10 Incredible Chemical Reaction GIFs Explained

We encounter thousands of chemical reactions every day: plants use them in photosynthesis, metals rust over time, and combustion reactions provide us with heat and light, among thousands of other daily uses. Chemical reactions occur when reactants transform into new substances, called products, through creating and breaking bonds between atoms. Sometimes the process creates some pretty wild effects. 1) Disintegration (Mercury Reacts with Aluminum) Image credit: Theodore Gray via Youtube When aluminum rusts, it creates a protective oxide layer that prevents the aluminum atoms underneath from further rusting. 2) Pharaoh's Serpent (Mercury (II) Thiocyanate Reacts with Oxygen) Image credit: tenkowal via Youtube The reaction depicted above, nicknamed the "Pharoah's Serpent," actually use to be a common classroom demonstration. 3) Explosive Gummi Bear (Heated Potassium Chlorate Reacts with a Gummi Bear) Image credit: ebaum via ebaumsworld.com Image credit: DizzyCtube via Youtube

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Science News, Articles, and Information Magazines Center for Brain and Cognition, UC San Diego - V.S. Ramachandran About V.S. Ramachandran V.S. Ramachandran is Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition and Distinguished Professor with the Psychology Department and Neurosciences Program at the University of California, San Diego, and Adjunct Professor of Biology at the Salk Institute. Ramachandran initially trained as a doctor (MBBS) at Stanley Medical College, Madras, India, and subsequently obtained a Ph.D. from Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. After that, he recieved an honorary FRCP; London (Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians) and two honorary doctorates (DSc; honorus causa). In 2005 he was awarded the Henry Dale Medal and elected to an honorary life membership by the Royal Instituion of Great Britain, where he also gave a Friday evening discourse (joining the ranks of Michael Faraday, Thomas Huxley, Humphry Davy, and dozens of Nobel Laureates). In addition, Ramachandran has an interest in history and archeaology (see his article on the Indus Valley Code). Recent Reviews

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