Chemical Reactions

Kicking off an occasional new series of graphics with today’s post, which’ll be looking at common chemical reactions encountered in schools. Today kicks off with one of my favourite reactions, the ‘Golden Rain’ demonstration, which involves the synthesis and recrystallisation of lead (II) iodide, ...

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Here’s the start of a new series of collaborations withMEL Science, looking at a number of fun chemistry experiments and the explanations behind them. Today’s initial offering looks at how zinc pellets can be transformed into tin hedgehogs with some simple chemistry.

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In C&EN

October 9 is National Nanotechnology Day in the US, as it’s 10/9 in the American date format (and one nanometre is 10–9metres). This month’s edition of Periodic Graphics in C&EN takes a look at a selectionof the nanotechnology that’s already made its way into our everyday lives.

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Last week the UK put its first polymer note into circulation, and it plans to replace all of its paper banknotes with polymer notes by 2020 (with the current exception of the £50 note). It’s far from the first country to introduce polymer notes, however; in fact, Australia has been using them ...

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If you’ve been watching the Olympics, you might have assumed that the medals given out are, as advertised, made of gold, silver, and bronze. Due to metal values, however, the reality is slightly more complicated. Giving out pure gold medals would be financially crippling for the International ...

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in C&EN

In this month’s Periodic Graphics in Chemical & Engineering News magazine, we’re looking at the compositions of U.S. coins, as well as some of their quirky history.

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Today’s post looks at an aspect of chemistry we come across every day: alloys.Alloys make up parts of buildings, transport, coins, and plenty of other objects in our daily lives. But what are the different alloys we use made up of, and why do we use them instead of elemental metals

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Stains on clothes can be a pain to shift – luckily chemistry is on hand to help out! A range of different molecules are present in stain removers and detergents to help shift grease and dirt, and they can work in different ways. This graphic takes a look at how we can categorise different types ...

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March 8 is International Women’s Day. To mark the occasion, here’s a graphic which takes a quick look at a selection ofpioneering female chemists!

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In the Northern Hemisphere at least, the idealised vision of Christmas involves snow. Whilst no one snowflake is exactly the same as another, at least on a molecular level, scientists have none-the-less devised a system of classification for the many types of crystals that snow can form. This ...

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