Why are plastic food containers so hard to dry and clean?
They’re very convenient, but why are they so hard to clean?
Why do plastic containers take so long to dry in the dish rack, and why is it so hard to wash them when they’re greas...
Chemistry
-
-
How to make ice levitate
Three-phase Leidenfrost effect opens new understanding of heat transfer.
If you’ve ever dropped water onto a hot pan and watched it whizz around (and if you haven’t, we can thoroughly recomm...
-
Explainer
Explainer: how is sunscreen made and tested?
There’s a lot of science packed in that bottle.
At this time of year, you’re quite possibly wearing sunscreen every day. Have you ever wondered how it was designed? ...
-
Explainer
What’s in a COVID vaccine?
We examine every single ingredient.
You may have heard a lot about how COVID vaccines work over the past years, and how they are being rolled out. But sc...
-
Crystal-free crystallography
A new twist can make seeing tricky molecules crystal clear.
How do we know that DNA is a double helix, or that coronavirus spike proteins are spike-shaped? One technique – X-ray...
-
Shape-shifting microrobots could be used for bone repair
Just add electricity, and these newly engineered biomolecules harden and heal.
One of the great challenges in chemistry and materials science is getting substances to harden at the right time. It ...
-
The chemistry of the cricket ball
Is there a difference between different coloured balls?
The smallest change in the velocity or direction of a cricket ball can have a dramatic effect on the outcome of a mat...
-
Albert Hofmann trips the light fantastic
Chemist discovered LSD, and kickstarted the counter-culture.
In a 2007 article, Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper named Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann and Tim Berners-Lee, the Br...
-
Clothes dryers are a major source of airborne microfibres
Three cheers for the Hills Hoist: clothes dryers shed microfibres into the air.
A single clothes dryer could discharge up to 120 million microfibres every year according to estimates from a new stu...
-
Explainer
Explainer: what is an isotope?
And why do they seem to pop up in so many areas of science?
If you’re a keen reader of science news, you may have seen the words “isotope” or “isotopic analysis” pop up in a few...
-
Can a crystal change your life?
There’s nothing mystical about the everyday marvel of crystals. In fact, you might be surprised t...
The newspaper pull-out headline asked a simple question: “Can a crystal change your life?” As a chemist and crystallo...
-
The Australian scientists greening ammonia for a sustainable future
New technology shows the promise of an energy revolution.
Monash University has exclusively licensed a new green ammonia technology to start-up Jupiter Ionics, a company co-fo...