Nanoparticles answer an alchemical mystery

Purple smoke

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Gold nanoparticles explain the mystery of why fulminating gold explodes with a purple plume of smoke

Use this story and the accompanying summary slide to provide real-world context for 14–16 learners when studying nanoparticles. Discover why the first reported high explosive, fulminating gold, disintegrates in a mysterious cloud of purple smoke. 

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