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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.

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IYPT Elements

IYPT 2019 Elements 118: Oganesson: The periodic table’s final element(?)

Element 118, the final element in our International Year of the Periodic Table series, is oganesson. Oganesson was discovered in 2002 and its properties defy our expectations based on trends in the periodic table.

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IYPT Elements

IYPT 2019 Elements 116 & 117: Livermorium and Tennessine

Elements 116 and 117 in our International Year of the Periodic Table series are livermorium and tennessine. Tennessine, first created in 2010, is the most recently discovered element in the periodic table as of 2019.

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IYPT Elements

IYPT 2019 Elements 114 & 115: Flerovium and Moscovium

Elements 114 and 115 in our International Year of the Periodic Table series are flerovium and moscovium. Both of these elements have only been produced in extremely small amounts, so very little is known about them.

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IYPT Elements

IYPT 2019 Elements 112 & 113: Copernicium and Nihonium

Elements 112 and 113 in our International Year of the Periodic Table series are copernicium and nihonium – the latter of which was the first element to be discovered in an Asian country.

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IYPT Elements

IYPT 2019 Elements 110 & 111: Darmstadtium & Roentgenium

Elements 110 and 111 in our International Year of the Periodic Table series are darmstadtium and roentgenium – two elements that are tricky to pronounce and difficult for chemists to study.