Global Chemical Database

Discovery & Origins

This topic explores how important chemicals were discovered, first studied, named, and introduced into the history of science and industry.

Barium chloride dihydrate

What did ordinary barium chloride have to do with Marie Curie's isolation of radium? The answer is a beautiful lesson in how tiny chemical differences become powerful when repeated.

Acetylsalicylic acid

Imagine taking a medicine for more than 70 years... ...before anyone knew how it actually worked.