Unusual chemical elements in animals. Interesting facts about chemical elements

Even if you listened attentively to everything in the lessons at school and in pairs at the university, you know far from everything Interesting Facts O chemical elements. In this article, we will talk about interesting moments in the history associated with chemical elements, as well as the unusual properties thereof.

1. Hydrogen

IN earth's crust hydrogen contains very little - about 0.15 percent, while the same element makes up about 50% of the mass of the sun. Another interesting thing is that in liquid form, hydrogen is the densest substance, and in gaseous form, on the contrary, it is the most loose.

2. Sodium

Sodium (more commonly known as salt) originally had a different name. Until the 18th century, people called this element sodium. For this reason, sodium salts wore such strange name, like hydrochloric soda, or soda sulphate. Here, in Russia, this name has taken root thanks to Hermann Hess.

3. Metals

Few people know, but iron can go into a gaseous state, for this it needs to be heated up to 50,000 degrees Celsius.

4. Gold

One of the most precious metals that everyone knows - gold, is found in places that you did not know about. Yes, in a ton plain water from the ocean it is about 7 mg. In total, there are more than 10 billion tons of this metal in the ocean.

5. Platinum

At first, platinum, due to its similarity with silver, was given a similar name - "silver". It cost much less than silver. Later, when they figured out where to apply given metal everything has changed drastically. Now platinum is ten times more expensive than silver.

6. Silver

Speaking of silver, its bactericidal properties were discovered by accident. The Macedonian army was subjected to an epidemic, but it only affected the ordinary military, the commanders were healthy. It turned out that everything is connected with the dishes. For the chiefs, it was silver, for the military - from tin.

7. Liquid metals

There are several metals that are in a liquid state at "room" temperature: mercury, cesium, francium and gallium.

8. Metals and planets

Previously, people knew only 7 metals and the same number of planets, so they divided them “in pairs”. The moon meant silver, Mars - iron, Mercury was assigned Mercury, the Sun, naturally, gold. Jupiter became tin, Venus became copper, and Saturn became lead.

Sand snake. An interesting chemical experiment at home:

Interesting facts about household chemicals

Chemistry is a great science. Thanks to her, today we can have luxurious hair, clean clothes and a fresh smell in the house. She did not bypass our pools either. Chemistry for swimming pools helps keep the water in it perfectly clean and does not allow harmful bacteria to multiply. In addition, with its help, you can easily clean the walls of the pool from mucus and scale. It was this science that made it possible to invent tools that greatly simplify the life of housewives. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that many interesting and incredible facts about household chemicals.

1. All our shampoos, shower gels, creams, toothpastes, etc. have their own chemical composition, which is indicated on the packaging. Few people know, but it is listed in a certain order - as the mass of the ingredient used decreases. That is, if water is on the first place in the list of chemistry for the pool, then this means that it consists of 99% of it. In the last place are those ingredients that are in the product in the smallest amount.

2. Absolutely all laundry detergents are 80% free of chemical, which contributes to the removal of difficult stains, bleaching, etc., but from the ballast. And those red and blue peas ain't spoor new active substances, but the same ballast. Therefore, it is better to buy this household chemicals in liquid form.

3. In fact, the chemical composition of shampoo and shower gel is almost identical. Therefore, if you suddenly run out of shampoo, you can safely apply it to your hair. .

4. Domestic household chemicals use cheaper and lower quality ingredients. Moreover, our factories do not have strict control at all stages of production. In Europe, things are much better in this respect. And having bought chemistry for European-made pools, you can be sure that no one missed the casein glue or the mouse crawled into the tank with the product during production.

1. The composition of the shampoo is not much different from the shower gel, so they are easily interchangeable.

2. The country of origin is an important indicator of quality. Fructis of Russian production and French - different shampoos. For developing countries, cheaper ingredients are used in smaller quantities (everything else is water), EU production is under stricter control (less risk of a can of casein glue falling into the tub of your favorite lipstick, which happens), Europe has stricter quality standards. In other words, they make more expensive and thicker shampoo for the EU than for the Russian market. Therefore, buy what is made in Europe for a European company.

3. Read labels. The composition of the product is listed in descending order of the weight of the ingredients. For example, if it says: "Ingredients: water, soda, salt ... some incomprehensible words .... grape seed oil, period," this means that 99% of your shampoo consists of water. Grape seed oil also got there, but in the form of three drops per megaton barrel. If the description of the composition of your favorite hand cream begins with the words "vaseline, paraffin", then throw it out the window and buy a jar of petroleum jelly. Most likely, apart from these two ingredients and a couple of fragrances encoded in Latin names, there is nothing there. Yes, by the way, sadly, LUSH bath bombs are 99.9% soda, so their cost is about 30 cents (at a price of 300 rubles). There's a couple more drops essential oils and fragrances, but it's easier to make such bombs yourself.

4. Dear Parents, washing powders "Stork" and "Eared Nanny" are made in Russia (read the second paragraph). "Eared Nanny" was made at the factory "", which, in fact, has not been credible for 30 years, "Aist" was made at an unknown Russian production. In composition, these powders are no different from "adult powders" - it's all simple marketing. Buy liquid concentrates made in Europe for your children.

5. Any 80% ballast to please the buyer with a large box. And by the way, these little blue and red dots in washing powder are also ballast, and not at all some mythical active substances. Buy liquid concentrates, it is more economical, they are not as harmful to nature as powders that enter water bodies and destroy the ecosystem.

6. Rinse aids for colored and white laundry chemical composition are identical. The only difference is the labels.

7. Most big deception in that washing machines break from scale and therefore you need to buy Calgon. Don't believe! Cars do not break because of this, and Calgon is no different from others.

8. Sad news for Russian animal rights activists: just because a product says it hasn't been tested on animals doesn't mean no one has been harmed in Russia. The point is that in order to Russian market any cosmetic product must go through millions of SanPins, which were invented in the 70s and 80s. in the USSR, including tests on animals. Nobody canceled them even for Green Mama and Body Shop. Another thing is that the company may not conduct these tests on its own, but give its mascara to a Russian contractor, who will bury this mascara in the rabbit's eyes until its retina turns red.

The pursuit of complete cleanliness in the house often leads to an undesirable result: "environmentally friendly" dirt is replaced by "environmentally dirty" cleanliness. And thoughtless use of household chemicals can cause serious harm to health. To begin with, let's look at what active ingredients are included in detergents and cleaning products and how safe are they?

It turned out that despite the different names of detergents and cleaners, they use the same substances.

Harmful substances in household chemicals

Anionic surfactants . They call , allergies, damage to the brain, liver, , lungs, destroy living cells. In addition, surfactants obtained from petrochemical sources are often very toxic to the aquatic environment and do not decompose completely.

Chlorine . In small concentrations, it irritates the respiratory tract, dries the skin, destroys the hair structure (they begin to fall out more, become brittle, dull, lifeless), irritate the mucous membrane of the eyes. It can cause heart disease, atherosclerosis, anemia, high blood pressure. In high concentrations: if it enters the lungs, it causes burns of lung tissue, asphyxiation.

Formaldehyde . Possesses toxicity, negatively influences genetic material, respiratory tracts, eyes, integuments. It has a strong effect on the central nervous system.

Ammonia . Ammonia vapors strongly irritate the mucous membranes of the eyes and respiratory organs, as well as the skin, cause profuse lacrimation, eye pain, coughing, redness and itching of the skin. They can even cause a chemical burn of the conjunctiva and cornea, loss of vision. It with chlorine accounts for more than half of cases of poisoning with household chemicals.

Phenol . Phenol is poisonous. Causes dysfunction nervous system. Irritates mucous membranes of the eyes, respiratory tract, skin. Even when exposed to minimal doses of phenol, sneezing, coughing, headache, dizziness, pallor, nausea, loss of strength.

Phosphates . Getting into environment, lead to the rapid growth of plants in water bodies. And in Germany, the Netherlands and in some other countries, phosphates in powders are not used. In the EU countries, a ban on the use of phosphates has been discussed since 2011. Phosphates in large quantities are also harmful to humans.

Thus, many substances that are part of household chemicals are very harmful to humans, even in small quantities. Apparently, safe household chemicals do not exist. Of course, dishwashing detergents are not meant to be drunk. But, so that they do not enter the human body, they must be washed off well from plates and spoons. How is it really? How well do surfactants wash off the plate? Such products have a more alkaline pH compared to water, so indicators can be used to detect traces of it in solution.

Conclusion : Even 10 rinses in hot water do not completely remove the powder. So, in the future, its remnants fall on human skin. General conclusions based on the results of the study of washes: Various substances (including harmful ones) that are part of dishwashing detergents and washing powders are not completely washed off even after prolonged and repeated washing or rinsing - and as a result they enter the body or on human skin. Using hot water for rinsing and rinsing gives the best results.

Now we will conduct an experiment with cleaning the apartment and air samples after it. Results: after cleaning the apartment, the concentration of all 5 substances increased, while only one indicator remained within the permissible range, and 4 out of 5 one-time exceeded the MPC. And air samples from a cabinet with household chemicals are generally surprising: MPCs are greatly exceeded in 4 parameters. And that concentration stays there all the time! The last parameter (formaldehyde) is close to the norm. Precautions must be observed; including, as little as possible to open the place where it is located.

The conducted studies have shown:

almost always hazardous to health.
Many harmful substances contained in household chemicals cannot be removed (washed off) completely.

Cleaning an apartment with household chemicals pollutes the air in the room.
You should be careful with household chemicals, follow the rules for its storage, when using it, use products personal protection ( goggles, respirators).

So : you need to reasonably approach the choice of household chemicals when buying. Pay close attention to ingredients and avoid harmful substances. It is better not to buy products containing: anionic surfactants (you can take those where cationic or nonionic surfactants are used), formaldehyde, chlorine, cresol, ammonium, phenol, diazinon, phosphorus, phosphates, isopropyl alcohol. Tightly close the lids of containers with household chemicals, use masks when using household chemicals, , less likely to open the place where it is located , after cleaning the apartment to arrange a long airing.

There are quite a few products that can be used instead of household chemicals. For example, soda can be used to clean bathtubs, laundry soap for dishes, and vinegar for crystal, mirrors, there is more. old way laundry cleaning: boiling. However, it should be recognized that such funds are significantly inferior in their characteristics to similar purchased chemical ones.

You have probably already seen the Periodic Table of the Elements before. Perhaps she still appears in your dreams, or perhaps he has sunk into oblivion for you, being nothing more than a classroom wall decoration, designed to make the office more solid. However, there is more to this system of seemingly randomly placed cells than meets the eye.

The Periodic Table (or PT, as this article will refer to it from time to time) and the elements it describes have features that you might never have guessed. From implausible origins to new additions, here are ten facts you probably don't know about the Periodic Table of the Elements.

10. Mendeleev was helped

The periodic table has been in use since 1869, when it was created by the bearded Dimitri Mendeleev. Most people think that Mendeleev was the only one who invented the table and became the genius chemist of the century. However, his efforts were supported by several European scientists who made important contributions to complete this colossal element diagram.

Mendeleev is rightfully widely regarded as the father of the Periodic Table, but he didn't document every element we know.

9. New additions

Photo: IUPAC

Believe it or not, the Periodic Table hasn't changed much since the 1950s. However, four new elements were added on December 2, 2016: nihonium (element 113), moscovium (element 115), tennessine (element 117), and oganesson (element 118). These new additions were announced in June 2016, but it took five months of analysis before they could be officially added to the PT.

Each of these elements was named after the city or state in which they were discovered, with the exception of oganesson, which was named after Russian nuclear physicist Yuri Oganessian for his efforts in documenting the element.

8. No "J"

IN English alphabet there are 26 wonderful letters, and each of them is no less important than the previous one and the next one. However, Mendeleev saw it differently. Try to guess which unfortunate letter never occurs in PT? Here's a hint: say the letters and bend your fingers until you bend everything (if you have all ten). Guessed? That's right, this is the letter "J", which never appeared in PT.

They say one is not a warrior in the field? Then perhaps J is the loneliest letter. However, here's a fun fact: the letter "J" has been most commonly used in boys' names since 2000. So, "J" is getting enough attention, don't worry.

7. Artificial elements

Photo: Popocatomar

As you just found out, there are now a whopping 118 elements in the Periodic Table. Can you guess how many of those 118 are manmade? Of the 118 elements, 90 can be found in beautiful place which we call nature.

How can 28 elements be artificial? It really is. We have synthesized the elements since 1937 and continue to do so today. Good news is that the PT is amazing and these artificial elements can be easily spotted if you ever get curious. Just look at elements 93 to 118. Full disclosure: this range includes several elements that are very rare in nature and therefore almost always created in laboratories, which is also true for elements 43, 61, 85 and 87.

6. Item 137

In the middle of the 20th century, a famous scientist named Richard Feynman made a serious statement that hit the nerves of scientists around the world, leaving them forever scratching their heads. He said that if we ever found element 137, we would have no way of quantifying its protons and electrons. 137 element differs in that it is the value of the fine matter constant, defined as the probability that an electron will absorb . Theoretically, element 137 would have 137 electrons and a 100 percent chance of absorbing a photon. Its electrons would spin at the speed of light. It's even crazier that the electrons of element 139, if such a substance exists, must be spinning faster than the speed of light.

Enough physics? Think it over and you'll be interested (well, as interesting as reading about electrons). Element 137 in theory can unify three important parts of physics: the speed of light, quantum mechanics, and electromagnetism. Since the early 1900s, physicists have speculated that element 137 could underlie the Great Unified Theory, which could bring together all three of the above areas. By all accounts, it sounds as crazy as Area 51 with aliens or the Bermuda Triangle.

5. What is unusual about the title?

Almost all element names have more meaning and meaning than you might think. They are selected at random. We would, for example, name the element the first word that came to our mind. "Kerflump". Yes fine.

Further, the names of the elements take their origins in one of the five main categories. One of them is the names of famous scientists, a classic example is einsteinium. Elements can also be named after places where they have been documented, such as germanium, americium, gallium, and so on. Names can be an option celestial bodies such as planets. Uranus was first discovered shortly after the discovery of the planet Uranus. Elements can get names from mythology: for example, there is titanium after the Greek Titans and thorium after the Norse god of thunder - or the Star Avenger, whichever you prefer.

Finally, there are names that describe the properties of the elements. Argon comes from the Greek word argos, which means "lazy" or "idle". Now you will decide that argon is the laziest element. Hey argon, go to work. Bromine is another such name from the Greek word bromos, which means "stench", which very accurately describes the terrible smell of bromine.

4. It was hardly inspiration

If you are good at cards, then this fact is just for you. Mendeleev needed to somehow sort all the elements, and this required a systematic approach. Naturally, to break the table into categories, he turned to the game of solitaire. Mendeleev wrote down on separate cards the atomic weight of each element, and proceeded to a crazy game of solitaire, so to speak. He stacked the elements according to specific properties that formed the type of "suit". Then he was able to distribute these included in certain category elements into columns according to their atomic weight.

Many of us have a hard time getting through the levels of a normal game of solitaire, so this level 1000 guy is pretty impressive. What's next? Someone decides to turn to chess to revolutionize astrophysics and also build a rocket that can fly to the edge of the galaxy and back, while remaining absolutely stable? This is quite possible if crazy professor, like Mendeleev, was able to systematize something huge with the help of a card game.

3. "No" to inert gases

Photo: Wikimedia

Remember how we classified argon as the laziest and most boring element in the history of the universe? Mendeleev felt something similar. When argon was first isolated in 1894, it did not fit into any of the columns of the new table, so instead of finding a way to make an addition, the scientist decided to deny the existence of this element.

Even more surprisingly, argon is not the only unfortunate element that has suffered a similar fate. Five more elements have been shown to exist, as has unclassified argon. Just some discrimination of elements. Joking aside, radon, neon, krypton, helium, xenon - all of them were denied existence, just because Mendeleev could not find a place for them in the table. After years of reconfiguration and re-classification, these lucky elements (called inert gases) were able to enter an elite club called the Existing Elements.

2. Romantic connections

This fact is for you romantics. If you take a paper copy of the Periodic Table and cut out the middle columns, you get a Periodic Table with no elements. Fold it once in the middle of group IV, and tadam - you have learned which elements can form compounds with each other.

The elements that are "kissed" at the same time form stable compounds. They have complementary electronic structures that allow them to be combined. If it is not real love, the same as Romeo and Juliet, or even Shrek and Fiona, then what is it?

1. Carbon chief

Carbon wants to be the most important. You think you know everything about carbon, but you don't. This bad guy is capable of more than you ever thought. Do you know that large quantity compounds contains carbon than does not contain it? What about the fact that 20% of the weight of living organisms is carbon? It is even stranger that every carbon atom in your body was once a fraction of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon is not only practically a superelement, but also the fourth most abundant element in the entire universe.

If the Periodic Table were a party, you'd want to be on it next to carbon. This element seems to really know how to have fun. It is also the main element of diamonds, so add some sparkle to the list of its amazing qualities.

An amazing world is around us, a lot of interesting things surround a person, he doesn’t even know about a lot, it’s enough just to remember interesting facts about chemistry and understand what a wonderful world a person lives in.

1. It is enough to recall gallium and the effect of a dissolving teaspoon immediately comes to mind.. Surprisingly, at room temperature this metal is similar to aluminum. It starts to melt at 28 degrees Celsius. Scientists chemists often joke about their comrades. They give them galley spoons, and then they see the surprise of those who came to how the metal device simply begins to “melt” in a mug with freshly brewed tea.
2. Mercury in a thermometer remains liquid at room temperature..

   

3. Everyone knows the fact that the periodic table of chemical elements, Mendeleev had a dream. But few people know, the scientist himself, when it came to his table, always said: “I worked on it, maybe for twenty years, and you think that I sat down ... and she just appeared.”
4. Sometimes knowledge of chemistry helps to successfully wage wars. Suffice it to recall the example of a practically unknown battle of the First World War. This battle was connected with the extraction of molybdenum metal. This metal was used in the construction of the legendary German gun "Big Bertha". It was used for a reason, this metal turned out to be so strong that the manufactured barrel, which fired for several kilometers, was not deformed by shells from overheating. The place where molybdenum was mined was only in the Colorado mine. Upon learning this fact, a group of German company The Krupp, stationed in those places, took over this mine with a fight. german army was equipped with such a strong metal. The Allies did not attach any importance to this skirmish, and only towards the end of the war did they realize how thoughtful this strategic move was.

   

5. Meet the water in her primordially pure form(H2O) in nature will fail. Water absorbs everything that it meets on its way. Thus, having drunk well water, we use “compote”, the composition of which could not be repeated by any of the people.

   

6. Water reacts to the world . Scientists used water from the same source in different containers. Next to one included classical music, and the other was placed in a room with cursing people. As a result, by the composition and structure of the water, it was possible to determine which container with the liquid was located where.

   

7. A mixture of bitter, sweet and sour is how you can describe the taste of grapefruit. After processing 100 liters of this juice, scientists were able to isolate mercaptan. He is a taste champion. A person can feel the taste of such a compound already at a concentration of 0.02 ng / l. To obtain such a concentration, it is enough for a tanker of water of 100,000 tons, diluted with only 2 mg of mercaptan.

   

8. Interesting process can be observed in the symbiosis of the fig tree and fig wasps that live in the fruits of this tree. A ripe berry increases the concentration of carbon dioxide in itself by 10%. This is enough to put the female wasps to sleep. The males remain active, fertilize the females, and fly away after making a hole in the fruit. CO2 escapes, the awakened females fly away and carry pollen with them.

   

9. The scientific name for oxygen is dephlogisticated air..

   

10. Air is 4/5 nitrogen. If you get into a chamber with nitrogen, such chambers are found, for example, in mines, a person is trapped. Nitrogen is colorless and odorless, it seems to a person that he continues to breathe, not realizing that in a few seconds he will fall dead from lack of air.

    

11. Interesting facts are also found in the life of great chemists. For example, in 1921, famous artist Two young men came to Dmitry Kustodiev and asked him to paint their portraits. Their desire was not without reason, Kustodiev painted only famous people at that time, and the young men were sure that they would become exactly like that in the future, although they were still unknown to anyone. The artist agreed, the payment was a bag of millet and a rooster. The young people turned out to be Nikolai Simenov and Pyotr Kapitsev, who later became great scientists and laureates Nobel Prize in physics and chemistry.

    

12. unknown to anyone great chemist . Once King Gustav III of Sweden visited Paris. French scientists came to him for an audience and began to admire the work of the great Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele. The king rejoiced, but did not understand about whom in question, ordered to raise Scheel to knighthood. But the Prime Minister also did not know such a person, and by chance another Scheele, an artilleryman, was elevated to this rank. The chemist, however, remained an unknown chemist to everyone.

By the end of the 19th century, organic chemistry was formed as a science. Interesting facts will help you better understand the world around you and find out how new ones were made. scientific discoveries.

"Live" dish

The first interesting fact about chemistry concerns unusual food. One of the famous dishes of Japanese cuisine is "Odori Donu" - "dancing squid". Many are shocked by the sight of a squid moving its tentacles in a plate. But do not worry, he does not suffer and has not felt anything for a long time. Freshly skinned squid is placed in a bowl of rice and drizzled with soy sauce before serving. The tentacles of the squid begin to shrink. This is due to the special structure of the nerve fibers, which for some time after the death of the animal react with sodium ions contained in the sauce, causing the muscles to contract.

accidental discovery

Interesting facts about chemistry often concern discoveries made by accident. So, in 1903, Edouard Benedictus, a famous French chemist, invented safety glass. The scientist accidentally dropped the flask, which was filled with nitrocellulose. He noticed that the flask was broken, but the glass did not shatter into pieces. After conducting the necessary research, the chemist found that shockproof glass could be created in a similar way. This is how the first safety glasses for cars appeared, which significantly reduced the number of injuries in car accidents.

Live sensor

Interesting facts about chemistry tell about the use of the sensitivity of animals for the benefit of humans. Until 1986, miners took canaries underground with them. The fact is that these birds are extremely sensitive to mine gases, especially methane and carbon monoxide. Even with a small concentration of these substances in the air, the bird may die. The miners listened to the singing of the bird and monitored its well-being. If the canary shows anxiety or begins to weaken, this is a signal that the mine needs to be left.

The bird did not necessarily die from poisoning; it quickly got better in the open air. Even special hermetic cages were used, which were closed with signs of poisoning. Even today, no device has been invented that senses ore gases as subtly as a canary.

Rubber

An interesting fact about chemistry: another accidental invention is rubber. Charles Goodyear, an American scientist, discovered a recipe for making rubber that does not melt in the heat and does not break in the cold. He accidentally heated up a mixture of sulfur and rubber, leaving it on the stove. The process of obtaining rubber was called vulcanization.

Penicillin

Another interesting fact about chemistry: penicillin was invented by accident. forgot about the vial of staphylococcus bacteria for a few days. And when he remembered her, he discovered that the colony was dying. The whole thing turned out to be mold, which began to destroy bacteria. It was from the scientist that the world's first antibiotic was obtained.

Poltergeist

Interesting facts about chemistry can refute Mystic stories. You can often hear about ancient houses filled with ghosts. And it's all about an outdated and poorly functioning heating system. Due to the poisoning leak, the inhabitants of the house have headaches, as well as auditory and visual hallucinations.

Gray cardinals among plants

Chemistry can explain the behavior of animals and plants. Over the course of evolution, many plants have developed defense mechanisms against herbivores. Most often, they are plants that secrete poison, but scientists have discovered a more subtle method of protection. Some plants secrete substances that attract… predators! Predators regulate the number of herbivores and scare them away from the place of growth of "smart" plants. Such a mechanism exists even in plants familiar to us, such as tomatoes and cucumbers. For example, a caterpillar undermined a cucumber leaf, and the smell of the secreted juice attracted birds.

Squirrel Defenders

Interesting facts: chemistry and medicine are closely related. During experiments on mice, virologists discovered interferon. This protein is produced in all vertebrates. A special protein, interferon, is secreted from a virus-infected cell. It does not have an antiviral effect, but it contacts healthy cells and makes them immune to the virus.

The smell of metal

We usually think that coins, handrails in public transport, railings, etc. smell like metal. But this smell is not emitted by metal, but by compounds that are formed as a result of contact with the metal surface of organic substances, for example, human sweat. In order for a person to feel a characteristic smell, very few reagents are needed.

Construction material

Chemistry has been studying proteins relatively recently. They arose more than 4 billion years ago in an incomprehensible way. Proteins are building material for all living organisms, other forms of life are unknown to science. Half of the dry mass in most living organisms is made up of proteins.

In 1767, he became interested in the nature of the bubbles that come out of beer during fermentation. He collected the gas in a bowl of water, which he tasted. The water was pleasant and refreshing. Thus, the scientist discovered carbon dioxide, which is now used to produce sparkling water. Five years later, he described more effective method obtaining this gas.

Sugar substitute

This interesting fact about chemistry suggests that many scientific discoveries were made almost by accident. curious case led to the discovery of the properties of sucralose, a modern sugar substitute. Leslie Hugh, a professor from London who is studying the properties of the new substance trichlorosucrose, instructed his assistant Shashikant Phadnis to test it (test in English). Student with poor language English language, understood this word as "taste", which means taste it, and immediately followed the instructions. Sucralose is very sweet.

flavoring

Skatol is an organic compound formed in the intestines of animals and humans. It is this substance that causes the characteristic smell of feces. But if in high concentrations skatole has the smell of feces, then in small quantities this substance has a pleasant smell, reminiscent of cream or jasmine. Therefore, skatole is used to flavor perfumes, food and tobacco products.

cat and iodine

An interesting fact about chemistry - the most ordinary cat was directly involved in the discovery of iodine. The pharmacist and chemist Bernard Courtois used to dine in the laboratory, and he was often joined by a cat who liked to sit on his master's shoulder. After the next meal, the cat jumped to the floor, knocking over containers with sulfuric acid and a suspension of algae ash in ethanol, which were standing at the desktop. The liquids mixed, and a purple vapor began to rise into the air, settling on objects in small black-violet crystals. Thus, a new chemical element was discovered.