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Chemistry Facts

Your Nose Knows!

Would you like spearmint or caraway flavor? That's a strange choice, but believe it or not, they are the same thing. Well, almost. Spearmint and caraway both contain a molecule called carvone with the ... Continue reading

Caraway and Spearmint flavor molecules

What Makes a Candle Burn?

Have you ever wondered how a candle works? If you haven't, think about it for a while. Why does it take so long for the wick to burn down? Why does it need a wick at all? ... Continue reading

A chemical reaction on your birthday cake.

Oil Viscosity

Everybody recognizes 'oil' as a word for liquid materials that do not behave like water. They have a 'thickness' and self-cohesive character (autocohesion) that enables them to form a film on a ... Continue reading

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.