Scientists may finally understand the mysterious transition behind a century-old chemistry experiment. The details of this transformation, in which adding electrons to a bright blue ammonia solution ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. When you learn about the moon in school, you’re generally taught ...

It’s a helpful rule of thumb: Main group elements prefer forming bonds that give them eight valence electrons; transition metals go for 18 electrons. Now scientists have shown that main group elements ...

For decades, science enthusiasts have delighted at the famously energetic way sodium and potassium explode on contact with water. Researchers in Europe now show that the long-accepted explanation for ...

It’s the classic piece of chemical tomfoolery: take a lump of sodium or potassium metal, toss it into water and watch the explosion. Although this piece of pyrotechnics has amazed generations of ...