CHEMISTRY

Watch Liquid Mercury Freeze Solid ... And Hammer Rubber Nails

It's all about entropy.

Joe Mabel, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0

The Dynamic History of the Toy Chemistry Set

From academic tool to popular children's toy, the chemistry set has had a long journey to become an iconic toy.

Mathematicians Calculate How to Brew the Perfect Cup of Coffee

Your morning routine gets quantified by mathematical models.

Watch This Groovy 1960s Tupperware™ Documentary/Infomercial

In The Wonderful World Of Tupperware™ Plastics, we learn the benefits of Tupperware™, "made from polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene—relative newcomers to the wonderful world of imagination and industry." This is precisely what that guy in The Gr

Check Out This Year's Nobel Prize Winners in Science

This year, the Nobel Prize celebrated research on molecular machines, cells' recycling mechanisms, and discoveries about unusual states of matter.

Irish Teeth Reveal the Chemical Signature of the Great Famine

Researchers analyzed 20 sets of human remains from one of the many workhouses where entire families were institutionalized—and made to work long hours—as a "remedy" to poverty.

This Edible Packaging Is Made From Milk Protein

Researchers hope to have the casein packaging on grocery store shelves within the next three years.

A Scientific Reason to Stop Peeing in the Pool

Think of the children (or yourself, if you don’t care about children).

Wasabi vs. ‘Wasabi’

The paste is a lie.

6 of Your Favorite Summer Scents Explained by Chemistry

Breathe them in.

Researchers Discover a New Type of Fire Called "Blue Whirl"

The discovery could make oil spill clean-ups more efficient.

Valdemar Fishmen via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

The Science of Sweet and Sour Cherries

Plus: why you really shouldn’t swallow the pits.

Ec-hasslau.de via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

The Next Green Fuel Might Be Growing in Your Yard

Scientists have found a simple way to get hydrogen out of fescue grass.

U.S. Air Force via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

The Chemical Difference Between Red, Yellow, and Green Bell Peppers

Ripening peppers are the butterflies of the vegetable world, undergoing extraordinary chemical transformations.

Researchers Study Using Magnets to Clean Up Oil Spills

This could make cleanup methods faster and safer.

Here Are the Names of the Periodic Table's Four Newest Elements

In five months, they'll be official.

A San Francisco Company Is Making Wine ... Without Grapes

Ava Winery is trying to recreate the world's most sought-after wines in the lab and on the cheap.

Scientists Read Moviegoers’ Emotions Through Their Breath

Their equipment captured and analyzed air from hundreds of viewers during screenings of 'Dinosaurs 3D,' 'Buddy,' and 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.'