/oss/taxonomy/term/2157/all en /oss/article/history/how-dynamite-spawned-nobel-prizes <p>Alfred Nobel wasn't in the best of health but he knew he wasn't dead. Yet, there was his obituary, prominently featured in the morning newspaper. To make matters worse, not only had the newspaper killed him off prematurely, it had described him as a man who "became rich by finding a way to kill more people faster than ever before." The French press service that provided the story had made a mistake. It was actually Alfred's older brother Ludvig who had died while vacationing in Cannes but a reporter had gotten the brothers mixed up.</p> Fri, 08 Oct 2021 17:47:24 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8893 at /oss /oss/article/technology-history/little-night-magic <p>All fireworks rely on a combustion process that has three basic requirements: some sort of fuel to burn, a supply of oxygen, and a source of energy to initiate the reaction between the fuel and the oxygen. In the case of fireworks, the oxygen comes not from the air but is supplied by substances which release it by means of chemical reactions.</p> Wed, 04 Jul 2018 16:08:30 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7159 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-environment-news/triacetone-triperoxide <p>We have become familiar with the routine at airports. Your carry-on bags are passed through an x-ray machine after which an officer will often wipe your bag with a piece of fabric which is then placed inside a box-like instrument. Within a few seconds you get the all-clear signal and you are on your way to the gate. How many travelers get handcuffs instead of an all-clear isn’t known because those stats are not released. What do these instruments actually do? When luggage is bombarded with x-rays, some of the rays pass through and some do not, depending on what they encounter.</p> Fri, 06 May 2016 08:33:08 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2336 at /oss