/oss/taxonomy/term/1065/all en /oss/article/student-contributors-general-science/whats-difference-between-baking-soda-and-baking-powder <p>What if your significant other gifted you baking powder instead of chocolates? What if they <i>invented</i> baking powder? In 1843, British chemist Alfred Bird did just that for his lucky, yeast-allergic, bread-loving, wife. This same recipe for baking powder is used to this day. But when it comes to baking cookies, muffins or cakes, recipes will call for baking soda, baking powder, or both. Just like their names, these products are very similar, but not exactly the same.</p> Fri, 20 May 2022 16:00:00 +0000 Cat Wang 9117 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-general-science/key-cleaning-your-teapot-chemistry <p>Do you ever try to wash a mug only to be confronted by tea stains that just won’t budge? A little bit of chemistry may be just what you need to get your mugs back to white.</p> <p>Brewed tea, green or black, contains many compounds, including many polyphenols. These are compounds found naturally in tea leaves that have antioxidant properties and contribute to the taste of tea. However, they are also responsible for the stains left in your mugs and teapots.</p> Mon, 18 Feb 2019 19:51:50 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7597 at /oss /oss/article/general-science-you-asked/can-baking-soda-really-absorb-odors-fridge <p><span>Smells of course are caused by volatile compounds which stimulate receptors in our nose. There is a large variety of such compounds with a great diversity of molecular structures. But many of the smells encountered in the fridge are due to volatile fatty acids. For example, when butter goes rancid, it releases butyric acid, a particularly foul smell. As everyone knows, acids can be neutralized by bases. Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is a base. It reacts with butyric acid to form sodium butyrate which has no smell because it is not volatile.</span></p> Mon, 30 Oct 2017 16:55:40 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 6802 at /oss /oss/article/environment-history-science-science-everywhere/solution-skunk-pollution <p style="text-align:justify"><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/?p=5427"><img alt="skunks" height="192" src="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/files/2013/06/skunks-300x192.jpg" width="300" /></a>I remember the first time I ever smelled the fragrance of a skunk.  I thought someone had let off a stink bomb.  You see, even back then I was a lot more familiar with emissions from test tubes than from animals.  This certainly smelled as if someone had mixed sodium sulfide with an acid to release hydrogen sulfide-the classic smell of rotten eggs and stink bombs.  A smell potent enough to quickly drive any living creature away.  Which of course is exactly what the skunk has in mind when it lets loose from the little scent glands on either side of its rectum.</p> <p style="text-align:justify">Scientists have long been intrigued by the chemical composition of skunk aroma.  Way back in 1862, the famous German chemist Friedrich Wohler received a gift of "Nordamerikanischen Stinkthiers" fluid from a "freunde in Neuyork."  It was too smelly for the great man to work with so he gave it to one of his underlings, identified only as Dr. Swarts of Gent.</p> <p><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2013/06/12/a-solution-to-skunk-pollution/">Read more</a></p> Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:14:42 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1958 at /oss /oss/article/general-science-history/little-basic-acidbase-chemistry <div> <div><br />  </div> </div> Sat, 13 Feb 2016 01:07:28 +0000 Joe Schwarcz 2317 at /oss