RSC Blog

2009 marks the inexplicably overlooked 50th anniversary of the automatic electric kettle, the true patriarch of this noble dynasty being the Russell Hobbs K2.

As reported in today’s Metro, we’re appealing to the public on this contentious issue: should you reboil or refill a kettle for that second cuppa? The best answer wins a trip down to London for two people to indulge in a British instution: tea at the Ritz.

There’s a huge body of opinion that maintains a bad-tasting brew is inevitable if you reuse water once boiled – some say it rids the water of taste-enhancing dissolved oxygen gas. There are others who heard from their grannies that reboiled water causes cancer.

But some say that the difference in taste and composition is minimal, and a new draught of water is just a waste of a precious resource – not to mention more expensive. Still others say it makes no difference at all!

Arguments about limescale, dissolved gases… surely this is just chemistry, yes? So there must be a scientific explanation for all this.

Explain your choice of reboiled or reused water, in a clear and scientific manner, in a comment to this post. The answer we judge to be the best will win a trip for two to London, and tea at the Ritz hotel on Piccadilly – incidentally just a few steps down the road from home of the RSC, Burlington House.

We’ll be closing comments on 30 June, so pull up your favourite search engine, give your granny a ring and present your theory below!

Click here if you can’t see the comments box.

Last week an epic mission of sharing chemistry knowledge began at the University of Leeds – and will finish six weeks and 7000km later in Nairobi, Kenya.

Three thousand textbooks from the university library were shipped out and will be distributed through the RSC’s Pan Africa Chemistry Network (PACN).

The Head of the School of Chemistry, Professor Philip Kocienski, came down to lend a hand loading the huge haul of books into boxes and onto the van.

Prime Logistics International of Baildon, Shipley, are undertaking the massive journey to deliver the books to the chemistry department at the University of Nairobi, the African central hub of the PACN. From there they can be distributed to other learning centres that need them.

As the library undergoes redevelopment, it’s seen as an opportunity to support the growth of chemistry in Africa by providing these high-quality teaching aids such as textbooks.

The RSC’s Pan Africa Chemistry Network allows students, teachers and academics across Africa to access a wide range of support, including online science resources, networking opportunities and teaching materials.