Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [chemistry]

The science of matter and the changes it can undergo.

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Is biting a gold coin a working method to verify its authenticity?

Julia Murray & Kelsey Serwa In movies you commonly see treasure hunters, pirates, thieves, ... bite down on a gold coin to verify it's real gold. (Gold Medal winners often pose with the medal between their teeth, and I'm guessing it derives from…
Oliver_C
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What is monoatomic gold?

Over the weekend I heard an acquaintance mention something called "monoatomic gold", followed by a bevy of fantastic and surprising claims about the substance, what it does, and how it was discovered. My subsequent Google searching has returned a…
Craig Walker
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Is margarine "one molecule away from plastic"?

I've heard the claim that "Margarine is only one molecule away from being plastic" several times. Usually from friends who think they've heard it from some reliable source. I've also read a couple books that mention this concept, without really…
Flimzy
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Are chemicals used to ripen fruit in developing countries harmful to the health of consumers?

Note: there are some answers to this question on Chemistry.SE, but I prefer a sceptical approach here. I ask this question in connection with a post on Facebook (in Indonesia), which asked: Hi everyone, I bought some mangoes today and the seller…
thelawnet
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Are some laundry detergents better than others?

As we were looking for laundry detergent yesterday, I noted that my wife was quite swayed by brand reputation/impressions than price. She stated that she didn't think one type of detergent really removed stains. I asked if she'd ever consciously…
Hendy
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Are recent claims from India of a car fueled by water and calcium carbide legitimate?

Recently, I came across a video and a news report where it has been reported that a man from India has invented a car which uses water as a key fuel component. The car runs on acetylene gas produced by the reaction of water and calcium carbide in…
Janus Boffin
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Can you melt gold in a regular campfire?

As seen on Game of Thrones the TV series, some gold is melted in a regular campfire. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J74JEloKC3M Is this physically and chemically possible?
user288
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Can the molecular bond angle of water be changed via distillation?

John Ellis claims that water has a "hydrogen bond angle" ranging from 104° to 114°, and that his patented distillation machines can produce water with a permanent hydrogen bond angle above 113°. Does water at standard temperature and pressure have a…
Lysander
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Do human pheromones exist?

Do humans secrete chemicals that attract the opposite sex? Some cheesy advertisements in magazines would make one believe pheromones exist. When's the last time you said "that girl/guy is butt ugly", then walked closer to smell her/him and said…
JoJo
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Is fluoride in water an industry waste product?

There are many claims made about the source of fluoride in our water, some examples are: Intentional dosing of municipal water supplies with fluoride waste products from industry Increased cancer risk from using phosphate waste to fluoridate…
going
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Does water bring out the flavor and aroma in scotch?

I've often heard that adding just a few drops of filtered, room termperature water to scotch helps to "bring out the flavor and the aroma." The scotch guy at my store told me it involves a chemical reaction; that barley is a tightly wound grain, and…
Big McLargeHuge
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Would a human's blood suddenly boil (or eyes/body explode) in a vacuum?

I was once given a question in the popular quiz-show game, You Don't Know Jack, that went something like: You find yourself suddenly ejected into space. Which of these gruesome things happens first? Your blood would boil Your eyes would…
BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
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Does copy paper become "old and yellow"?

I have a part-time job at a place where printing, copying, scanning, faxing, and shredding happens every day. Thus, we have about two large cabinets with about 56 reams of paper (packs of 500 sheets) in each cabinet. Of course, even though we use…
Arturo don Juan
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Can thunderstorms curdle milk?

When I was 13, my sister and I spent the summer on a dairy farm. We worked in the creamery, where (twice a day) we bottled fresh raw milk, as well as cleaned all the equipment. It was really a fun summer overall. One evening we had a very bad…
anongoodnurse
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Is sugar one element away from cocaine or any other drug?

I've heard multiple times through out my college and early work career that they believed sugar was one element away from being cocaine (or some other drug). However, none of these people had a biology or chemistry background, so I was skeptical. …
But I'm Not A Wrapper Class
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