April 2024

Free Articles

FEATURE

Save It for Later: Batteries Keep Us Energized

By Chris Eboch
Batteries are everywhere from the cell phone in your pocket to the solar cells used to power homes. Batteries keep things running, but they come with challenges and costs.


OPEN FOR DISCUSSION

Sustainability: What Does It Really Mean?

Sustainability: What role can chemists and engineers play in balancing the needs and wants of society with the finite resources fo the Earth?


CHEMISTRY IN PERSON

Energizing the Future with Lithium

Nobel Prize Winner M. Stanley Whittingham talks about developing the first room temperature lithium-ion battery and how it changed battery science. He also has great advice for students and teachers.

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Closeup on different types of batteries held in the hand a person

How Did the Battery Get Its Name?

By Michele Hathaway
Why do we call batteries, batteries? And what do all those letters and numbers mean?

Teacher's Guide (DOC)   Teacher's Guide (Google Doc)   


Aerial view of lithium fields or evaporation ponds in the highlands of northern Argentina, South America

Lithium: the 21st Century Gold Rush

By Jeff Deakin
Lithium-ion batteries have revolutionized technology and are driving a new rush to find sources of lithium. Where are we finding lithium, and what are the pros and cons of lithium production?

Teacher's Guide (DOC)   Teacher's Guide (Google Doc)


Image of Earth in space

The Earth's Chemical Fingerprint

By Danielle Sedbrook
Where did the Earth’s water come from? Scientists use isotope ratios and meteorites to find the answer.

Teacher's Guide (DOC)   Teacher's Guide (Google Doc)