Helium, the gas that fills up our balloons, has a reputation as a chemistry lightweight—as an element that doesn’t react with much of anything. Researchers say they’ve used high pressure to coax ...

In this video excerpt from NOVA's "Hunting the Elements," New York Times technology columnist David Pogue investigates chemical reactions involving sodium. Find out how the electron configuration of ...

Inert gas helium, famous for its reluctance to react with other elements, has produced a very stable new compound called sodium helide. This feat was achieved by subjecting helium to high pressure to ...

A surprising breakthrough could help sodium-ion batteries rival lithium—and even turn seawater into drinking water. Scientists discovered that keeping water inside a key battery material, instead of ...

In the dreams of battery makers, someone gets sodium-ion chemistry to work properly, and lithium it gets replaced with a cheaper more capacious metal. In the real world, sodium ions destroy the ...

Eating some common food preservatives is linked to a slightly higher risk of eventually developing cancer and diabetes, according to two large French studies published Thursday. A higher intake of ...

Combining materials from discarded batteries and lignin creates groundbreaking composite compound.