Explosive chemistry doesn’t always mean danger. In many cases, it simply refers to reactions that produce dramatic visual ...

Many of us gained our first appreciation for chemistry upon witnessing a high school teacher drop a chunk of sodium into a beakerful of water. You may think you know the explanation behind the ...

The spectacular reaction of alkali metals with water was poorly understood — despite being a staple of chemistry classes. It’s the classic piece of chemical tomfoolery: take a lump of sodium or ...

Watch as I drop 20 grams of sodium metal into a puddle in this epic science experiment! The reaction is explosive and fascinating—you won't believe what happens next! Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show ...

This is a preview. Log in through your library . Abstract A summary is given of the results of experimental determinations of the atomic photo-ionization cross-sections of the alkali metals. Detailed ...

[Editor's note: In his answer to this question, the late John Margrave argued that salt dissolves in water as ions of sodium and chlorine, and these ions hydrate, or join to, the water molecules. This ...

Chuck Wight, a chemistry professor at the University of Utah, provides the following explanation: A typical water-softening system removes calcium and magnesium ions from hard water and replaces them ...