Science Notes Posts

Copper sulfate burns with more of a blue-green flame. (Anne Helmenstine) — Illuminating your Halloween jack o’ lantern with green fire is way more interesting than using a candle. Green fire just looks witchy! The effect is easy to achieve and yields fantastic results. Green Fire Jack o’ Lantern Materials You only need a few basic materials to put green fire in […]
Make a Green Fire Jack o' Lantern

If you want to hear the aurora sound, listen on a calm, clear night. (Luke Stackpoole) — Do the Northern Lights or aurora borealis make a sound? The answer is yes. However, not everyone hears the sound and not all aurora produce it. Eyewitness Accounts of the Aurora Sound Several credible witnesses in both the Northern Hemisphere (aurora borealis) and Southern Hemisphere (aurora australis) report hearing a […]

Does the Aurora Borealis Make a Sound? Recently updated !

This entry was posted on October 15, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on October 15, 2018)

Real snowflakes are beautiful, but melt quickly. Grow borax crystal snowflakes and enjoy them as sparkling ornaments or decorations year-round. The snowflakes are naturally clear or white, but you can tint them blue or any color you like. Borax Crystal Snowflake Materials Basically, you’re growing borax crystals over a snowflake […]

Make Borax Crystal Snowflakes

This entry was posted on October 13, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine

Use white face paint and black eyeliner to make a simple skeleton costume. — Many commercial face paints contain chemicals you don’t want, such as perfumes, parabens, heavy metals, or allergens. They are also expensive for what you get. Here is a simple recipe for a homemade white face paint you can make that uses natural, non-toxic ingredients. White Face Paint Materials You only […]

Easy White Face Paint Recipe Recently updated !

This entry was posted on October 13, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on October 13, 2018)

When the elements were discovered (periodic table). — This periodic table chronicles the discovery of the chemical elements. The date is given for when an element was first isolated in pure or nearly pure form. In some cases, the existence of an element was suspected or predicted several years or even thousands of years before its purification. You […]

When Were the Elements Discovered? Timeline and Periodic Table Recently updated !

This entry was posted on October 11, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on October 11, 2018)

Shine a low pressure sodium lamp on a flame colored with table salt for a black flame pumpkin. — First, there was the green fire pumpkin. Then, I made a rainbow flames pumpkin. That was cool, but then there was the flamethrower jack o’ lantern. How could I top that? Well, this black flames Halloween jack o’ lantern is less likely to require a fire extinguisher, and actually way […]

Black Flames Halloween Jack o’ Lantern

This entry was posted on October 3, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on October 4, 2018)

Bismuth crystals (Dschwen) — Bismuth crystals are one of the easiest and most beautiful metal crystals to grow. These crystals are known for their rainbow colors that are caused by the oxide layer that forms on the metal. Bismuth crystallizes into an intricate geometric “hopper” form. Bismuth Crystal Materials You only need a few […]

How to Grow Bismuth Crystals

This entry was posted on October 3, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine

Add highlighter ink to make water glow under a black light or phosphorescent powder to really make glowing water. — Glowing water is useful for making spectacular fountains, “magic” potions, and for added pizazz for a party or science project. Chemicals to Make Water Glow in the Dark Ordinarily, water doesn’t glow. There’s actually an exception to this. Water in a nuclear reactor does glow blue due to Cherenkov radiation. […]

How to Make Glowing Water

This entry was posted on September 20, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine

Halloween science experiments may be scary or fun (or both)! — October is the perfect month for spooky Halloween science experiments and projects. Here’s a collection of projects to make gooey slime, glow in the dark items, and creepy pumpkins. Halloween Science Experiments Ectoplasm Slime – Whether or not you believe spirits generate ectoplasm (ala Slimer in the movie Ghostbusters), slime […]

Halloween Science Experiments Recently updated !

This entry was posted on October 14, 2017 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on October 13, 2018)

A - Chemistry Dictionary Icon — This comprehensive chemistry dictionary or glossary offers definitions for terms which are commonly used in chemistry and chemical engineering. This page contains the chemistry definitions starting with the letter A. Click the letter to go to the page containing glossary terms beginning with that letter. A B C D E […]

A to Z Chemistry Dictionary – Comprehensive Glossary of Chemistry ...

This entry was posted on July 3, 2017 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on September 24, 2018)