At the refinery, thousands of tons of oil are turned into useful substances every day. What is Crude Oil? Crude oil is a mixture of many different chemicals called hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons are useful because they can be used to make…
Like many metals, aluminum is a very useful element.It is found in rock as bauxite, which is an aluminum ore containing oxygen.The oxygen has to be removed before the aluminum can be used.the oxygen and the aluminum are joined so…
What is Electroplating? If you pass electricity through a solution, you can cause a chemical reaction. New substances are produced where the electric current enters and leaves the solution—at the electrodes. Electricity can also change the electrodes themselves. Here is…
Electricity flows easily through metal wires. Copper, aluminum, and silver are good conductors of electricity. Electricity can also flow easily through some salt, acid, or alkaline solutions. When electricity flows through a solution, the solution is changed by the flow…
Electromagnetic radiation is made from two sorts of energy— electrical and magnetic. As the radiation moves outward from its source, its energy constantly changes from strong to weak and back again. The changing energy sets up a pattern that scientists…
Have you ever hunted for buried treasure? You could just start digging anywhere and hope that you would find something. Or you could use a metal detector.
Part of an electromagnet is called a solenoid. A solenoid is a coil of wire that has an electric current flowing through it. When an electric current flows through a wire, the electricity creates a magnetic field around the wire.…
What is an electromagnet and how does it work? An ordinary bar magnet has a magnetic field around it all the time. We call this kind of magnet a permanent magnet. You can also make a magnet by wrapping wire…
The first explorers had very little to help them find their way around the world. Travelers used simple maps and learned how to find their way, or navigate, using the sun and the stars. During the day, travelers can always…
We live on a huge magnet! Around the earth is a giant magnetic field, just like the magnetic field around a bar magnet.Do you know what makes the earth magnetic? Very deep inside the earth, there’s hot molten metal.The earth is…