An alchemist was an early student of the science of chemistry. According to one theory the word “alchemy” is derived from “Khem”, the ancient name for Egypt. That country was the source of a great deal of the pioneer work in the various sciences. Much of the early work of the alchemists is frowned on by today’s scientists because it …

An albino is a person or an animal without any colour at all in their skin except red caused by blood vessels. This is quite rare, and means that person has very white skin, white hair and pink or red looking eyes. The red colour appears because there are lots of blood vessels in the eye. Albinos live all over …

An aerosol of fine particles of liquid or solid substances suspended in the air, or in any other gas. It is not, as many people think, merely a spray for use in applying paint easily, or getting rid of unpleasant smells. The germs of diseases, for example, are to be found suspended in the air, and these dangerous aerosols can …

In Peru, where I come from, an adobe is a brick made of mud mixed with other material such as cane, straw and stone to give consistency. It is dried in the sun. The adobe provides a cool atmosphere to buildings. In Peru, many archaeological places used this material, like the Huaca del Sol, a pre-Columbian construction in Trujillo, which …

Achilles was a legendary Greek hero. Before he was born the Fates had told his mother Thetis (who was a sea nymph) that he would die young. so when he was a baby she tried to make him immortal by plunging him into the River Styx, whose magic properties were supposed to give protection from all harm. But the heel …

The albedo of an object is the extent to which it diffusely reflects light from the Sun. It is a more specific form of reflectivity. Albedo is the ratio of the diffusely reflected to incident electromagnetic radiation. It is a unitless measure indicative of a surface’s or a body’s diffuse reflectivity. Albedo is a Latin word for whiteness. The range …

Air hunger is the urge to breathe, which is caused by the detection of high levels of carbon dioxide in the blood by sensors in the carotid sinus. It is one of the body’s homeostatic mechanisms to ensure proper oxygenation. Air hunger may be caused by insufficient pulmonary minute ventilation, a sustained breath-hold constriction of the alveoli of the lungs, …

It is a spoof on administration. Its official definition: Administratium is the heaviest element known to science and was recently discovered at a major US research university. The element has no protons or electrons and thus, has the atomic number 0. However, it does have one neutron, 125 assistant neutrons, 75 vice-neutrons and 111 assistant vice-neutrons, which gives it an …

Acrolein, CH2=CH-CHO, is a chemical compound. Its IUPAC name is 2-propenal, and it is the simplest unsaturated aldehyde. It was used as a chemical weapon during WWI. It is not outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention. In 2006, scientists found connections between acrolein in the smoke from cigarettes and risk of lung cancer

Car exhaust fumes and smoke from factories and power stations release chemicals, including sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, into the air. The chemicals react with water vapour to form specks of sulphuric and nitric acid. These acids return to the ground in raindrops, snowflakes and other types of precipitation. The acid kills fish and other animals in lakes and rivers. …