public understanding

In this Chemical Mystery, a metal sphere is heated until it glows orange-hot, and then it is placed in some water. Watch what happens next:

In a previous post, I learned that a Scrub Daddy sponge is mainly comprised of a polymer called polycaprolactone.¹ I have continued to gather information on polycaprolactone and also to experiment with Scrub Daddy sponges.

For better or worse, I've seen very little of Richard Feynman's work/videos/lectures/etc. But a while ago, somewhere in my Twitter Timeline, somebody mentioned a transcription of a Richard Feynman interview about magnets.

One of my goals for 2017 was to read more chemistry non-fiction. I accomplished that with three and a half books read. That doesn't seem like much, but given how busy I've been lately it was quite an accomplishment!

Scrub Daddy is a cleaning supply that was invented by Aaron Krause¹ and is sold as America’s Favorite Sponge.² After being featured on ABC’s television show Shark Tank, Scrub Daddy has gone on to be Shark Tank’s most successful product, selling over 10 million products and generating $50 million in sales.³

In preparation for the National Chemistry Week (NCW) theme of “Chemistry Rocks!”, I have been testing various decorative beads for the presence of certain minerals. Several beads of this type are available at craft stores such as Michael’s and JoAnn Fabric.

The theme for National Chemistry Week (NCW) this year is Chemistry Rocks!¹ During NCW, which this year will be held October 22 – 28, many chemical educators will be focusing on the chemistry of rocks and minerals. To prepare for NCW, I’ve been in the lab conducting tests on the chemical and physical properties of various geological samples.