Two translucent liquids are mixed. At first, nothing happens: the resulting solution is still translucent. Suddenly, with no warning, the solution turns blue-black all at once.

Curriculum links include redox reactions, rate of reaction, kinetics

Professor Sanjeev Gupta explains how scientists from many different disciplines have been brought together for the European Space Agency Aurora programme.  Scientists and engineers also speak about how exciting it is to be working on a search for life on other planets. 

This video is part of a series of ten...

This is one of the 14 Background Books published for Stage III of the Nuffield Chemistry Sample Scheme. The books were highly illustrated and designed to be attractive. This book describes applications of chemistry.

There are three parts to this book:
*Part 1: The properties of colloids
Covering...

This is one of the 14 Background Books published for Stage III of the Nuffield Chemistry Sample Scheme. The books were highly illustrated and designed to be attractive. This book describes developments in the applications of chemistry but takes an historical approach in some sections.

There are two parts to...

The Gravity Flight Suit uses kerosene as a fuel.  This resource explains the combustion of another hydrocarbon, methane, and the conditions needed for combustion of a fuel.

These materials support teachers, careers and personal advisers who are working together to broaden knowledge of STEM opportunities amongst students and parents. Resources include posters and support materials for practitioners. Teachers may also find the following eLibrary collections useful:

• ...

Produced by Solar Spark, this activity allows students to see a condensation polymerisation reaction in action as the polyamide polymer, Nylon, is produced. This is a condensation polymer made of two parent monomers, a di-amine and a di-acid chloride.

The reaction can be used to illustrate:
*...

These technical briefs look at the ways Practical Action have helped poor communities to make the best use of their own labour and to use locally produced building materials and techniques that they can afford and manage.

Technical briefs are documents produced by Practical Action which are freely available...

This is one of a series of focused units, from the Association for Science Education and the Design and Technology Association, to introduce students to important technologies and their applications. This unit features control systems and their applications to...

Comets are considered to be time capsules containing information about the conditions of the early Solar System. In order to understand what comets are, where they come from, and their influence on the evolution of Earth, it is necessary to find out what material they contain. This teacher demonstration and student...

A Catalyst article about the work of a scientist from the British Antarctic Survey, gathering data about climate change by studying ice cores from Antarctica. One of the areas of research was to find out whether it is possible to learn how much sea ice there was around Antarctica in the past by measuring how much...

This Catalyst article looks at how scientists can use material recovered from archaeological sites to see how crops have been introduced to different countries over the history of farming. Three processes by which some plant material can be preserved are explained. The ratio of carbon isotopes from the collagen in...

This is one of the 14 Background Books published for Stage III of the Nuffield Chemistry Sample Scheme. The books were highly illustrated and designed to be attractive. This book describes applications of chemistry to solve practical problems.

There are three parts to this book:
*Part 1: What is...