Chemical Curiosities

Full post can be read at: https://johnknightphd.substack.com / Intro Imagine a beautiful spring morning. The trees are stunning with new, bright green growth and colorful blossoms. Songbirds fill the air with their melodies. Above, small white clouds drift by across the blue sky. Now imagine feeling the warmth of a mug in your hands as you take in this scene. What’s in the cup? For some, it might...

The Battery Paradox We live in a world of batteries. They are in our smartphones, laptops, wearables, tablets, and speakers - all the devices we surround ourselves with every day. But it’s not just the things we use or wear that have batteries. They are increasingly being found in things that help us move, too. In 2025, for example, 25% of all new cars sold globally were electric vehicles, powered...

A Dream Has there ever been something that you've spent your whole life trying to prove - something that’s lived in the back of your mind for decades? Although Hollywood might want us to think otherwise, many chemists don’t spend their lives staring at flasks or holding beakers of colorful liquids. Their goals are the same as those of other people: get that degree, start a career, publish, and mak...

Intro Recently on Substack, I wrote about one of the world’s favorite indulgences: chocolate. Humans have been eating chocolate for at least four thousand years. From the moment it was introduced to the world outside Mesoamerica, it embarked on a journey where it not only became popular but also changed form. Today, chocolate is everywhere. At the store, it’s in the candy section, the baking secti...

The Storm that Trended Away On Sunday, January 18th, 2026, social media accounts in the United States began to chatter about an upcoming weather event for the following weekend. Along with intense arctic air coming down from Canada, a storm system seemed poised to develop and track across the southern United States. There was a high chance of a significant snow and ice event in areas not accustome...

Note from author : This is one of my shorter, more audio-focused posts that I make between my long-form articles. If you’re interested in my most recent audio post on Hangxiety, click the link below! Did you know that when you’re working out at the gym, your breath is changing the air chemistry of the room for everyone else? … You walk into the gym for the first time in the new year. Perhaps you m...

Transcript: If you’ve ever woken up at 4:00 AM after a night out with a racing heart and a sense of embarrassment, you’ve probably experienced ‘hangxiety.’ In the main article I wrote on my Substack about the chemical causes of hangovers, I discussed ethanol and the metabolic crisis it creates as your body tries to remove it. That’s not the only crisis happening, though! Hangxiety is your nervous...