Alfred Nobel wasn't in the best of health but he knew he wasn't dead. Yet, there was his obituary, prominently featured in the morning newspaper. To make matters worse, not only had the newspaper...
You stick them into a birthday cake, stand back and revel in the brilliant shower of sparks. What you are witnessing are glowing metal particles, usually aluminum, but iron titanium, zinc or...
The use of candles dates back as far as 3,000 B.C., when ancient Egyptians used papyrus reeds dipped in animal fat that they then lit to use as torches. Similarly, ancient Romans dipped wicks into...
There is an old saying that if you play with fire, eventually you will get burned. The same can be said for certain chemicals. Of course, I don’t mean “play” in the literal sense. What I mean is...
An explosion and fire at a Texas chemical plant fuelled by the extremely flammable gas isobutylene has killed one employee and left the public wondering why such a dangerously flammable gas is...
All fireworks rely on a combustion process that has three basic requirements: some sort of fuel to burn, a supply of oxygen, and a source of energy to initiate the reaction between the fuel and the...
Suggestions have been made that the Dictamnus albus plant, found throughout northern Africa is a candidate for the burning bush. In the summer, the plant, also known as the “gas plant,” exudes a...
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