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Chemistry Facts

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

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.

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

Why does popcorn pop?

Popcorn is the most amazing food! It all starts with a kernel only several millimeters in diameter which explodes into a 40-50 times bigger fluffy, tasty, white wonder. The kernel is made of three ... Continue reading

The evolution of the popcorn kernel as it is exploding. Compare the sizes before and after it has popped.