The Inorganic Chemist: Exploring Chemistry, Its Discoveries, and Its History

The Scientific Importance of Diwali: When Tradition Meets Science Every year, millions of homes across India glow with the gentle light of earthen lamps. Streets are decorated with colourful rangolis, families gather to celebrate, and the darkness of an autumn evening is transformed into a spectacle of light. Diwali, or Deepavali, is among India's most cherished festivals. Traditionally associated with the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance and good over evil, it carries profound religious, philosophical and cultural significance. But Diwali also offers something fascinating to the scientifically curious mind. Behind its familiar practices lie interesting connections with astronomy, the chemistry of combustion, the physics of light, mathematical patterns, environmental science and human psychology. Does this mean every Diwali tradition was originally designed for a scientific purpose? Not necessarily. Historical traditions often emerge from intertwined religio...

  IKS GURU: Bringing Indian Knowledge Traditions into Everyday Learning By Prof. Rajeev Singh What might a traditional furnace teach a chemistry student? How could the preparation of a pigment become a lesson in materials science? Where should a curious learner begin when a Sanskrit term, an old text or a familiar practice opens up an unfamiliar world of knowledge? These are questions that belong naturally on The Inorganic Chemist. Studying chemistry involves understanding substances and reactions, and it also invites us to ask how people learned to work with materials. A classroom discussion can become richer when students investigate the observations, tools and skills behind a process. It was this wish to make such enquiry more approachable that led me to establish IKS GURU, available at www.iksguru.in . The idea was simple: give learners an accessible place to begin exploring Indian knowledge traditions, ask questions in their own words and discover directions for further study....