#chemistry

Jules Raulin, a student of Louis Pasteur, made a seminal discovery on zinc’s essential role in a microorganism’s growth. 150 years later, growing questions about this integral and essential element revolve around its purpose for our everyday lives.

Most people know that uranium is radioactive, but few would think of taking a Geiger Counter with them when antique-hunting. A hundred years ago, uranium oxide was widely used in making decorative glass objects. Their characteristic greenish-yellow colour gave them the name of ‘Vaseline glass’, though their radioactivity means that uranium is not used in glass-making these days. Uranium is also used in making the shells fired by Army tanks, as it is extremely dense and also tends to ignite on impact.