Question: From your research, has there been a certain chemical that has been the most useful to use when experimenting?

James Beswick answered on 16 May 2020: last edited 16 May 2020 12:06 am

What an interesting question. One of the most useful chemicals that I use in the lab is also one of the most important chemicals on the planet… water! Obviously water is vital to life, but it is also very useful in the lab, and is a lot less dangerous than pretty much every other chemical I use. I sometimes use water as a ‘solvent’ to dissolve chemicals that I want to react together, to make sure they mix well (though often I will need to use a different solvent). Other times I use ice and water to keep a reaction cooled down, to make sure it doesn’t get too hot. And of course, once I have finished my work for the day, I use water in the most important task… washing up! Water has some really unique and special properties – so I would encourage you to look up a few different reasons why water is so special.