For decades, science enthusiasts have delighted at the famously energetic way sodium and potassium explode on contact with water. Researchers in Europe now show that the long-accepted explanation for ...

We always think that water is the perfect way to quench fires and to cool down metals, but that’s not always true, because water doesn’t deal so well with all the elements. When alkali metals like ...

Potassium reacts quickly with water producing a lilac-coloured flame For example, when potassium is added to water, the metal melts and floats. It moves around very quickly on the surface of the water ...

Many of us gained our first appreciation for chemistry upon witnessing a high school teacher drop a chunk of sodium into a beakerful of water. You may think you know the explanation behind the ...

The reactivity series of metals is a chart listing metals in order of decreasing reactivity. In general, the more reactive a metal is: This table summarises the reactions of some metals in the ...

The golden metallic water layer on a sodium-potassium alloy drop. Courtesy: Phil Mason A metallic water solution has been observed in the laboratory for the first time thanks to a new method that ...