stackyFACTSWho knew that making chemicals run a marathon through special paper would force them to split up? Chromatography separates mixtures by dissolving them in a fluid and washing them through a medium, with heavier molecules lagging behind. It is the definitive scientific method for exposing fake vanilla extract.
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If you want to know what something is made of, simply vaporize it, zap it with a laser, and throw it through a magnet. Mass spectrometry separates ionized…
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Every element has a unique light signature, which means everything can be identified if you heat it enough. Spectrometers analyze the specific wavelengths of…
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Trusting human senses around radiation is a fantastic way to glow in the dark, so we wear paranoid jewelry instead. Dosimeters measure cumulative exposure to…
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The oldest trick in the chemistry book is knowing that different liquids give up and boil at different temperatures. Distillation heats a mixture until the…
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Instead of looking at things, scientists built a microscopic record player needle to literally drag across molecules. As the tip grazes the surface, a laser…
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If you want to know a molecule's shape, turn it into a rock and hit it with high-energy rays. X-ray crystallography measures how radiation scatters off a…
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