teaches descriptive inorganic chemistry. Development of this expert system has been described elsewhere (1). Bravais is a short note that provides a useful lecture aid as well as illustrating how a programmer can make effective use of graphics software available from Project SERAPHIM. In addition to these two programs this issue includes an update of the database and additional videodisc-player drivers for KC? Discoverer (2). It also contains information about incompatibilities between HPLC (3) and certain memory-resident programs.
Features of PIRExS are selected from pull-down menus; they include: predicting reaction products, obtaining operating instructions, gaining access to a database of facts and rules, selecting the level of detail in explanations, and selecting the pH for redox reaction predictions. The database, which contains all the data necessary to make predictions, includes acid/base strengths, boiling points of nonmetal oxides, coordination numbers of metal ions, hardness of metal ions and ligands, electronegativity, solution formulas, ionic radii, Latimer diagrams, metallic character of the elements, oxidation numbers, reactant types, aqueous solubilities, and the temperature required to reduce metal oxides with carbon. By creating an expert system that can apply rules to all these data, James Birk has produced a very useful tool for chemists.
Hardware and Software Requirements
PIRExS, Bravais, and the update of KC? Discoverer are supplied on 5.25-in. disks and will run under MS-DOS (IBM PC DOS) version 2.xx or 3.xx; some incompatibilities with PIRExS have been found in DOS 4.00.
Bravais requires 640K RAM, one disk drive, and an IBM Color Graphics Adapter (CGA) or compatible graphics adapter. The KC? Discoverer update consists only of new versions of files already supplied with KC? Discoverer (2). PIRExS requires at least 512K RAM and two disk drives (or one drive and a hard disk); it uses not graphics and so any monitor/adapter should work.
Literature Cited

Birk, J.P. "Predicting Inorganic Reactions: The Development of an Expert System" in Expert System Applications in Chemistry, ACS Symposium Series No. 408; American Chemical Society: Washington, D.C., 1989; pp 20-33.
Feng, A. and Moore, J.W. "KC? Discoverer" J. Chem. Educ.: Soft. 1988, 1B(1).
Rittenhouse, R.C. "HPLC" J. Chem. Educ.: Soft. 1988, 1B(2).
First Published: April 1990
Citation: Moore, J. W. About This Issue J. Chem. Educ. Software 3B1
Keywords:

Editorial Commentary
Another Issue, Another Challenge
 
John W. Moore

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Last Updated: March 19, 2001
Created: December 10, 1996 Created by: J.L. Holmes
Comments to: jceonline@chem.wisc.edu

© 1997 Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.



Volume 3B Number 1

In This Issue

PIRExS
	James P. Birk
Bravais
	Philip I. Pavlik

About This Issue
John W. Moore University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706-1396

Note:	This issue is out of print.

By allowing teachers or students to predict the products for a wide variety of inorganic reactions PIRExS will be useful to anyone who teaches descriptive inorganic chemistry. Development of this expert system has been described elsewhere (1). Bravais is a short note that provides a useful lecture aid as well as illustrating how a programmer can make effective use of graphics software available from Project SERAPHIM. In addition to these two programs this issue includes an update of the database and additional videodisc-player drivers for KC? Discoverer (2). It also contains information about incompatibilities between HPLC (3) and certain memory-resident programs. Features of PIRExS are selected from pull-down menus; they include: predicting reaction products, obtaining operating instructions, gaining access to a database of facts and rules, selecting the level of detail in explanations, and selecting the pH for redox reaction predictions. The database, which contains all the data necessary to make predictions, includes acid/base strengths, boiling points of nonmetal oxides, coordination numbers of metal ions, hardness of metal ions and ligands, electronegativity, solution formulas, ionic radii, Latimer diagrams, metallic character of the elements, oxidation numbers, reactant types, aqueous solubilities, and the temperature required to reduce metal oxides with carbon. By creating an expert system that can apply rules to all these data, James Birk has produced a very useful tool for chemists. Hardware and Software Requirements PIRExS, Bravais, and the update of KC? Discoverer are supplied on 5.25-in. disks and will run under MS-DOS (IBM PC DOS) version 2.xx or 3.xx; some incompatibilities with PIRExS have been found in DOS 4.00. Bravais requires 640K RAM, one disk drive, and an IBM Color Graphics Adapter (CGA) or compatible graphics adapter. The KC? Discoverer update consists only of new versions of files already supplied with KC? Discoverer (2). PIRExS requires at least 512K RAM and two disk drives (or one drive and a hard disk); it uses not graphics and so any monitor/adapter should work. Literature Cited Birk, J.P. "Predicting Inorganic Reactions: The Development of an Expert System" in Expert System Applications in Chemistry, ACS Symposium Series No. 408; American Chemical Society: Washington, D.C., 1989; pp 20-33. Feng, A. and Moore, J.W. "KC? Discoverer" J. Chem. Educ.: Soft. 1988, 1B(1). Rittenhouse, R.C. "HPLC" J. Chem. Educ.: Soft. 1988, 1B(2).


News \| Issues \| CD-ROM / Video \| Find It! \| Technical Support \| For Authors
JCE Online \| Journal \| Software \| Internet \| Happenings \| About JCE \| Contact JCE
Last Updated: March 19, 2001 Created: December 10, 1996	Created by: J.L. Holmes Comments to: jceonline@chem.wisc.edu

© 1997 Division of Chemical Education, Inc., American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.