An Exploding Star Just Changed What We Know About the Origins of Life

The results indicate that the elements essential for life formed within extreme, highly energetic environments deep inside ...
Astronomy

Ask Astro: How do stars make elements heavier than iron?

Elements heavier than iron, such as gold and uranium, are primarily formed through neutron capture processes, specifically the rapid neutron capture process (r-process). The r-process, unlike the ...
C&EN

What do the elements sound like? (video)

INDIANAPOLIS, March 26, 2023 — In chemistry, we have He, Fe and Ca — but what about do, re and mi? Hauntingly beautiful melodies aren’t the first things that come to mind when looking at the periodic ...
Ars Technica

Elemental music: Interactive periodic table turns He, Fe, Ca into Do, Re, Mi

We’re all familiar with the elements of the periodic table, but have you ever wondered what hydrogen or zinc, for example, might sound like? W. Walker Smith, now a graduate student at Indiana ...
The Conversation

When an artist looks at a chemical element, what do they see?

Mark Blaskovich is a member of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) and the American Chemical Society. Frances Separovic receives funding from Australian Research Council (ARC) and National ...
Mental Floss

Why Do Some Elements Have Symbols That Aren’t in Their Names?

The chemical symbol for oxygen is O. Makes sense. Calcium gets repped by a Ca. Sounds good. Hydrogen? H. Cobalt? Co. Lithium? Li. With you so far. Lead? Pb. There are actually a few things that help ...