Investigating Lead Glass

Fyling Hall’s Year 9s have been investigating lead glass, sometimes called lead crystal. But please, refrain from calling it “crystal.” Technically, we should not be using the term ‘crystal’ as glass has an amorphous structure rather than a...

Counting the calories

We are all used to the term ‘counting the calories’, but what does it actually mean? A calorie is a measure of the potential energy available from the chemical reaction of a substance. We are used to using the term calorie to identify the fat content of a food, this...

The history of vinegar

The history of vinegar, and its uses, goes back thousands of years with traces being found in Egyptian urns from around 3000 B.C. The name vinegar derives from the French vinaigre, meaning sour wine, and gives an indication of how vinegar is traditionally made. In a...