If you remember high school chemistry class at all, you might remember what happens when you drop potassium and sodium into water: It creates a big flashing, sparking explosion and remains a classic ...

For decades, science enthusiasts have delighted at the famously energetic way sodium and potassium explode on contact with water. Researchers in Europe now show that the long-accepted explanation for ...

We always think that water is the perfect way to quench fires and to cool down metals, but that’s not always true, because water doesn’t deal so well with all the elements. When alkali metals like ...

Potassium reacts quickly with water producing a lilac-coloured flame For example, when potassium is added to water, the metal melts and floats. It moves around very quickly on the surface of the water ...