Platinum is a very useful metal for chemical reactions. It acts as a catalyst, making reactions happen faster without getting used up in the process. Unfortunately, platinum is also rare, so buying enough for large industrial reactions can be very expensive. This problem could soon be solved by dissolving it in gallium. Gallium is also … Continue reading Dissolving platinum speeds up reactions
Category: Chemistry
The Nobel Prize round-up 2021
The 2021 Nobel Prizes were announced in early October, with the ceremony held as usual on the 10th of December – the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. It’s almost been another two months since then, but in case you missed it, here’s who won and why. Physics – Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann & Giorgio Parisi … Continue reading The Nobel Prize round-up 2021
The Ig Nobel Prize round-up 2021
The Ig Nobel Prizes are my favourite event in the scientific calendar, so once again here's my summary of this year’s ten achievements “that make people laugh, then think”. Biology – Susanne Schötz, Robert Eklund & Joost van de Weijer Wouldn’t it be great if we could understand what our pets are saying? That’s the … Continue reading The Ig Nobel Prize round-up 2021
How to make bendy ice
Imagine bending an icicle. As weird as this sounds, it should be possible, and scientists have just made it happen (on a very small scale). Using simulations, we can calculate how bendy a material should be, but this doesn’t always match what we measure. Normal ice can only bend about 2 percent as much as … Continue reading How to make bendy ice
Uncovering the secrets of einsteinium
Einsteinium is a radioactive element found at the bottom of the periodic table. It was discovered in 1952 by Albert Ghiorso, who was studying the debris from a nuclear explosion. However, almost seventy years later, we’ve only just learnt some basic information about this rare element. Einsteinium is quite difficult to get, and even harder … Continue reading Uncovering the secrets of einsteinium
Why is the moon rusting?
Rust is the result of a chemical reaction between iron, water and oxygen. The Moon only has the first ingredient, which is why scientists were surprised to find haematite [hee-mah-tite; a type of rust] in the lunar soil. As well as having no oxygen or liquid water, hydrogen coming from the Sun makes the Moon’s … Continue reading Why is the moon rusting?
Penguins, drugs and global warming
“After nosing about in guano [GWAH-noh, bird poo] for several hours, one goes completely cuckoo.” This was the problem faced by Professor Bo Elberling and his team on South Georgia Island, as they tried to uncover links between global warming and penguin colonies. They couldn’t conduct the research without getting high. Fish and krill, the … Continue reading Penguins, drugs and global warming
Secrets of the best smell in the world
Okay, I’ll admit this is just my personal opinion, but the smell of rain on dry ground is by far the greatest smell in existence. I assume that at least some of you agree, and humans aren’t the only ones. This smell is known as petrichor, and it’s caused by several factors. One of these … Continue reading Secrets of the best smell in the world
Why are the trees foaming?
This week Canberra received 70mm of rainfall in three days; for context, the entire month of March normally only gets 55mm. Luckily this caused little damage, but it did result in an unusual sight around the city. In what appeared to be a bizarre act of vandalism, trees were covered in foam. It looked like … Continue reading Why are the trees foaming?
Ig Nobel Prize summary 2019
Last month I wrote about the Nobel Prizes, the most famous awards in science. Now it’s time for their more fun cousins – the Ig Nobel Prizes. These awards honour “achievements that make people laugh, then think”. The result is one of the quirkiest collections of research and development from science and beyond. Here is … Continue reading Ig Nobel Prize summary 2019
Lachlan Writes Science 