Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
@compoundchem.com
🧪 Infographics exploring everyday chemistry
📅 #PeriodicGraphics in @cenmag.bsky.social
🥇 ACS 2025 Interpreting Chemistry for the Public award
🏆 ABSW 2018 Science Blog Award
🖊️ Posts by @andy.compoundchem.com
🌐 Website: compoundchem.com
📅 #PeriodicGraphics in @cenmag.bsky.social
🥇 ACS 2025 Interpreting Chemistry for the Public award
🏆 ABSW 2018 Science Blog Award
🖊️ Posts by @andy.compoundchem.com
🌐 Website: compoundchem.com
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
The days between December 25 and January 1 are the Lanthanides and Actinides of the Gregorian calendar
December 26, 2025 at 6:32 PM
The days between December 25 and January 1 are the Lanthanides and Actinides of the Gregorian calendar
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
December 25, 2025 at 8:33 AM
There’s no better time of year to sit back and admire the Maillard reaction
December 25, 2025 at 3:16 PM
There’s no better time of year to sit back and admire the Maillard reaction
Merry Christmas, everyone!
December 25, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Merry Christmas, everyone!
It's Christmas Eve and the final day of #ChemAdvent!
We're finishing off with Christmas pudding and why you shouldn't hide a coin in the mixture as was customary in the past 🪙
#ChemSky 🧪
We're finishing off with Christmas pudding and why you shouldn't hide a coin in the mixture as was customary in the past 🪙
#ChemSky 🧪
December 24, 2025 at 11:14 AM
It's Christmas Eve and the final day of #ChemAdvent!
We're finishing off with Christmas pudding and why you shouldn't hide a coin in the mixture as was customary in the past 🪙
#ChemSky 🧪
We're finishing off with Christmas pudding and why you shouldn't hide a coin in the mixture as was customary in the past 🪙
#ChemSky 🧪
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
I see there’s a post about microplastics going around with a photo of drinking straws, so here is my semi-regular reminder that the 3 biggest sources of microplastics are tires (45%), synthetic clothing particles (35%) and paint (~10%).
Lay article attached:
Lay article attached:
One of the biggest microplastic pollution sources isn’t straws or grocery bags – it’s your tires
Every few years, the tires on your car wear thin and need to be replaced. But where does that lost tire material go? The answer, unfortunately, is often waterways, where the tiny microplastic particle...
www.pbs.org
December 24, 2025 at 4:49 AM
I see there’s a post about microplastics going around with a photo of drinking straws, so here is my semi-regular reminder that the 3 biggest sources of microplastics are tires (45%), synthetic clothing particles (35%) and paint (~10%).
Lay article attached:
Lay article attached:
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
Liquid fuel fires can be very dangerous, so plan ahead if you want to set your pudding on fire. And remember: more fuel isn’t always better.
👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/never-m...
👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/never-m...
December 23, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Liquid fuel fires can be very dangerous, so plan ahead if you want to set your pudding on fire. And remember: more fuel isn’t always better.
👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/never-m...
👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/never-m...
Day 23 of #ChemAdvent!
Prawns turn red-orange when cooked as astaxanthin is revealed 🟠
Bells are made from tin bronzes, with trace elements improving the material properties and sound 🔔
Guess the very tenuous, silly, and non-chemical connection that led me to pair these ones?
#ChemSky 🧪
Prawns turn red-orange when cooked as astaxanthin is revealed 🟠
Bells are made from tin bronzes, with trace elements improving the material properties and sound 🔔
Guess the very tenuous, silly, and non-chemical connection that led me to pair these ones?
#ChemSky 🧪
December 23, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Day 23 of #ChemAdvent!
Prawns turn red-orange when cooked as astaxanthin is revealed 🟠
Bells are made from tin bronzes, with trace elements improving the material properties and sound 🔔
Guess the very tenuous, silly, and non-chemical connection that led me to pair these ones?
#ChemSky 🧪
Prawns turn red-orange when cooked as astaxanthin is revealed 🟠
Bells are made from tin bronzes, with trace elements improving the material properties and sound 🔔
Guess the very tenuous, silly, and non-chemical connection that led me to pair these ones?
#ChemSky 🧪
Keeping warm on day 22 of #ChemAdvent 🔥
Winter fire smells come from smoky syringol and guaiacols.
Herring under a fur coat doesn't actually involve a fur coat, but a layer of beetroot and vegetables over pickled herring
#ChemSky 🧪
Winter fire smells come from smoky syringol and guaiacols.
Herring under a fur coat doesn't actually involve a fur coat, but a layer of beetroot and vegetables over pickled herring
#ChemSky 🧪
December 22, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Keeping warm on day 22 of #ChemAdvent 🔥
Winter fire smells come from smoky syringol and guaiacols.
Herring under a fur coat doesn't actually involve a fur coat, but a layer of beetroot and vegetables over pickled herring
#ChemSky 🧪
Winter fire smells come from smoky syringol and guaiacols.
Herring under a fur coat doesn't actually involve a fur coat, but a layer of beetroot and vegetables over pickled herring
#ChemSky 🧪
Terpenes unite the graphics for day 21 of #ChemAdvent
Menthol in candy canes is responsible for the cooling sensation in your mouth when you eat one ❄️
The muddy flavour of carp is dominated by the compound geosmin, another terpene 🐟
#ChemSky 🧪
Menthol in candy canes is responsible for the cooling sensation in your mouth when you eat one ❄️
The muddy flavour of carp is dominated by the compound geosmin, another terpene 🐟
#ChemSky 🧪
December 21, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Terpenes unite the graphics for day 21 of #ChemAdvent
Menthol in candy canes is responsible for the cooling sensation in your mouth when you eat one ❄️
The muddy flavour of carp is dominated by the compound geosmin, another terpene 🐟
#ChemSky 🧪
Menthol in candy canes is responsible for the cooling sensation in your mouth when you eat one ❄️
The muddy flavour of carp is dominated by the compound geosmin, another terpene 🐟
#ChemSky 🧪
Cracking chemistry for day 20 of #ChemAdvent!
First up are Christmas crackers, taking advantage of friction-sensitive silver fulminate to deliver a big bang 💥
For tamales, preventing cracking of the corn husk wrapping is the aim, so they're soaked in water to make them flexible 🌽
#ChemSky 🧪
First up are Christmas crackers, taking advantage of friction-sensitive silver fulminate to deliver a big bang 💥
For tamales, preventing cracking of the corn husk wrapping is the aim, so they're soaked in water to make them flexible 🌽
#ChemSky 🧪
December 20, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Cracking chemistry for day 20 of #ChemAdvent!
First up are Christmas crackers, taking advantage of friction-sensitive silver fulminate to deliver a big bang 💥
For tamales, preventing cracking of the corn husk wrapping is the aim, so they're soaked in water to make them flexible 🌽
#ChemSky 🧪
First up are Christmas crackers, taking advantage of friction-sensitive silver fulminate to deliver a big bang 💥
For tamales, preventing cracking of the corn husk wrapping is the aim, so they're soaked in water to make them flexible 🌽
#ChemSky 🧪
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
For the final #PeriodicGraphics of 2025, we look at @cenmag.bsky.social's most-read stories of 2025: from lead in protein shakes, through underground hydrogen reserves, to chemistry peer review concerns.
Find links to each of the individual stories here: cen.acs.org/policy/publi...
#ChemSky 🧪
Find links to each of the individual stories here: cen.acs.org/policy/publi...
#ChemSky 🧪
December 18, 2025 at 10:18 PM
For the final #PeriodicGraphics of 2025, we look at @cenmag.bsky.social's most-read stories of 2025: from lead in protein shakes, through underground hydrogen reserves, to chemistry peer review concerns.
Find links to each of the individual stories here: cen.acs.org/policy/publi...
#ChemSky 🧪
Find links to each of the individual stories here: cen.acs.org/policy/publi...
#ChemSky 🧪
Mulled wine and tangyuan for day 19 of #ChemAdvent!
Both wine and tangyuan contain long, chainlike molecules. In wine, it's the polymeric tannins that influence astringency and mouthfeel.
In tangyuan, made from glutinous rice flour, branched chains of amylopectin make the rice sticky.
#ChemSky 🧪
Both wine and tangyuan contain long, chainlike molecules. In wine, it's the polymeric tannins that influence astringency and mouthfeel.
In tangyuan, made from glutinous rice flour, branched chains of amylopectin make the rice sticky.
#ChemSky 🧪
December 19, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Mulled wine and tangyuan for day 19 of #ChemAdvent!
Both wine and tangyuan contain long, chainlike molecules. In wine, it's the polymeric tannins that influence astringency and mouthfeel.
In tangyuan, made from glutinous rice flour, branched chains of amylopectin make the rice sticky.
#ChemSky 🧪
Both wine and tangyuan contain long, chainlike molecules. In wine, it's the polymeric tannins that influence astringency and mouthfeel.
In tangyuan, made from glutinous rice flour, branched chains of amylopectin make the rice sticky.
#ChemSky 🧪
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
"A carnivorous pitcher plant has recently been found to use a chemical nerve agent to drug its prey and lead them to a deadly end, being consumed in digestive juices at the bottom of the pitcher traps."
#Plants #PitcherPlants #Toxins
#Plants #PitcherPlants #Toxins
Plantwatch: Pitcher plant’s sweet nectar is laced with toxic nerve agent
Nepenthes khasiana oozes an enticing liquid on the rim of its pitchers that tempts its prey into a deadly trap
www.theguardian.com
December 18, 2025 at 1:27 PM
"A carnivorous pitcher plant has recently been found to use a chemical nerve agent to drug its prey and lead them to a deadly end, being consumed in digestive juices at the bottom of the pitcher traps."
#Plants #PitcherPlants #Toxins
#Plants #PitcherPlants #Toxins
For the final #PeriodicGraphics of 2025, we look at @cenmag.bsky.social's most-read stories of 2025: from lead in protein shakes, through underground hydrogen reserves, to chemistry peer review concerns.
Find links to each of the individual stories here: cen.acs.org/policy/publi...
#ChemSky 🧪
Find links to each of the individual stories here: cen.acs.org/policy/publi...
#ChemSky 🧪
December 18, 2025 at 10:18 PM
For the final #PeriodicGraphics of 2025, we look at @cenmag.bsky.social's most-read stories of 2025: from lead in protein shakes, through underground hydrogen reserves, to chemistry peer review concerns.
Find links to each of the individual stories here: cen.acs.org/policy/publi...
#ChemSky 🧪
Find links to each of the individual stories here: cen.acs.org/policy/publi...
#ChemSky 🧪
Very contrasting smells for day 18 of #ChemAdvent!
Olibanic acid isomers contribute to the fragrance of Frankincense, traditionally associated with Christmas.
The aroma of hákarl, fermented Greenland shark, is a much less welcome one, dominated by ammonia and other pungent compounds.
#ChemSky 🧪
Olibanic acid isomers contribute to the fragrance of Frankincense, traditionally associated with Christmas.
The aroma of hákarl, fermented Greenland shark, is a much less welcome one, dominated by ammonia and other pungent compounds.
#ChemSky 🧪
December 18, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Very contrasting smells for day 18 of #ChemAdvent!
Olibanic acid isomers contribute to the fragrance of Frankincense, traditionally associated with Christmas.
The aroma of hákarl, fermented Greenland shark, is a much less welcome one, dominated by ammonia and other pungent compounds.
#ChemSky 🧪
Olibanic acid isomers contribute to the fragrance of Frankincense, traditionally associated with Christmas.
The aroma of hákarl, fermented Greenland shark, is a much less welcome one, dominated by ammonia and other pungent compounds.
#ChemSky 🧪
If you brushed up on stinky skunk science with the previous edition of #PeriodicGraphics in @cenmag.bsky.social, see how much you remember about the chemistry with this quiz!
For last-minute pre-test cramming, check the graphic here: cen.acs.org/biological-c...
For last-minute pre-test cramming, check the graphic here: cen.acs.org/biological-c...
Quiz: How much do you know about the chemistry of skunk spray?
Test your knowledge of what makes the spray stink and how to combat the smell.
cen.acs.org
December 17, 2025 at 10:51 PM
If you brushed up on stinky skunk science with the previous edition of #PeriodicGraphics in @cenmag.bsky.social, see how much you remember about the chemistry with this quiz!
For last-minute pre-test cramming, check the graphic here: cen.acs.org/biological-c...
For last-minute pre-test cramming, check the graphic here: cen.acs.org/biological-c...
It’s #Chemistree season! Here’s one I made back in 2016. The use of an upside-down pear-shaped flask as a tree topper was, in retrospect, an unfortunate choice…
#Chemsky
#Chemsky
December 17, 2025 at 5:05 PM
It’s #Chemistree season! Here’s one I made back in 2016. The use of an upside-down pear-shaped flask as a tree topper was, in retrospect, an unfortunate choice…
#Chemsky
#Chemsky
Decorations and wrapping for day 17 of #ChemAdvent!
Baubles were traditionally silvered using the reduction of silver nitrate with glucose - a chemical test used in classrooms to detect aldehydes.
Wrapping paper and tape are both cellulose-based 🎁
#ChemSky 🧪
Baubles were traditionally silvered using the reduction of silver nitrate with glucose - a chemical test used in classrooms to detect aldehydes.
Wrapping paper and tape are both cellulose-based 🎁
#ChemSky 🧪
December 17, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Decorations and wrapping for day 17 of #ChemAdvent!
Baubles were traditionally silvered using the reduction of silver nitrate with glucose - a chemical test used in classrooms to detect aldehydes.
Wrapping paper and tape are both cellulose-based 🎁
#ChemSky 🧪
Baubles were traditionally silvered using the reduction of silver nitrate with glucose - a chemical test used in classrooms to detect aldehydes.
Wrapping paper and tape are both cellulose-based 🎁
#ChemSky 🧪
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
Sir Humphry Davy, English chemist, pioneered electrolysis, discovered new elements & alkali metals, invented miner’s safety lamp, born #OTD 1778.
Portrait by Thomas Phillips 1821
National Portrait Gallery
Royal Institution
Portrait by Thomas Phillips 1821
National Portrait Gallery
Royal Institution
December 17, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Sir Humphry Davy, English chemist, pioneered electrolysis, discovered new elements & alkali metals, invented miner’s safety lamp, born #OTD 1778.
Portrait by Thomas Phillips 1821
National Portrait Gallery
Royal Institution
Portrait by Thomas Phillips 1821
National Portrait Gallery
Royal Institution
Fermentation is the chemical connection for day 16 of #ChemAdvent: both Korean kimchi and Inuit kiviak take advantage of lactic acid bacteria fermenting carbohydrates and producing flavour compounds.
#ChemSky 🧪
#ChemSky 🧪
December 16, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Fermentation is the chemical connection for day 16 of #ChemAdvent: both Korean kimchi and Inuit kiviak take advantage of lactic acid bacteria fermenting carbohydrates and producing flavour compounds.
#ChemSky 🧪
#ChemSky 🧪
With the current surge in flu cases, here's a useful graphic examining the different viruses responsible for colds and flu 🤒
I first made this one back in early 2020 – remember when we didn't all know what a coronavirus was?
Read more here: www.compoundchem.com/2025/12/15/c... 🧪
I first made this one back in early 2020 – remember when we didn't all know what a coronavirus was?
Read more here: www.compoundchem.com/2025/12/15/c... 🧪
December 16, 2025 at 7:46 AM
With the current surge in flu cases, here's a useful graphic examining the different viruses responsible for colds and flu 🤒
I first made this one back in early 2020 – remember when we didn't all know what a coronavirus was?
Read more here: www.compoundchem.com/2025/12/15/c... 🧪
I first made this one back in early 2020 – remember when we didn't all know what a coronavirus was?
Read more here: www.compoundchem.com/2025/12/15/c... 🧪
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
For day 15 of #ChemAdvent, the most tenuous connection so far.
Deep-fried caterpillars are a Christmas delicacy in South Africa, and tinsel... kind of looks like a giant sparkly festive caterpillar?
Yeah, it's a stretch.
#ChemSky 🧪
Deep-fried caterpillars are a Christmas delicacy in South Africa, and tinsel... kind of looks like a giant sparkly festive caterpillar?
Yeah, it's a stretch.
#ChemSky 🧪
December 15, 2025 at 8:15 AM
For day 15 of #ChemAdvent, the most tenuous connection so far.
Deep-fried caterpillars are a Christmas delicacy in South Africa, and tinsel... kind of looks like a giant sparkly festive caterpillar?
Yeah, it's a stretch.
#ChemSky 🧪
Deep-fried caterpillars are a Christmas delicacy in South Africa, and tinsel... kind of looks like a giant sparkly festive caterpillar?
Yeah, it's a stretch.
#ChemSky 🧪
Looks like the US could finally be getting a new sunscreen molecule next year - 30 years since the last (via @cenmag.bsky.social)
Dec. 12 Policy Watch: FDA proposes first new sunscreen molecule since 1996
In other news, the US House passes a bill barring federal agencies from procuring items from ‘biotechnology companies of concern’
cen.acs.org
December 15, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Looks like the US could finally be getting a new sunscreen molecule next year - 30 years since the last (via @cenmag.bsky.social)
Reposted by Compound Interest | Chemistry infographics
Methylene blue, known to chemistry students and teachers as the indicator in the “blue bottle” experiment (which goes from blue to colourless to blue again). Also turns your brain blue.
December 15, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Methylene blue, known to chemistry students and teachers as the indicator in the “blue bottle” experiment (which goes from blue to colourless to blue again). Also turns your brain blue.