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Chemistry Facts

Luminol; Trick-or-Treat or Terrible Feat

What does trick-or-treating and crime scene investigation have in common? Hopefully, they don't have much in common, unless the trick-or-treater is wearing a safety glow stick. Glow sticks contain ... Continue reading

What is Oxidation?

The term 'oxidation' derives from the ancient observation of rust (oxide) formation. Early chemists could determine an increase in the weight of a metal as it apparently captured something from the ... Continue reading

What Is A Half-life?

When isotopes break down, or decay, they usually split apart into two smaller atoms. Excess neutrons and protons are often sent flying off through space, taking the excess energy of the atoms with ... Continue reading

Natural uranium contains 99% U238 and only about 0.7% U 235 by weight.

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.