Think about your self in a chemistry lab. You’re most likely picturing a scene that includes a complete load of liquids – fluids effervescent in round-bottomed flasks, options swirling in check tubes, droplets working down condensers. It’s a cliché, however one which precisely describes what these areas have appeared like for hundreds of years the world over.

There isn’t a lot frothing or effervescent occurring in Tomislav Friščić’s lab, although. That’s as a result of he and his crew on the College of Birmingham, UK, are attempting to eliminate liquid chemistry. The instruments of their commerce are highly effective machines just like the ball mill, a grinder stuffed with steel spheres that resembles a mini cement mixer. It might appear brutal, however this hardball strategy might shake up the way in which chemists work, releasing them from the “psychological jail”, as Friščić places it, of getting to dissolve the whole lot.

Chemistry creates lots of the wonders of contemporary life, from the medicines that heal us to the screens with which we talk. When researchers wish to make these items from scratch, they typically begin by assuming they need to dissolve their supplies. However mechanochemistry, the burgeoning subject Friščić is fascinated by, exhibits this isn’t all the time needed. “Mechanochemistry offers you the mental freedom to suppose: ‘Let me simply do this response by grinding it’,” says Friščić. “And, in lots of instances, it really works.”