Dispelling Misconceptions

The term ‘chemophobia’ has been used on social media amongst chemists with increasing regularity over the past year. Defined as ‘a fear of chemicals’, more specifically it refers to the growing tendency for the public to be suspicious and critical of the presence of any man-made (synthetic) ...

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Factors Affecting Rates of Reaction

How different factors can affect how quickly a reaction happens is a common topic in the chemistry curriculum. This graphic serves as a convenient summary for teachers and students alike of what these different factors are, and how and why they affect the rate of a reaction. However, it’s not ...

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The Chemistry of Popcorn

There haven’t been a great number of studies on the chemicals that make up the aroma and flavour of popcorn. The first of these, way back in 1970, identified a range of compounds, and made some general suggestions as to which ones were important for flavour. Compounds called pyrazines contribute ...

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This last one shows the various known oxidation states for the different elements in the periodic table. It’s probably of more use to the chemists out there than for general interest; still, if you are curious as to what it depicts, there’s more detail in the original post.

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Not all of the elements in the periodic table are plentiful. While we will not ever truly run out of an element, some are considered endangered in the sense that in the future they may betoo spread out and costly to extract. This table, made in collaboration with the American Chemical Society’s ...

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For elements discovered more recently, a catalogue of names have been seriously and not-so-seriously suggested before the official names were confirmed. Past elements, too, have been subject to naming variations, be it due to simultaneous discoveries, language differences, or scientific squabbles ...

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The origins of the elements’ names are varied both in terms of language and in terms of what they were named after. This table, created in collaboration with Prof. Mark Lorch from the University of Hull, tries to pin down where those names come from. There’s also an accompanying explanatory ...

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Here’s a periodic table that’s crammed with data. It includes the melting point, boiling point, density, electronegativity, radius, and first ionisation energy of each element in the table. It’s also colour-coded to show how these properties vary from element to element.

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The periodic table has actually only just been ‘completed’ in the past year.Four new elements had their discoveries and names confirmed in 2016, and replaced the last few placeholder positions in the table. I say ‘completed’ because scientists are still trying to create elements beyond element ...

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Back in school, you’ll have learned that the air in our atmosphere is composed primarily of nitrogen, at 78%, and oxygen, at 21%, with a number of other trace gases. It’s to these trace gases we’re looking today – more specifically, at how human activity can result in the release of air pollution ...

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