This reminds me... Gotta go reverse these electrons

Using high-resolution atomic force microscopy, a hydrogen bond has been imaged for the first time. This technique is quite similar to the one used to photograph bonds breaking and reforming that was announced earlier this year.

Well, okay GOLD. Apparently, gold grows on eucalyptus trees. Researchers discovered that the trees are acting as a hydraulic pump, extracting gold from the soil and moving it to their leaves and branches. The ‘nuggets’ are about one-fifth the diameter of human hair, but the leaves may be used in combination with other tools to develop better exploration techniques.

Since pearls are made mostly of calcium carbonate, the acid found in vinegar, known as acetic acid, will definitely dissolve one over a period of time. The same dissolution would occur if an egg were placed in a glass of vinegar and left to sit - the egg shell would disintegrate. Of course, the speed as which the pearl dissolves will depend on the concentration of the acid and the pearl's overall size. The reaction produces calcium acetate, water and carbon dioxide, summarized below:


More Pearly Facts:

 Mollusks actually create pearls as a form of protection from foreign particles, sand and parasites. Natural pearls, though, are very rare in modern times due to a decline in mollusks ...

Briton Peter Higgs (right) and Belgian ">François Englert (left) have won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics, 'for something small that makes all the difference' – the Higgs boson.

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Some bugs, such as water scorpions, long-toed water beetle and predaceous diving beetles (shown below) use the molecular properties of water to create miniature scuba diving tanks and spacesuits. The cohesive forces between water molecules essentially makes water molecules "stick" together, allowing bubbles to form against a wall of tension. These little insects are small enough to take advantage of this, by trapping a bubble in their outer wings or tiny bristles on their shell.

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By manipulating chemical gradients in a beaker of fluid, the behavior of crystal growth can be controlled, creating precisely tailored structures – “flowers” at the scale of microns – that bloom in a beaker.

Though these minuscule sculptures don't resemble the cubic or jagged forms normally associated with crystals, they “bloom” from the surface of a submerged glass slide, assembling themselves one molecule at a time.

The precipitation of the crystals depends on a reaction of compounds that are diffusing through a liquid solution. The crystals grow toward or away from certain chemical gradients as the pH of the reaction shifts back and forth. The conditions of the reaction dictate whether the structure resembles broad, radiating leaves, a thi ...

Gallium is a silvery metal with atomic number 31. It is used in semiconductors and LEDs, but the cool thing about it is its melting point, which is only about 85 degrees Fahrenheit. If you hold a solid gallium crystal in your hand, your body heat will cause it to slowly melt into a silvery metallic puddle. Pour it into a dish, and it freezes back into a solid.

While you probably should not lick your fingers after playing with it, gallium is not toxic and it will not make you crazy like mercury does. And if you get tired of it, you can melt it onto glass and make yourself a mirror. ...