How can you tell when a chemical reaction has happened?
Chemistry's Five Clues
How can you tell when a chemical reaction has happened?
Stuff is changing around you all the time. Some changes are sneaky — like ice melting into water, which is still just water wearing a different outfit. But sometimes something deeper happens: the ingredients themselves get rebuilt into brand-new stuff. That's a chemical reaction. So how do you catch one in the act?
Here's the secret. A chemical reaction leaves clues — like footprints at a crime scene. No single clue is proof on its own, but when you spot a few of them together, you can be pretty sure new matter was just born. Detectives have five favorite clues to look for.
