Categories
Inorganic Chemistry

How did ammonite fossils form?

If you’ve ever gone combing beaches for ammonite fossils, you might have wondered about the processes which produced them. They can come in a number of shapes and forms, and their appearance can be influenced by the manner in which they were formed. This graphic takes a brief look at some of these processes!

Categories
Christmas Chemistry Colourful Chemistry Inorganic Chemistry

A Basic Guide to How LED Lights Work

Christmas isn’t far off now, and whether you’re celebrating it or not, you’ve 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.

Categories
C&EN Inorganic Chemistry Materials Chemistry

Why Lithium-Ion Batteries Catch Fire – in C&EN

In this month’s Periodic Graphics in C&EN, we’re looking at the chemistry behind the recent news stories of lithium-ion batteries in some devices catching fire. You can see the full graphic over on the C&EN site. Also, for more lithium battery chemistry, head over to the recent RealTimeChem Week graphic which looked at some ways in […]

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Chemunicate Inorganic Chemistry Materials Chemistry RealTimeChem

RealTimeChem Week: Developing Advanced Lithium Ion Batteries

This week (31 Oct – 6 Nov) is #RealTimeChem Week – if you’re a tweeting chemist or chemistry enthusiast, you’ll probably know what that is already, but if you’re not familiar with it check out the FAQ here! Like last year, I’ll be creating graphics showcasing the work of the three winners of the #RealTimeChem week competition […]

Categories
Inorganic Chemistry Materials Chemistry Nobel Prizes

The Nobel Prize Medals (and How to Make Them Disappear)

Next week, the winners of this year’s batch of Nobel Prizes will be announced. Every winner receives a Nobel Prize medal, featuring a portrait of the founder of the prizes, Albert Nobel. This graphic takes a look at the composition of these medals – and how chemistry was once used to make them disappear!

Categories
Inorganic Chemistry

A Guide to Acids, Acid Strength, and Concentration

Even if you’re not a chemist, you’ll doubtless remember learning about acids back in school. They’re routinely described as strong or weak, concentrated or dilute. But what’s the difference between a strong acid and a concentrated acid? Explaining that is a little trickier than it sounds; in this graphic, we give it a go!