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Is It Really Dangerous to Use Your Phone on a Plane?

11 May 2017

The fear behind the rule of 鈥榥o phones on planes鈥 is that portable electronic devices could potentially interfere via electromagnetic radiation with the measurement and navigation tools on board....

Do dead batteries really bounce?

10 May 2017

You鈥檝e probably heard of the bounce test for dead batteries- simply drop a battery, and if it bounces, it鈥檚 dead. It turns out that this isn鈥檛 completely true. Conventional batteries have an outer...

Bourgeonal Odour

10 May 2017

Bourgeonal is an aromatic aldehyde used in perfumery with a fragrance resembling that of the Lily of the Valley.聽 What鈥檚 so special about this fragrance? It is secreted by the ovum within the...

Sperm whale perfume

10 May 2017

Sperm whales produce a black, smelly substance called ambergris which changes to a pleasant smell when exposed to air.聽It is rare and expensive but is used as a base in some perfumes.聽Ambergris...

Should I Be Worried About My Earphones?

9 May 2017

Such warnings have become ubiquitous as a result of California鈥檚 Proposition 65, a well-intentioned law that has gone haywire and has caused undue anxiety among consumers. The intent was to protect...

The Dirt on Laundry Balls

27 Apr 2017

As you can imagine, the ad caught my eye.聽 鈥淓arth Smart Laundry CD works on the principles of quantum physics, not chemistry.鈥澛營 had to have it.聽So I sent in my sixty dollars and waited.聽A couple...

Frankenstein鈥檚 Chemical Roots

20 Apr 2017

"I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet."聽 With these words Victor Frankenstein began his account of the...

Math behind the movies

6 Apr 2017

I remember back in high school math class, wondering aloud (to the teacher, no less- I was not shy) why I needed to take math. I was absolutely certain that I would never be entering a profession...

Microwave Confusion

5 Apr 2017

The scientists working at the Raytheon Company during World War II were undoubtedly highly stressed.聽 Britain was being attacked by Nazi warplanes and their task was to develop an electronic system...

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