Chemistry
You're made of dead stars
Guide: the Firefly · 2 wonders
Wonders of Chemistry
Chemistry
Why do you eat poison every single day?
Table salt is sodium chloride: sodium, a metal that bursts into flame on contact with water, and chlorine, a gas so toxic it was used as a weapon of war. Together they make something your body needs to live. The chemistry of why a compound is nothing like its parts.
Read the wonder → ChemistryWhy does it smell so good right before and after it rains?
The smell of earth after rain is called petrichor, and its star ingredient is geosmin, a molecule made by soil bacteria. When the first drops hit dry ground, they fling tiny geosmin-laden particles into the air. Our noses are so sensitive to it that we detect it in minuscule amounts.
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