The news broke that a railroad car, loaded with pure sodium, had just derailed and was spilling its contents. A television reporter called me for an explanation of why firefighters were not allowed to ...

Alkali metals like lithium, sodium, and potassium are famous for their dramatic reactions with water, from fizzing to full-on explosions. Their single valence electron makes them eager to react, ...

When a small piece of sodium is placed in a petri dish with water and phenolphthalein, the sodium becomes a molten ball and darts around the dish, leaving a pink trail. The reactions of potassium, ...