The History of Chemistry Podcast
1) 184: Alles ist Chemie (Conclusion)
I conclude this series, touching on why I ran this podcast. I give eleven overarching goals for the podcast. I also go far back into my own past, and an event which eventually led to me speaking to yo...Show More
2) 183: New World Coming
I give a brief history of finding planets around other stars, including discovery by gravitational wobbling, dimming as the planet crosses in front of its star, and even seeing an actual planetary ima...Show More
3) 182: It's Life, Jim, But Not As We Know It
We take an imaginary trip around our Solar System to hear the history of chemical attempts to find life, starting in the late 1950s. Among our stops on the tour include Venus, Mars, Europa, and Titan....Show More
4) 181: A Work in Progress
In which we bring research into molecular machines up to date. We discuss fuels, specifically what chemists think are the best kinds of fuels to power these little molecules. We discuss what makes a m...Show More
5) 180: Farm to Market
Instead of just digging in the ground to extract minerals, over the past half-century scientists have begun to explore agriculture of hyperaccumulating plants to pull elements--including heavy metals-...Show More
6) 179: This Episode is Meta
The History of Chemistry is itself an academic discipline, and in this episode we explore the history of chemical history. We start with chemist Thomas Thomson, and work our way forward in time, throu...Show More
7) 178: Honors and Awards
In which we explore the various honors and awards available to chemists, starting in high school with the International Chemistry Olympiad, founded during the Cold War; college with Phi Lambda Upsilon...Show More
8) 177: Greek Salad
In this episode we run through the Greek alphabet and see the history behind each symbol as used in chemistry, from alpha for alpha particles to omega as in omega-fatty acids. We encounter a couple of...Show More
9) 176: Inside Information
While outdoor solar cells make big news, there is a quiet revolution also for solar cells that make do with far less illumination, indoor lighting. We discuss requirements for such photovoltaic cells,...Show More
10) 175: It's All Fun and Games Until...
Chemistry can be fun, too, so we explore some of historical satirical art about chemistry, humor based on nonsensical molecular structures, actual compounds with funny chemical names, and even compoun...Show More