Almost every material we could ever want is lurking somewhere in the planet beneath our feet. From the gold we wear as jewelry to the oil that powers our cars, Earth's storehouse of amazing materials can supply virtually every need. Chemical elements are the basic building blocks from which...
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Chemically, the composition of Afghan emeralds is “astonishingly similar” to Colombian emeralds, SSEF said, adding only a careful trace element analysis of the stones would reveal the differences. The most common difference between the two is a higher iron concentration in the Afghan sa...
Sanger sequencing is a method that yields information about the identity and order of the four nucleotide bases in a segment of DNA. Also known also as the “chain-termination method”, it was developed in 1977 by Frederick Sanger and colleagues, and ...
Chemically, polyester is a polymer primarily composed of compounds within the ester functional group. Most synthetic and some plant-based polyester fibers are made from ethylene, which is a constituent of petroleum that can also be derived from other sources. While some forms of polyester are biode...
In 1976, Maxam and Gilbert developed a technique in which DNA is chemically treated to break the chain at specific bases; following electrophoresis of the cleaved DNA, the relative lengths of the fragments—and thus the positions of specific nucleotides—can be determined and...
This week’s question is “What are gold concentrates?” While “gold concentrates” sounds like one of gold’s chemically modified derivatives, it is in fact, natural. Better known as “pay dirt,” gold concentrates are sourced in two different ways. The first is through gold panning (or ...
A silicone compound is made up of a hydrophobic particle dispersed in silicone oil, which produces a foam control used in a great variety of applications.
Spandex is a synthetic fabric that is prized for its elasticity. Contrary to popular belief, the term "spandex" is not a brand name, and this term is used to generally refer to polyether-polyurea copolymer fabrics that have been made with a variety of pr
How do you know what element is chemically active on the periodic table? Why does gold not show superconducting properties? What is the electron configuration of copper? What property of water makes it an effective coolant? The property of diamagnetism is said to be present in all materials. ...