ScienceIQ.com

Chemistry Facts

What Are Aerosols?

Aerosols are tiny particles suspended in the air. Most occur naturally, originating from volcanoes, dust storms, forest and grassland fires, living vegetation, and sea spray (Figure 1). Human ... Continue reading

Multiple fires are burning across the sourthern part of the African continent in September 2000, as shown by data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on board the NOAA 14 satellite.

Knocking the NOx Out of Coal

Nitrogen is the most common part of the air we breathe. In fact, about 80% of the air is nitrogen. Normally, nitrogen atoms float around joined to each other like chemical couples. But when air is ... Continue reading

Air is mostly nitrogen molecules (green in the above diagram) and oxygen molecules (purple). When heated hot enough (around 3000 degrees F), the molecules break apart and oxygen atoms link with the nitrogen atoms to form NOx, an air pollutant.

Carbon Dating

As isotopes break down, or decay they give off radiation. Materials that decompose in this way are said to have a 'half-life'. As the quantity of material present decreases, so does the actual rate at ... Continue reading

Scientists date fossils by measuring carbon.

Chemical Burning

Chemical burns are the result of very normal reactions that can occur between the offending material and living tissue components. People generally tend to regard their bodies as things outside of the ... Continue reading