Ci Newsletter #17: Baking soda vs baking powder, & egg chemistry
I realised, shortly after sending the previous newsletter, that I forgot to mention I'd be taking a fortnight's break while I was off visiting family in Hungary. So, consider this very late notice if you were wondering where the newsletter was a couple of weeks back!
This fortnight's newsletter has a bit of a baking theme in parts, including a new infographic on raising agents, as well as a reminder of an older graphic on eggs which is a nice tie-in. There's also news on an awards nomination I'm tenuously involved in, the conclusion to the Chem vs COVID timeline, and the final episode of Crash Course Organic Chemistry.
Baking soda or baking powder?
If you're a baking pro, plenty of the detail in this latest edition of Periodic Graphics in C&EN is probably familiar to you. For those of us who would self-describe as dabblers in baking, there's a lot more to the use of raising agents in baking than you might expect. This graphic breaks down when and why different raising agents are used.
Salters Chemistry Club
It was great to hear that the Salters Chemistry Club resource, for which I made a series of graphics, was recently shortlisted as a finalist in the UK Education Resource Awards. The resource is a free online learning platform with weekly chemistry-related activities, with my graphics forming just one part of it. Fingers crossed for the announcement of the winners on 6th May!
National Egg Month
May is National Egg Month, so a good time to highlight this previous graphic on egg chemistry. If you've ever wondered why egg yolks are yellow, why some egg shells are different colours, or why egg yolks can sometimes turn green when cooked, this graphic has the answers!
The final episode of Crash Course Organic Chemistry
The final episode of Crash Course Organic Chemistry was released recently, completing the whopping 50 episode series. You might remember me mentioning it a little while back as I was involved in writing some of the episodes — though the whole series is an effort involving a whole team of wonderful people, immortalised in Crash Course cartoon form above!
You can now watch the whole series at this playlist, and if I'm recalling correctly I've been told that the videos have already amassed over 5 million views between them.
Chem vs COVID timeline
And here's the belated conclusion of another series, this time the Chem vs. COVID series of graphics I produced with the Royal Society of Chemistry. This series highlighted some of the ways chemistry contributed (and continues to contribute) to the pandemic response. There's now a nifty timeline on the RSC site, complete with an overview graphic, to tie the series together.
Chemistry news & features
Crystallography inspired some commercial glass designs — www.ch.cam.ac.uk
This is an interesting article, contributed by a reader, looking at how crystallography inspired some decorative glass designs in the 1950s and 60s.
Rubber for military plane tyres from dandelions — cen.acs.org
Goodyear plans to make rubber from dandelions as an alternative to rubber trees.
All of life’s nucleic acids could have extraterrestrial origins — www.chemistryworld.com All five nucleobases of RNA and DNA found in three meteorites
Back to the usual schedule after the last fortnight's break, so expect the next newsletter in two weeks' time! As always, feel free to get in contact with any comments or suggestions.
Thanks for reading,
Andy