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Chemistry Facts

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.

Ice That Burns

What looks like regular water ice but hisses and jumps around like water on a hot plate when you put it on a room-temperature surface and bursts into flame when you light it up? It is a rare and ... Continue reading

Ice on fire: methane hydrate.

How Sublime

Show of hands. How many of you can't resist playing with dry ice? Dry ice is carbon dioxide frozen to -109.3 degrees F (-78.5 C). Throw a piece in water and it bubbles and boils. Expose a piece to air ... Continue reading

Sublimation of Comet's Tail

Radon, A Rare Element

To the best of our knowledge, the entire universe is constructed from just over a hundred different types of building blocks called atoms. Each has its own characteristic properties, and while there ... Continue reading