View the video. Lights, camera, kaboom! With snapshots from a high-speed camera, chemists can finally explain why sodium and other alkali metals blow up in water.

Alkali metals can react explosively with water and it is textbook knowledge that this vigorous behaviour results from heat release, steam formation and ignition of the hydrogen gas that is produced.

In order to favorably influence the electrochemical properties of these highly reactive alkali metals, understanding their microstructure is essential. Phys.org.