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 ...

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 ...

We can use a gas syringe to measure the reaction of metals with dilute acid. When zinc reacts with hydrochloric acid it produces zinc chloride and hydrogen gas. We can measure the rate of the reaction ...

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 ...