Categories
Geology

The Mohs Hardness Scale: Comparing the hardness of minerals

Diamond is commonly known to be the hardest material, but how do other minerals compare with each other? That’s the question the Mohs hardness scale, introduced by Friedrich Mohs in 1812, aims to answer. This graphic looks at his scale and where different minerals and other substances appear on it.

Categories
C&EN Materials Chemistry

The chemistry of the textiles in our clothes – in C&EN

What materials are used to make the clothes we wear? In the latest edition of Periodic Graphics in Chemical & Engineering News, we look at the molecular details of textiles and how some of their properties affect our clothing. View and download the full graphic on the C&EN site.

Categories
C&EN Materials Chemistry

What is Play-Doh made of? – in C&EN

Children have been playing with Play-Doh for 65 years. Hasbro closely guards the exact ingredients of commercial Play-Doh, but in the September edition of Periodic Graphics in Chemical & Engineering News we looked at the key chemical components that make the material act the way it does. See the full graphic on the C&EN site.

Categories
C&EN Materials Chemistry

The materials science of cycling – in C&EN

May was National Bike Month, and at the end of June this year’s Tour de France kicks off, so what better time to look at the materials science of cycling? This month’s edition of Periodic Graphics in Chemical & Engineering News looks at the various alloys and polymers used to make bike frames, tires, and […]

Categories
Materials Chemistry

The chemistry of disposable nappies: absorbency, wetness indicators and waste

Five thousand: that’s the number of nappy changes the average child will need. There are several nappy choices available to parents, but disposable nappies make up a large portion of the market – and there’s a fair amount of chemistry behind how they keep a baby dry.

Categories
Nobel Prizes

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: The batteries that power our phones and laptops

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for their contributions to the development of the lithium-ion battery.