Most popular questions

222 Why is gold golden? 2014-09-23T12:00:46.487

211 Why can we smell copper? 2014-01-20T07:19:53.793

172 Can an atom have more than 8 valence electrons? If not, why is 8 the limit? 2012-05-18T17:47:14.853

138 Why doesn't water burn? 2016-12-12T19:17:03.467

108 Is a negative pH level physically possible? 2013-07-31T18:58:49.087

108 Is there a general consensus on the causes of the alpha-effect? 2013-12-21T06:13:37.737

108 Why is absolute zero unattainable? 2016-10-13T18:04:41.053

97 How do you melt metals with super high melting points? 2014-09-23T14:16:59.307

95 Is it actually possible to dispose of a body with hydrofluoric acid? 2013-05-03T12:08:02.953

91 Is toothpaste solid or liquid? 2015-01-18T14:33:55.390

84 Why is the 2s orbital lower in energy than the 2p orbital when the electrons in 2s are usually farther from the nucleus? 2012-04-28T22:14:02.010

84 Does water really 'go bad' after a couple of days? 2014-03-23T12:31:12.977

81 If nothing sticks to Teflon, how does Teflon stick to frying pans? 2012-04-26T06:53:50.587

81 What is Bent's rule? 2014-08-26T18:37:14.547

79 Is it true that heavy water is not blue? 2017-04-04T04:46:44.263

78 Do all salts taste salty? 2014-11-17T10:14:07.750

74 Bonding in diatomic C2, a carbon-carbon quadruple bond? 2012-06-05T01:32:31.257

73 What causes the old book smell? 2015-07-10T12:44:24.700

73 How do people know HCN smells like almonds? 2016-03-01T05:37:39.157

72 Why would breathing pure oxygen be a bad idea? 2016-10-22T17:08:36.873

71 Could a magnet pull oxygen out of the air? 2015-07-15T00:05:25.293

67 Ortho-effect in substituted aromatic acids and bases 2014-01-06T12:41:04.833

65 Why do elements in columns 6 and 11 assume 'abnormal' electron configurations? 2012-04-28T22:03:40.027

65 How do organic chemistry mechanisms become accepted? 2016-12-23T18:39:33.870

64 How does Walter White make pure crystal meth using a non-stereospecific reaction? 2013-12-23T16:09:22.517

63 Why does pasta really boil over? 2014-07-10T20:27:03.517

62 Why does shaking a match put the fire out? 2016-02-01T01:05:01.220

61 How can one explain niobium’s weird electronic configuration? 2012-10-29T15:11:32.923

61 Why does F replace the axial bond in PCl5? 2014-10-14T09:21:39.107

59 Why is it wrong to use the concept of hybridization for transition metal complexes? 2017-06-24T15:54:39.093

58 Why doesn't H₄O²⁺ exist? 2019-04-03T15:39:09.407

57 Why add water first then acid? 2012-08-03T21:24:31.253

57 Are diamonds really forever? 2015-07-19T23:52:11.083

56 Striking examples where Kohn-Sham orbitals clearly have no physical meaning 2012-03-16T10:41:09.000

56 Why is FORTRAN so commonly used in computational chemistry? 2015-02-06T01:58:01.200

54 Why do we write NH3? 2014-09-13T16:30:54.117

53 How do I figure out the hybridization of a particular atom in a molecule? 2013-03-17T05:37:32.333

53 The last element's atomic number 2014-01-26T12:52:47.697

53 Why do shampoo ingredient labels feature the term "Aqua"? 2017-01-07T15:48:13.743

52 What makes some metals melt at higher temperature? 2012-04-28T14:23:08.087

52 Positive or Negative Anode/Cathode in Electrolytic/Galvanic Cell 2014-09-27T02:37:55.700

52 What is the pH of ice? 2016-05-05T13:20:51.193

51 Is iron in the brown ring compound in a +1 oxidation state? 2012-05-13T18:08:52.127

51 Is carbon dioxide organic or inorganic? 2014-12-30T13:12:40.890

50 How does chloroform degrade nitrile gloves? 2012-04-26T02:54:13.763

50 How can I update a map/mesh and coordinates in a PyMol session file? 2012-06-04T17:39:05.633

50 Regioselectivity of acid-catalyzed ring-opening of epoxides 2013-03-05T16:39:59.673

49 What makes banana bonds possible in diborane? 2012-05-04T00:13:18.073

49 Why does menthol (e.g. peppermint) feel cool to the tongue? 2012-05-31T15:25:32.237

49 Why do compounds like SF6 and SF4 exist but SH6 and SH4 don't? 2013-04-20T15:55:56.903