The Men’s football World Cup final is taking place this weekend. While it sadly won’t be coming home, one team will take home the coveted World Cup – or, at least, a copy of it. In the latest edition of Periodic Graphics in C&EN, we take a look at the materials that make up the two separate trophies that have been awarded to the World Cup winners. See the full graphic on the C&EN site.
If you’ve been enjoying the tennis at Wimbledon over the past two weeks, chemistry probably didn’t cross your mind as you watched the players slogging the ball back and forth. However, a lot of science and honed materials go into both the rackets and balls used during each game, set and match. This graphic examines the key substances used and how they’ve changed over time.
Magnets: How do they work? The latest edition of Periodic Graphics in C&EN takes a brief look at the origins of permanent magnetism before examining the different types of permanent magnets available and how they compare. View the full graphic on the C&EN site.
I’m delighted and honoured to have been awarded the 2025 James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public from the American Chemical Society. I travelled to San Diego to receive the award at the ACS Spring Meeting Awards Ceremony last week. Making an infographic on the medal’s composition and those it was named after seemed a fitting way to mark the occasion!
Space elevators, a way of getting cargo and materials into space without rockets, have made frequent appearances in science fiction for decades. Making them a reality, however, is challenging. In this latest edition of Periodic Graphics in C&EN, we take a look some of the material requirements for space elevators, and which existing materials might be close to meeting these requirements. See the full graphic on the C&EN site.
Superconducting materials, capable of conducting electricity without resistance, have fascinated scientists for over a century. They’ve also been in the news recently as scientists hunt an elusive room-temperature superconductor which could transform civilisation. The latest edition of Periodic Graphics in C&EN examines what superconductors are, how they’ve been found, and how we use them. View the full graphic on the C&EN site.
