Science Notes Posts

Science can explain the phenomenon of spontaneous human combustion. (Elti Meshau) — Every now and then, there’s a news story about a mysterious death where the victim has burned, seemingly without being set on fire or in proximity to a heat source. In other cases, a fresh corpse began to burn, without external assistance. If forensics rules out obvious causes, like passing […]

Is Spontaneous Human Combustion Possible? Recently updated !

This entry was posted on December 5, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on December 5, 2018)

Copper occurs in pure or native form. (Jonathan Zander) — Copper is a reddish transition metal with atomic number 29 and element symbol Cu. The element symbol comes from the Latin name for the element, cuprum. These copper facts include chemical and physical data, general information, and trivia. Basic Copper Facts Name: Copper Atomic Number: 29 Element Symbol: Cu Atomic […]

Copper Facts Recently updated !

This entry was posted on December 2, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on December 10, 2018)

These calcium chloride crystals grew spontaneously in a container of DampRid. — Calcium chloride crystals are easy to grow. The clear crystals are thin, six-sided shards that sparkle brightly. Materials All you need is calcium chloride and water: Calcium chloride (CaCl2) Water (H2O) Calcium chloride is commonly used as road salt to remove ice, in moisture control products such as DampRid, and […]

Grow Calcium Chloride Crystals

This entry was posted on November 29, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine

Sea grapes are single cells of a species of algae. (Robert Ricker, NOAA) — The only way to view most unicellular organisms is with a microscope. The vast majority of cells are very small. However, the largest single-celled organisms are visible to the naked eye and big enough to hold in your hand. The algae Caulerpa is generally recognized as the largest unicellular organism. […]

What Is the Largest Unicellular Organism?

This entry was posted on November 29, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine

Pure nickel is a silver metal with a slight yellow tinge. (Alchemist-hp) — Nickel is the chemical element with atomic number 28 on the periodic table with element symbol Ni. Its standard atomic weight is 58.6934 and its electron configuration is [Ar] 3d8 4s2 . It is a shiny silver transition metal that develops a slight yellow tinge upon exposure to air. Nickel is known […]

Nickel Facts – Atomic Number 28 or Ni

This entry was posted on November 19, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on December 2, 2018)

Snow Ice Cream — Delicious, creamy snow ice cream is one of the best parts of winter! There are many ways to make snow ice cream. You can use snow as the main ingredient or you can use it to freeze any other ice cream recipe. Snow Ice Cream With Snow as an Ingredient […]

Snow Ice Cream Recipes

This entry was posted on November 16, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine