Chemistry
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Atomic number
How do you know where an element sits in the periodic table? Count its protons to get its atomic number.
- Chemistry
Did your burger come with a side of non-degrading pollutants?
Perfluorinated compounds pollute the environment and might harm human health. A new study shows that one place they often show up is the paper and cardboard used to package fast foods.
- Chemistry
Explainer: What is a catalyst?
Catalysts are used in manufacturing and many technologies. They’re also found in living things. They help chemical reactions move along.
- Chemistry
Scientists claim to have turned hydrogen into a metal
Most people know hydrogen as a gas. But under high pressure, scientists now think they’ve converted it into a reflective metal. Not everyone is convinced.
- Chemistry
Magnets may one day cull deadly germs from blood
A new technique for slowing the deadly condition called sepsis would use tiny iron particles and magnets.
- Chemistry
How to spin synthetic spider silk
A new method for spinning artificial spider silk combines parts of proteins from two species and mimics what happens in a spider’s silk-forming gland.
- Chemistry
Here’s how hot water might freeze faster than cold
There’s a new explanation for how hot water freezes faster than cold water. But not everyone agrees it’s right, or that the effect can happen at all.
- Chemistry
Fingers leave tell-tale clues about you on your phone
Analyzing chemicals on a cell phone tells researchers what the caller had been up to. That includes recent meals and where they'd been.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Sublimation
Matter doesn’t always go from solid to liquid to gas. Sometimes it skips a step.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Surface tension
Surface tension is what makes water in your glass seem like it’s covered by an invisible membrane holding it together.
- Chemistry
Milking chocolate for its health benefits
Researchers figure out how to give milk chocolate the same health benefits as dark chocolate. The secret ingredient is an extract from peanut skin.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Unsaturated fat
These fats are found in foods like olive oil. It’s their special bonds that make them go with the flow.
