There was, he thought, no point in collecting anything else; this was everything else. It was the catalogue of everything that existed in the universe, stripped down to its 118 basic ingredients.

— Itchingham Lofte, element collector (from Itch by Simon Mayo)

Chemistry is essentially the study of elements – the 118 so far discovered or made – and their compounds. This blog concerns my creative endeavours inspired by chemistry and chemists.

• 
  Density rainbows
  I’ve been having fun this June with density rainbows – my children’s former primary school last week for their Science Day, and another local primary school this weekContinue reading “Density rainbows”
• 
  Complete
  So here it is, all 118 elements, a different and relevant pattern for each. I must admit that when I started out I never imagined I would beContinue reading “Complete”
• 
  Element 118
  Oganesson, atomic number 118, is the last element of the periodic table, at least for the time being. It is named for Yuri Oganessian who led the teamContinue reading “Element 118”
• 
  Thirty and counting
  Back in May ‘Sue the Vic’ asked if my embroidery would be finished in time to exhibit in the jubilee exhibition in one of our local churches, andContinue reading “Thirty and counting”
• 
  Roentgenium
  When Anna Bertha Ludwig saw an image of the bones in her hand she exclaimed ‘I have seen my death!’ – quite a reaction to the first humanContinue reading “Roentgenium”
• 
  Flash and bang
  The flammable properties of hydrogen gas are well known to anyone who has been to a chemistry demonstration lecture and seen a hydrogen balloon being exploded. But thisContinue reading “Flash and bang”
• 
  O potash tree, o potash tree
  Rather out of season but here is a small forest of fir trees, once a major source of potash. Grown predominantly in the Baltic states Poland and Russia,Continue reading “O potash tree, o potash tree”
• 
  Matters of measurement
  Two elements almost as far apart as you can get on the Periodic Table – caesium in Group 1 and krypton right over in Group 18 – andContinue reading “Matters of measurement”
• 
  Salt crystals
  Sodium chloride, one of humankind’s most familiar crystals. It has something of a bad name, being implicated in high blood pressure, but is also essential to animal life.Continue reading “Salt crystals”
• 
  Green grows the grass
  Our lives depend on the magnesium ion at the centre of the chlorophyll pigment that gives leafy plants their green colour. Without chlorophyll’s ability to absorb photons, plantsContinue reading “Green grows the grass”

Credit to the wonderful Cambridge Imprint for the paper used for the Periodic Table at the top of this page.