It’s been a while since the last news on the book, but it’s still very much on its way – and here’s the cover to prove it! It’s out in the UK on October 8, 2015, and it’s already available to preorder on Amazon here. A little more information follows if this is the first you’ve heard about it!
You may not have been aware, but this week is Graphene Week 2015, which marks a yearly week-long conference at the University of Manchester based around the emerging science and technological applications of graphene. This seemed as good a time as any to take a look at graphene: what it is, why some scientists are excited by its potential, and how it might make its way to your hands in the near future.
You’ve probably heard the great news over the weekend that the European Space Agency’s Philae lander has awoken from its 7 month slumber on Comet 67P, and is once again relaying collected data back to Earth. You might have less of an idea, however, of what this data is, and why it’s important. This graphic looks at some of the chemical information Philae is hoping to collect, and how it will collect it.
It’s been a little while since the last post in the ‘Everyday Chemicals’ series, but it’s back today, and with a revamped look (which will also be applied out to the previous posts in the series over the next week or so). The latest post looks at acetic acid; this compound is well known for its presence in vinegar, but has a role in the manufacture of other chemicals we regularly encounter. It’s also an important part of a classic home science experiment!
Doubtless the majority of people reading this will, at some point in their life, have had the unpleasant experience of being stung by stinging nettles. But what chemicals do stinging nettles contain that elicit this effect? Further to that, a commonly espoused remedy for the stings, in the UK at least, is to rub dock leaves on them – but does this actually work, or is it just a widespread myth? This graphic sorts the nettle sting remedy fact from the fiction.
Back in school, you’ll have learned that the air in our atmosphere is composed primarily of nitrogen, at 78%, and oxygen, at 21%, with a number of other trace gases. It’s to these trace gases we’re looking today – more specifically, at how human activity can result in the release of air pollution in to the atmosphere. Here, we examine a number of different chemical compounds that contribute to atmospheric pollution, their specific sources, and their effects.
