Pick up a marker, and you’re writing in colour. The word “chromatography” is descriptive as it translates to “colour writing” from the Greek roots. But a simple marker is not as simple as you think. The primary colours are, but what about that orange marker? The purple? The green? That’s where things start getting interesting. …
How does a pH indicator work? Every one of us has come across a pH based experiment. My first one was the cabbage pH colour change when I was at a nerdy friend’s birthday party in 3rd grade. Most of us, though, are directed to dip the pH indicator strip into a liquid to see …
Editor’s note: This post has been updated and broken links removed. Please see our policy on broken hyperlinks for more. Copper sulphate (also spelt copper sulfate) is a common household chemical used for getting rid of algae in ponds and a fungicide for the garden and patio. It’s so much more than that from health to industry, …
Phthalates. Parabens. Pesticides. Lead. Industrial waste. All of these things are present in our lives. Clearly, the closer you live to a rural area, the more likely you’d be in contact with pesticides, and the closer you live to a city, the more likely you’ll come into contact with industrial waste. Since the early 2000s, …
Bismuth crystals. They are majestic and beautiful looking structures, and since bismuth melts at 520°F, it can even be made at home — if you have stainless steel pot you don’t mind sacrificing for science. All you need for this is a stove, a stainless steel pot, and a stainless steel spatula. Take a look …
It is a simple, everyday object with a long and science-y history…the match. Today, we may strike a match to light a birthday candle or bonfire or a charcoal grill or a celebratory cigar, but for our ancestors, the ability to consistently start a fire meant survival. They relied on fire for heat, cooking, and …
Famine is a real problem in certain areas of the world, and while we are not necessarily facing a food shortage as a planet just yet, many people are thinking ahead to the future. What will happen when our resources start to dwindle? How will our growing population sustain itself over time? As it turns …
Taking a dip in the pool might feel like relief on a hot summer day, but have you thought about what’s in the water? Long-time readers might remember that we’ve already covered some of the icky bacteria that can be found in the ocean. Now, swimmers could be facing unnerving bacteria in enclosed environments as …
What happens if you attempt to create beer from a 5,000 year-old recipe? As a group of students from Stanford found out, you get a fairly unusual beverage. A team of archaeologists led by Stanford professor Li Liu recently discovered the recipe dating back approximately 5,000 years (Wang et al., 2016). Traces of beer were found …
Guy Fawkes Day is a holiday in England and some of the commonwealths that celebrate a failed assassination of King James I. The attempt was both a religious protest as well as a political one. The conspirators plotted to blow up King James on the opening of Parliament, November 5 1605. Tensions were high. Queen …