Colourful Chemistry

The Chemistry of LED lights and How LED lights work

A Basic Guide to How LED Lights Work

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) give off light when current is passed through them. They are made from semiconducting materials, with the colour of light depending on the materials used. They are usually gallium-based compounds.
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Christmas isn’t far off now, and whether you’re celebrating it or not, you may well have started seeing Christmas lights starting to appear adorning houses and Christmas trees. How do these lights actually work, and how can they be made to produce such an array of colours? This graphic takes a look at the chemistry.

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The Chemistry of Permanent Hair Dye Colours

The Chemistry of Permanent Hair Dyes

The Chemistry of Permanent Hair Dye Colours

Today, hair dyes are widely used, either to cover up grey hairs, or simply by those wanting to change their natural hair colour. The chemistry behind how they change the colour of hair can actually get pretty complicated, but this graphic tries to boil it down to the key classes of chemicals involved, and an overview of the process that produces the dye molecules.

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The Chemistry of Coloured Glass

The Chemistry of Coloured Glass

The Chemistry of Coloured Glass
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Coloured glass is something that’s commonplace in our lives, from the green of wine and beer bottles, to the red, yellow, and green of traffic lights. The origin of these colours is something we don’t give a lot of thought to, but a range of different elements are responsible. This graphic takes a simple look at a few of these, and the colours they impart.

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The Chemistry of Highlighter Colours

The Chemistry of Highlighter Colours

Chemistry of Highlighter Colours 2019
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If you’re currently a student, then you’ll no doubt often make ample use of highlighters during revision. Even if your studying days are far behind, you probably still use them from time to time. But what are the chemicals behind their luminous colours? This graphic looks at some of the possible dyes that can be used.

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