The Chemistry in Your Pocket
Discover the sophisticated molecular engineering hidden inside your smartphone, from the lithium-ion dance in your battery to the rare-earth glow of your screen.
Like Duolingo, but for The Chemistry in Your Pocket. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Energy and Interaction and Light and Longevity. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in The Chemistry in Your Pocket
- The physical nature of intercalation versus chemical bonding
- The electrolyte's role in separating charge carriers
- The SEI layer is a byproduct of electrolyte breakdown during early cycles
- A thick SEI layer acts as a bottleneck that increases internal resistance
- Dendrites are metallic lithium spikes that form during high-current fast charging
- These spikes can physically puncture the polymer separator to cause a short
- The chemical cause and physical effect of battery aging
- The chemical potential of the cathode material stays stable during ion extraction
- A voltage drop occurs when the active material is depleted of available ions
- The risk factors and consequences of dendrite formation
- How cathode chemistry dictates voltage behavior
- Potassium ions are physically larger than the sodium ions they replace
- ITO has a wide bandgap that allows visible light to pass through without absorption
- Crowding the glass surface with larger ions creates a compressive stress layer
- Oxygen vacancies in the ITO crystal lattice provide free electrons for conductivity
- The chemical process of ion-exchange tempering
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives The Chemistry in Your Pocket the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What would happen inside your battery if the liquid electrolyte allowed free electrons to swim through it?
Get it right to open this lesson and 10 more in the app.
How to learn The Chemistry in Your Pocket, step by step
Go in order. 11 short levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Energy and Interaction
- The Lithium-Ion Dance
- Conductive Glass and Capacitance
- 2
Light and Longevity
- Rare Earths and Radiant Light
- The Chemistry of Obsolescence
2 sections · 4 units · 11 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about The Chemistry in Your Pocket
How do I learn The Chemistry in Your Pocket?
Go in order: start with Energy and Interaction, then Light and Longevity. On Tomo that's 11 short levels, about 22 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for The Chemistry in Your Pocket?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. The Chemistry in Your Pocket is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is The Chemistry in Your Pocket free?
Yes. The Chemistry in Your Pocket is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn The Chemistry in Your Pocket?
11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start The Chemistry in Your Pocket?
No. It's pitched at an intermediate level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
The Chemistry in Your Pocket is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start The Chemistry in Your Pocket today.
Download Tomo, search The Chemistry in Your Pocket, and play your first lesson in under a minute.