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The smoke bomb you would purchase from a fireworks store usually is made from potassium chlorate (KClO 3 - oxidizer), sugar (sucrose or dextrin - fuel), sodium bicarbonate (otherwise known as baking soda - to moderate the rate of the reaction and keep it from getting too hot), and a powdered organic dye (for colored smoke). When a commercial smoke bomb is burned, the reaction makes white smoke and the heat evaporates the organic dye. Commercial smoke bombs have small holes through which the smoke and dye are ejected, to create a jet of finely dispersed particles. Crafting this type of smoke bomb is beyond most of us, but you can make an effective smoke bomb quite easily. There are even colorants you can add if you want to make colored smoke. Let's start out with instructions for the easiest/safest type of smoke bomb you can make: Smoke Bomb Materials sugar (sucrose or table sugar) potassium nitrate, KNO 3 , also known as saltpeter (buy it online or you can find this at som...

Firecrackers are extremely easy and inexpensive to make yourself. You may want to make your own firecrackers because you are interested in learning how to make simple fireworks or it may be you are unable to obtain fireworks where you live. Fortunately, the materials needed to make your own firecrackers are very common. Homemade Firecracker Materials tape (e.g., transparent tape) toy gun caps (either the tape or the rings) or black powder fuse (you can make your own fuse ) pin or needle Toy gun caps are nice because the powder used in them is easy to work with. Here's how to get the powder out of the caps: Gently insert a pin or needle through the back of a cap through to the front. Remove the pin and re-insert it from the front, where you made the hole. Pry the powder out of the cap, tapping it onto a sheet or paper or plate or other working surface. Carefully work the pin around the edge of the cap to collect all of the powder. There is a very slight chance of popping t...

'm partial to smoke bombs , since they are easy to make and don't explode, but there are lots of other fireworks you can make for your New Year's Eve celebrati

Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide, which normally exists as a gas. It is extremely cold (-109.3°F or -78.5°C), so you can get frostbite from touching dry ice... but what if you just want to poke it or touch it for an instant? What happens if you taste it? Here's the answer. Answer: When dry ice heats up it sublimates into carbon dioxide gas, which is a normal component of air. The problem with touching dry ice is that it is extremely cold (-109.3°F or -78.5°C), so when you touch it, the heat from your hand (or other body part) is absorbed by the dry ice. A really brief touch, like poking dry ice, just feels really cold. Holding dry ice in your hand, however, will give you severe frostbite, damaging your skin in much the same manner as a burn. You do not want to try to eat or swallow dry ice because the dry ice is so cold it can 'burn' your mouth or esophagus, too.If you handle dry ice and your skin gets a little red, treat the frostbite like you would treat a ...

The other day I mentioned a study that found the severity of a hangover is related to the color of the alcohol, which was a reflection of the chemical composition of the drink. There's more to hangover chemistry than just the color of the drink, however. For example, some people's biochemistry essentially makes them immune to hangovers. These people can detoxify the alcohol, acetaldehyde, and congeners quickly enough to escape most of the negative effects of alcohol consumption, except maybe the effects of dehydration, since the enzymes responsible for clearing the body of alcohol and its metabolites require water. If you are not a member of that lucky 25-30% of people who don't get hangovers, you can minimize your chances of suffering by avoiding deeply colored drinks, staying hydrated, and limiting your consumption. Keep in mind, some alcoholic beverages contain enough contaminants that it's not the alcohol that gives you the hangover, so even one drink might be eno...

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"For studies of the structure and function of the ribosome" Photo: MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology Credits: Michael Marsland/Yale University Credits: Micheline Pelletier/Corbis Venkatraman Ramakrishna Thomas A. Steitz Ada E. Yonath 1/3 of the prize 1/3 of the prize 1/3 of the prize United Kingdom USA Israel MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology Cambridge, United Kingdom Yale University New Haven, CT, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute Weizmann Institute of Science Rehovot, Israel b. 1952 (in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India) b. 1940 b. 1939

Prize Announcement   Announcement of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry by Professor Gunnar Öquist, Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 7 October 2009 .         Interview  Following the announcement, Professor Gunnar von Heijne told senior editor Simon Frantz how the achievements awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry not only provided insights into life at the atomic level, but also provided insights into how to save lives.    

In 1901 the very first Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Jacobus H. van 't Hoff for his work on rates of reaction, chemical equilibrium, and osmotic pressure. In more recent years, the Chemistry Nobel Laureates have increased our understanding of chemical processes and their molecular basis, and have also contributed to many of the technological advancements we enjoy today.