Chemistry Shapes Daily Life

Chemistry Shapes Daily Life

Common Facts

Krypton (Kr) is used in airport landing lights and in lighthouses.

Catalysts and Their Uses

Some Important Explosives

1. Dynamite

• Discovered by Alfred Nobel in 1863.

• It is prepared by absorption of raw dust with nitroglycerine.

• In modern dynamite, sodium nitrate is used in place of nitroglycerine.

2. Trinitro Compounds

• Trinitrotoluene (TNT)

• Trinitrobenzene (TNB)

• Tri Nitro Phenol (TNP) – also known as Picric Acid.

3. R.D.X

• RDX is a highly explosive compound known as a plasticiser in which aluminium powder is mixed to increase temperature and speed of fire.

Some Important Facts

• The age of fossils and archaeological excavations is determined by radioactive carbon (C¹⁴).

• Diamond has a maximum refractive index; due to total internal reflection, it has lustre.

• Chloroform in sunlight forms poisonous gas phosgene (COCl₂).

• To decrease soil basicity, gypsum is used.

• In the preparation of talcum powder, theophrastal mineral is used.

• Potassium chloride is most suitable for the removal of permanent hardness of water.

• To avoid melting of ice, gelatine is used.

• When dry ice is heated, it is directly converted into gas.

• Saccharine is prepared from toluene.

• Cream is a type of milk with increased fat and decreased water content.

• From 1 kg of honeybees, 3500 calories of energy are produced.

• N₂O is known as laughing gas.

• Bones contain about 58% calcium phosphate.

• Phosphine gas is used in the voyage as Holmes' signal.

• Methyl isocyanate gas was released during the Bhopal gas tragedy.

• CO₂ contributes the maximum to global warming.

• Chlorine gas bleaches flower colour due to oxidation.

• Chlorine is a greenish-yellow gas.

• Red phosphorus is used in the match industry.

• Urea contains 46% nitrogen.

• In electroplating of vessels, NH₄Cl is used.

• Power alcohol is prepared by mixing pure alcohol with benzene and used as rocket fuel.

• Artificial perfumes are made from ethyl acetate.

• Urea was the first organic compound synthesised in a laboratory.

• Vinegar contains 10% acetic acid.

• Acetylene is used for light production.

• The hydrogen atoms in acetylene are acidic in nature.

• Ferric chloride is used to stop bleeding.

• Barium gives a green colour in fireworks.

• Caesium is used in solar cells.

• Yellow phosphorus is kept under water.

• Seaweeds contain iodine.

• During cooking, maximum vitamin is lost.

• For silver mirror preparation, glucose is used.

• When cream is separated from milk, its density increases.

• For artificial respiration, a mixture of oxygen and helium gas is used.

• In cold places, to lower the freezing point, ethylene glycol is used.

• Hydrogen peroxide is used for oil paintings.

• Sodium is kept in kerosene oil.

• The heaviest element is osmium (Os).

• The lightest, least dense, and most reductant element is lithium (Li).

• Fluorine is the strongest oxidising agent.

• Silver is the best conductor of electricity.

• Radon is the heaviest gas.

• Polonium has the maximum number of isotopes.

• Sulphuric acid is known as oil of vitriol.

• Noble metals include Ag, Au, Pt, Ir, Hg, Pd, Rh, Ru, and Os.

• When methyl alcohol (methanol) is ingested, it acts as poison and can cause blindness.

• Glass dissolves in hydrofluoric acid (HF), forming soluble silicates; hence, HF is not stored in glass containers.

• The density of gold is higher than mercury, so gold sinks in mercury.

• Bisphenol A is used in food packaging materials.

• Xenon is also called the “Stranger Gas”.

• Adding soluble substances to a liquid increases its surface tension.

• Conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into nitrates is called nitrogen fixation.

• Picric acid is an organic compound used as a reagent in the laboratory.

• Bones are composed of 8% phosphorus.

• Safety matches are made using red phosphorus.

• Ammonium chloride is used to electroplate utensils.

• Benzene or ether mixed with pure alcohol forms power alcohol, used as fuel for aeroplanes.

• Milk is an emulsion.

• Platinum is also called “white gold”.

• The heaviest element known up to January 2015 has atomic number 118 (Ununoctium).

• Muddy water is treated with alum during purification; this process is called coagulation.

• Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) is a secondary pollutant in photochemical smog, thermally unstable and lachrymatory.

• Industries near Agra emit SO₂ and NO₂ gases, which react with water vapour, forming H₂SO₄ and HNO₃. These cause acid rain, which corrodes marble, a phenomenon called “marble cancer” affecting the Taj Mahal.

• Manganese dioxide (black) is used to remove green colour from glass.

Final Thoughts

Chemistry plays a vital role in our daily life through various elements, compounds, and reactions. Krypton is used in airport and lighthouse lights, while catalysts like iron, nickel, and platinum speed up key industrial processes such as ammonia, sulphuric acid, and vanaspati ghee production. Important explosives like dynamite, TNT, and RDX have industrial and defence uses.

Everyday materials such as gypsum, urea, and ethylene glycol also serve crucial purposes — from soil treatment to coolants. Even natural phenomena like acid rain and processes like nitrogen fixation highlight chemistry’s environmental impact.

From perfumes and fuels to vitamins and medicines, chemistry shapes nearly every aspect of modern life.