When a chunk of alkali metal gets tossed into water, it explodes. But when a team of scientists gently placed a liquid drop of a sodium-potassium alloy on top of a water surface, they observed a ...

Metals react differently. Some are very reactive and others are unreactive. Observations of reactions can be used to put metals into an order of reactivity. For example, copper is unreactive so it can ...

Potassium reacts quickly with water producing a lilac-coloured flame For example, when potassium is added to water, the metal melts and floats. It moves around very quickly on the surface of the water ...

It’s the classic piece of chemical tomfoolery: take a lump of sodium or potassium metal, toss it into water and watch the explosion. Although this piece of pyrotechnics has amazed generations of ...

If you can’t turn water into gold like a good alchemist would, the next best thing might be to transform water itself into a shiny, metallic material. Researchers have achieved that feat by forming a ...

When alkali metals like sodium dissolve in liquid ammonia, they produce a colorful spectacle that has puzzled and delighted chemists for centuries. The metals release electrons that give the solution ...