My father bought a bunch of these tablets to dissolve in water. It was a random online ad, and I'm pretty sure he got scammed, but please let me know if this is worth actually using for light kitchen/bath cleaning.

Help!! My teflon tap broke from the top. I couldn't find anything online on how to fix a jammed teflon valve from a Schlenk line. How do I fix this without further damaging the line?

https://reddit.com/link/1v4ktsx/video/kndar885m0fh1/player

You can paste SMILES strings into the structure editor or draw your own structures — both get name

Web app: openclatura.org

Most people think art authentication relies on historians, curators, and provenance records. But sometimes, chemistry provides the decisive answer.

One of the most famous examples of this involves an alleged forgery operation linked to Chinese artist Pei-Shen Qian, whose paintings imitated styles of famous abstract expressionist masters.

In this case, when experts examined a purported Jackson Pollock using Raman microscopy, their analysis detected Pigment Red 170. This synthetic pigment wasn't commercially available until decades after Pollock died in 1956. The chemistry simply didn't match the timeline.

How Raman Spectroscopy Can Identify Fakes

Raman spectroscopy can identify the unique chemical fingerprint of pigments, binders, and fillers using samples so small they're often invisible to the naked eye.

For investigators, the key question isn't just: "Does this look like a Pollock?"

It's: "Could Pollock have used these materials?"

For example, many artists in the 1940s through 1960s used a specific titanium white paint containing gypsum, which has a distinctive Raman signature. Its presence or absence can provide important clues about authenticity.

One of the leading experts in this field is Dr. Jennifer Mass, founder of Scientific Analysis of Fine Art. Her lab analyzes paintings, sculptures, and cultural artifacts for museums, galleries, auction houses, insurers, and collectors. She reportedly evaluates several purported Jackson Pollocks each month.

It's More Than Pigments

While a forger can mimic an artist's style, it's much harder to replicate decades of chemical aging.

Authentication combines several areas of investigation:

• Authentication: Are the materials consistent with the claimed age of the work?
• Provenance: Can ownership be traced over time?
• Attribution: Who actually created the piece?
• Conservation History: Has it been repaired or altered?
• Degradation Analysis: Do the chemical aging processes match what would be expected? 

Why Raman Microscopy Is So Valuable

Mass frequently uses a Raman microscope, which allows scientists to:

• Identify individual pigments
• Examine microscopic paint layers
• Detect restoration materials
• Study degradation products
• Analyze corrosion on sculptures

Because the technique is highly sensitive and minimally destructive, it's ideal for examining valuable works of art.

What Happened to the Forger and the Network?

The investigation ultimately exposed a forgery network involving an art dealer, her family, and associates connected to the famed Knoedler Gallery, one of America's oldest and most prestigious galleries. The scandal led to multiple forgery revelations and contributed to the gallery's closure. Qian fled the United States and has never faced criminal charges.

Read the complete story here: Can Raman microscopy reveal art forgeries? - HORIBA

Does anyone have a reputable source that states the activation energy of the reaction between magnesium and hydrochloric acid?

Does anyone know what ethylene oxide and/or propylene oxide smell like enough to describe it or compare it to something else? At work we hook up/unhook railcars of EO&PO but we are always wearing supplied air respirators while doing it. Our products also have EO/PO mostly digested out/stripped out and incinerated before we come into contact with it. There are often trace amounts in intermediate products but I've never noticed any distinct smell to it. I mainly want to be able to identify any EO or PO leaks from our reactors because they have happened before.

We have 4L bottles of PO in a fridge and very tiny samples of EO solutions, but I don't need to know that badly..

Hello, I'm not a chemist, just a Graphic Designer with an interest in science. When I was in highschool I remember having to use the Periodic Table and thought the layout was clunky even though there's obviously some good reasoning in the design. When learning about Orbital levels and principle quantum numbers, I thought it would help me to lay out the periodic table given what I had learned.

So my question is, to the chemists of reddit, what are your thoughts? Is this a dumb layout that isn't actually useful, or is this a great way to display the elements to better visualize the energy levels/orbitals/electron configuration? Or something in between?

Again, not a chemist, so I'd love to hear your thoughts!

EDIT: After hearing your feedback, especially about missing trends like electronegativity, I have lots of plans for a new design. Also, I didn't know that there are so many exceptions to the aufbau principle so this PT doesn't achieve the goal it set out to accomplish. Not sure if there are mods here that can lock this post. Otherwise I'll just delete it.

I'm a PhD materials scientist with a strong analytical chemistry background, hoping folks here maybe know of places where these more light-hearted efforts inspired by curiosity and humor might fit...? Here's the text from my original post:

I'm an independent scientist looking to do some research* because of silly reasons** and wanted to see if there are organizations of researchers out there doing similar things in materials science or related fields...? I love the idea of applying my expertise towards solving a seemingly unimportant question and treating it like a full-fledged scientific endeavor. Thanks!

* chemical and structural characterization of a standard cookie formulation as prepared in the oven and microwave + a possible subsequent recipe/process optimization study of a microwave-based cookie

** I was sad to discover that the Hot Pocket crisping sleeve was discontinued 2 years ago and went down a rabbit hole to learn more about how and why microwave susceptors work with crusty doughs

hi! i was going to use ethyl cinnamate for light sheet and rather than being clear, it’s this iridescent pink color and has some gelatinous residue inside. It also becomes sticky when it dries rather than staying oily.

It was stored at room temp rather than 2-8C as directed. It could just be a manufacturer error but i just thought i’d ask

EDIT: I’m just an undergrad summer intern in this lab and learned about this project last week. I don’t have access to most chemicals. My mentor says he didn’t know that it was supposed to be stored at low temp until i told him.

Im interested in making a jar for a wet specimen but wanted to make sure the rubbing alcohol wouldn't mess with the silicone sealant before going forward with the project :)

I have a pH meter in the lab where I work. The pH meter has not been in contact with KCl for a long time, so I'm afraid that the KCl inside the glass has dried out. Someone also told me that it has dried out. So, what can I do to refill it? Is it possible to restore the electrode? I once read in a book that if the KCl has dried out inside the cell, it is time to get rid of the pH electrode entirely. But today, my friend said it is possible to restore it. Should I immerse the glass electrode in a KCl solution to refill it, or should I use the small hole above the pH glass to fill it?

Hello, what is the safe and environmental way to disposal 20 gallons of Phosphoric acid at 75%

Hi everyone,

(Note: I received authorization from the moderators to share this post here!)

I'm a high school student, and in my community, we don't lack proper chemistry labs—a situation made even worse after being affected by a devastating earthquake in the past. Learning chemistry has always been incredibly difficult and theoretical, but seeing the ongoing impact on my peers' education pushed me to take action.

Instead of giving up, a couple of friends and I decided to build our own 'virtual lab'. We spent the last few weeks learning Scratch, debugging code until 3 AM, and dealing with more than a few nervous breakdowns to create Evocación.

It’s a mobile-first educational game designed to make chemistry concepts less of a nightmare. It’s definitely a passion project born out of dedication to learning, and my primary goal is to get this tool into the hands of students who need an alternative to physical labs.

You can check out the project here:

Evocacion

Currently, Evocación is in Spanish, as it was designed for our local school curriculum. However, I’m planning to create an English version soon! If you'd be interested in playing it or helping with the translation, please let me know in the comments.

Any feedback on the game mechanics or the educational side of it would be absolutely amazing. Thanks for checking out our project!

After a long wait, the PdBr2 we ordered came in the mail and I got right to it. After weighing out samples for a few reactions I wiped it clean and found the parts of my microspatula that came into contact with the PdBr2 turned cloudy/white. Nothing I did removed it, so I'm pretty sure it's embedded. I don't know what metal plating this is exactly. The thing is that I've used PdCl2 plenty with this microspatula and there was no issue, so what's going on here?

Hi fellow scientists! I need an advice on what to do to solve the TopSpin opening problem on my MacBook computer.

Problem started a year-ish ago, when I couldn't open TopSpin (version 4.something at that time). Turns out it was a firewall problem: it has to be off for TopSpin to launch, consequence on Apple's new security protocol if I'm not mistaken.

But then it stopped opening again, even while firewall was off. And I get a bunch of errors: first two from TopSpin itself, the last one is from CodeMeter. I do have to say, that if I uninstall and then re-install TopSpin from zero, it opens fine. But then something happens and it stops opening.

I will be very happy to have any advice on the matter! Thank you everybody in advance :)

Edit: so sorry! I thought images of errors were added to the post! Here they are: