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 ...

You remember the sodium demo from chemistry class: Just a small chunk of the pure metal dropped into water causes a great big flash and bang. You might even remember ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. The Universe is out there, waiting for you to discover it. Sometimes, we learn things early on in life, and simply accept that's ...

A seed crystal can be dropped into a saturated solution of sodium acetate. The solution will suddenly crystallize and turn to solid. Alternately, the solution may be slowly poured out onto a seed ...