Terephthalic acid

2020-01-24T15:30:00+00:00By Brian Clegg

Once thought of as an interesting – but useless – turpentine derivative, this oddly-named acid became the precursor to one of the world’s most widely used plastics

Source:  © Shutterstock

Oganesson

2018-02-15T12:00:00+00:00By Andrea Sella, Kit Chapman

Meet Yuri Oganessian, the elemental explorer forever immortalised on the periodic table

Terephthalic acid

2020-01-24T15:30:00+00:00By Brian Clegg

Once thought of as an interesting – but useless – turpentine derivative, this oddly-named acid became the precursor to one of the world’s most widely used plastics

Source:  © Shutterstock

Book Club – Antimony, Gold, and Jupiter’s Wolf by Peter Wothers

2020-01-08T09:30:00+00:00By Katrina Krämer, Phillip Broadwith, Catherine Hodges

We talk about chemist Peter Wothers’ first popular science book that uncovers the surprising origins of the elements’ names