Words of wisdom the chemistry teacher had for his students.

"If you are not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."

53 result(s) found for the term(s) 'Water'

Everyday Chemistry - Why ice cubes are cloudy on the inside

Have you even tried to see through an ice cube? It's always a little hazy. Isn't it strange that transparent water when frozen becomes cloudy ice? And did you know chemistry is at play even here?

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Everyday Chemistry - Why does a kitchen gas burner glow yellow when liquid comes in contact with it?

If you have been in the kitchen when your mother boils some water or milk, you may notice the flame of the gas burner turns yellow when liquid comes in contact with the flame. Did you know that there is chemistry at work behind this?

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Everyday Chemistry - How to harness the power of the waves

The earth is running out of fossil fuel. Soon there will be none left. So, the search for a clean and efficient alternative is on in full-swing. Harnessing the power of the waves is one way to create energy. Have you felt the power of the waves when taking a bath in the sea? The energy produced by surface ocean waves is tremendous. It's used to create electricity, to pump water into reservoir, and in desalination.

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Everyday Chemistry - The science behind soda water

We all love to have a sip of our favourite soft drink when we are thirsty, especially in summers. And we also love to have a little fizz in it. This fizz is the bubbly effervescence that is produced by adding pressurized carbon dioxide gas to water. It's also called carbonated water or just soda water.

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Everyday Chemistry - It's raining raincoats

When it rains, it pours. The only way to stay dry when there are strong winds is a raincoat. You may use one when you go to school or you may have seen your dad wear one when he goes for work in the rainy season. Haven't you ever wondered how these raincoats are different from the normal clothes you wear?

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Everyday Chemistry - Global warming and greenhouse gases

The earth is surrounded by an envelope of gases called atmosphere. These layers of gases include gases called Greenhouse gases. It is these gases that make living on our planet possible.

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Everyday Chemistry - Getting to know glass

It's very clear that glass is an important part of our everyday lives. From the glass we drink water in, to the spectacles we wear, to window panes; glass is just everywhere.

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Everyday Chemistry - All you ever wanted to know about cloud seeding

Have you ever wondered if you could make rain when you're feeling hot? Or just whenever you want? Learn how this can be possible with cloud seeding.

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Everyday Chemistry - Chocolate: Food for the Gods & food for thought

'Chocolate' is one word that is mouth watering. Who could resist the delicious aroma of melted chocolate or a crunchy chocolate bar? Did you know that chocolate has 500 flavour components and a number of types, to suit every palate? In fact, chocolate's melting point is just below your body temperature, so it melts in your mouth! The melting increases our brain activity and heart rates, making us get excited and wanting even more!

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Everyday Chemistry - Coral Bleaching

Corals are one of nature's wonders. You may have seen videos of divers swimming near colourful coral reefs documentaries or movies. These beautiful sea organisms are now losing the algae that give them their colour. This loss of colour is caused by stress factors like pollution, water temperature and sedimentation and is known as coral bleaching.

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Everyday Chemistry - Is too much water bad for you?

The first thing you reach for when you are thirsty is a glass of water. Nothing quenches your thirst like a glass of water. However, too much of anything is not good. Drinking too much water can give you water intoxication.

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Everyday Chemistry - Why doesn't oil dissolve in water?

Water is the 'universal solvent', almost all substances dissolve in it. Oil is the one substance that does not dissolve in water. However hard you try you will always see that if you try to mix the two, you will notice that the oil layer lies about the water.

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Everyday Chemistry - Discovering carbohydrates!

Carbohydrates are organic compounds of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The proportion between the hydrogen and oxygen in this is the same as it is in water. Plants produce carbohydrates by the process of photosynthesis.

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Everyday Chemistry - What makes an eggshell and why do they crack?

You may have heard your mother telling you that when you boil an egg you should keep it in cold water and then heat it slowly. Did you know that there is chemistry at work behind this advice?

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Everyday Chemistry - Creating artificial fog

Artificial smoke and fog provides a special effect for music artists performing on stage. Most artists make use of this effect to complement it with lighting while they are on tour. This extraordinary visual effect would not be possible were it not for chemistry.

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Everyday Chemistry - A tale of vinegar and hard water

If you live in an area where the water is hard, you may notice that when you wash utensils, a thin white stain is left behind. Did you know you can use vinegar to remove these stains?

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Everyday Chemistry - Why is chlorine added to swimming pools?

Ever taken a dip in a swimming pool, and wondered why the water tastes funny? That's because of the chlorine added to the water, as a disinfectant.

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Everyday Chemistry - Chilly hot, water cold, chilly hot again?

When you've eaten something spicy, you take a quick gulp of water to damp the hotness. But after sometime, it feels hot again. Why?

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Everyday Chemistry - Video: the 'Traffic Lights' Reaction

Have you watched a solution that changes colour from green to red? Here's a video that shows how chemistry can be quite fun.

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Everyday Chemistry - How does reverse osmosis purify water?

If you go to an appliances shop, you'll notice many brands of water purifiers that work by reverse osmosis. You may have one at home too. But how exactly does reverse osmosis work?

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Everyday Chemistry - Why does a car windshield repel water?

Next time you drink a glass of water, try cleaning it with a piece of rubber. There will still be a thin film of water left on the glass. Now look at how a car's windshield wiper works. How does that clean off the water, though it is made of rubber too?

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Everyday Chemistry - How is artificial rain made?

What's common to boiling water, artificial rain and the Mentos-Diet Coke reaction? It's nucleation! Let's see what that means.

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Everyday Chemistry - Video: Heavy Water

Heavy water is made of a heavier isotope of hydrogen called deuterium. But is it really heavier than water? Here's a video that finds out.

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Everyday Chemistry - Why do pumice stones float in water?

Imagine having a bath with volcanic foam. Weird? Not really, because lots of people use it everyday - as pumice stones.

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Everyday Chemistry - What is Ozonised Water?

In your school water cooler, you might have seen a huge, inverted plastic jar saying 'Ozonised water'. Ever wondered why anyone wants to put ozone in drinking water?

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Everyday Chemistry - What are watermarks?

Have you held a currency note to the light and seen all the secret pictures on it? Those are called watermarks. Let's have a peek into how they are made.

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Everyday Chemistry - Why does ice always float and not sink?

We all love to have our drinks cold. Either we add cold water to our drink or simply toss in some ice cubes. But have you ever wondered when you add sugar to water, it goes right down to the bottom of your glass, but when you add ice cubes, they float instead of sinking. We will help you find an answer...

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Everyday Chemistry - Fire extinguishers save lives. But how do they work?

A fire extinguisher is almost a necessity in such places as it will end up saving your life and property in case of emergency like a fire. As the word goes, fire extinguisher is used to extinguish fire. But do you know how this thing works? Well let us discover...

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Everyday Chemistry - Why do leaves change colour?

Why leaves change colour is an exciting question and the answer is also equally exciting. If you ask an average person, you will probably get an answer like the leaves dry and they wither. But that is not the right answer. Let us explore why leaves change their colour...

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Everyday Chemistry - What's the magic behind trick birthday candles?

Do you know the magic behind tricky birthday candles? The more you blow the more they relight. Is this magic? Well not really, it is simply chemistry. Let us find out the magic behind the tricky birthday candles...

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Everyday Chemistry - Why Does Turmeric Turn Red?

You are busy eating your food when a spoonful of curry falls on your white shirt. You decide to go home and wash it. The moment you dip the shirt in soap water, the stain turns red. You are horrified! How come the otherwise yellow coloured stain turned red the moment it came in contact with the soap?

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Everyday Chemistry - How to Make Fake Snow!

Feeling depressed because the place where you stay has no snow? Well, let us prepare fake snow to give a complete Christmas feel...

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Everyday Chemistry - Discover the Chemistry Behind Snowflakes!

Have you seen a snowflake and have you ever given a thought on how the snowflakes are formed and the reason behind why they look different from other snow? Let us discover the secret behind the chemistry that is involved behind the different shapes of the snow flakes.

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Everyday Chemistry - Why is water hard or soft in nature?

Have you wondered why the water tastes differently in some parts of the country; especially the rural areas? We will tell you why...

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Everyday Chemistry - Learn How Bubbles Work!

Bubbles manage to fascinate most of us, no matter which age group we belong to. Everything has a science involved behind it and bubbles are no exceptions. Let us unveil the secret behind how these fascinating transparent balls work...

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Everyday Chemistry - What is a Hangover and how do I get rid of it?

Whenever there is a party or a holiday season coming up, adults end up drinking. Every person has his or her own favourite way of curing hangover. However, here are some chemicals that will help you get over a hangover.

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Everyday Chemistry - Why Oil and Water do not mix?

There is a perfectly good explanation for why oil and water do not mix. It all comes down to chemistry. Let us now explore...

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Everyday Chemistry - Does Distilled Water Conduct Electricity?

Most of us are familiar that wires and metals conduct electricity. However, did you know that water too can help electricity travel? But not every water conducts electricity and the rate of electricity conduction is also different. Wondering how? Let us explain...

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Everyday Chemistry - Why Can't We Breathe Underwater?

It is a known fact that water is made up of oxygen and hydrogen, however, when we go underwater, why do we require an oxygen cylinder and why are we unable to breathe under water? In contrast, fishes can live only in water although they also breathe oxygen for their survival. Have you thought about this mystery?

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Everyday Chemistry - Can you drink too much water?

Almost every fitness book or a health club preaches one thing, "Drink lot of water". This is an open ended statement as each of our bodies is different and the requirement also differs. Another question that comes to our mind is how much water to drink and whether we can drink too much of water.

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History & Future - The environmental effects of dams

Dams are huge concrete constructions built to store water. You must have definitely seen one while traveling between cities. They are used to control flood hazards, store water for irrigation, and produce hydroelectric power. These are the benefits of a dam. But did you know they are also harmful in many ways?

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History & Future - The secret of solar energy

Sun is the life giver to everything on earth. Plants, animals and humans spring to life with the touch of the first sunrays. The sun's energy or solar energy is a form of renewable energy received from the Sun in the form of solar radiation. This energy can be used to produce solar electricity.

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History & Future - A fresh look at fresh water

We use a lot of water in our daily for drinking, cooking, washing and sanitary purposes. Today we are facing a water shortage. It has been estimated that by 2050 almost a third of the people on our planet will not have access to this resource.

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History & Future - When the ice melts in Greenland!

You may have observed that when you leave an ice cube outside, it starts to melt and turn into water. This is because the temperature outside your freezer is much higher. Imagine then what the effect of global warming will be to those places that are full of ice. One such place is Greenland, which has lost 1500 cubic kilometres between the year 2000 and 2008.

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History & Future - Supercritical water: the solvent of the future

Almost everything we use today - plastics, medicines, synthetic fabrics - is made by some chemical process or the other. Many of these require organic solvents like benzene or acetone, which are environmental pollutants. How nice would it be if there was a way to make these useful things without needing harmful solvents?

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History & Future - Drinking up the sea

You've probably had fights with your siblings over chocolates. But did you know that your children might have to fight one day over a glass of drinking water? Let's see what we can do to avoid a situation like that.

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History & Future - The Low-down on Lollipops

Large rainbow swirls, a small heart shaped lollipop, marshmallow lollipop, and the mere thought of them can make your mouth water. Lollipops have been very popular. Let us find out how lollipops were discovered...

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History & Future - Importance of Energy Conservation

December 14th is celebrated as World Energy Conservation day, so let us discuss some ways by which we can conserve energy and find out why energy conservation is so important.

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History & Future - How Hand Sanitizers Made Their Debut

With today's realization on hygiene and germ-free world, hand sanitizers have hugely replaced the traditional soap and water in many places. Let us find out how this hand sanitizer evolved...

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Famous Scientists - Joseph Priestley

Ever had a sip of soda and marvelled at the fact how a little fizz makes it different from fruit juices? Joseph Priestley added fizz in our life with the discovery of soda water and oxygen.

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Famous Scientists - Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier

Few things are as important as water, which we know is made of oxygen and hydrogen. Did you know that Antoine Lavoisier was the discoverer of both elements?

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Famous Scientists - Elizabeth Fulhame

Three centuries ago, women were expected to stick to 'womanly' activities such as painting and weaving, and not try to do 'manly' things like scientific experiments. But one woman refused to be so limited - Elizabeth Fulhame.

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Famous Scientists - Coenraad Johannes van Houten: Discovery of Cocoa Powder

Chocolate drinks, chocolates, chocolate cake, the mere words can make your water mouth! Who is not fond of chocolates? Coenraad Johannes van Houten is the famous scientist who discovered cocoa powder, the main ingredient of chocolate and chocolate flavoured items.

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