1. The longest carbon–carbon bond in chemistry
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In January 2018, scientists in Japan published research showing that they had created the longest carbon–carbon bond yet.
The bond is 1.8 Å long. An Å is unit of length used to measured distances on the atomic scale, named after the Swedish physicist Anders Ångstrom. 1 Å is 0.1 nanometres.
Carbon nanotubes such as the one above also have carbon–carbon bonds. But the Japanese and German molecules are far more complex. Schwarzm / GNU Free Documentation License, version 1.2
The previous record was held by a team in Germany, who made a 1.7 Å bond. But, they dispute the new record for two reasons. One reason is that the Japanese molecule is not an alkane, but the German molecule is. An alkane only has single carbon–carbon bonds, not double bonds.
This slide summarises a recent article published by Chemistry World. Use this slide as a lesson starter.
Image credit: Schwarzm / GNU Free Documentation License, version 1.2

2. The longest carbon–carbon bond in chemistry
Read the full article at
In January 2018, scientists in Japan published research showing that they had created the longest carbon–carbon bond yet.
The bond is 1.8 Å long. An Å is unit of length used to measured distances on the atomic scale, named after the Swedish physicist Anders Ångstrom. 1 Å is 0.1 nanometres.
Carbon nanotubes such as the one above also have carbon–carbon bonds. But the Japanese and German molecules are far more complex. Schwarzm / GNU Free Documentation License, version 1.2
The previous record was held by a team in Germany, who made a 1.7 Å bond. But, they dispute the new record for two reasons. One reason is that the Japanese molecule is not an alkane, but the German molecule is. An alkane only has single carbon–carbon bonds, not double bonds.
Students are not usually taught that bonds can be different lengths until they get to university. Why do you think that is?
Ångstrom invented his own units of distance, and so can you. Pick a name and symbol for your units, say how long it is in centimetres, and work out your height in these units.
The scientists are disagreeing. What is a good way to disagree with someone while staying friends?
This slide summarises a recent article published by Chemistry World. Use this slide as a lesson starter. It also contains questions which can be used to engage pupils.
Image credit: Schwarzm / GNU Free Documentation License, version 1.2
A good chance to get pupils to reflect on the science syllabus. Any reasonable answer is acceptable, such as, bond lengths not mentioned because: 1 - there isn’t enough time to cover it in class; 2 - it is too complicated for younger students; 3 - you need to know what a bond is before you can study lengths of bonds; 4 - you don’t need to know about lengths of bonds to explain things in the syllabus. You can then discuss how good these answers are. Respectively: 1 - there would be enough time to cover it, but something else would have to go; 2 - actually, it isn’t that complicated, everyone knows what length is; 3 - there is always a progression of ideas and you have to draw the line somewhere; 4 – On the other hand, if bond lengths were included in the syllabus, other concepts could then also be included.
For example, I call my units ‘thumbs’, symbol ‘tb’, and one thumb is 10 cm long. So my height is 18 tb (18 thumbs)
This can build on social skills or link to the importance of the peer review process. For example: be specific with the reason for your disagreement; be calm and don’t get angry; practice what you want to say and think about how it will be received