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 you about chemistry. Finally I send you off with an announcement about a national award I will accept in 2026. Please continue to support this podcast , because it costs money to keep this series posted on Buzzsprout and Patreon. Without your continued support, this podcast will disappear from the Int...
Sep 09, 2025•21 min•Ep. 184
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 image by blocking the star's glare. I discuss what sort of spectroscopic signals might be present for life in a planet's atmosphere. Finally I offer some planets already detected whose temperatures appear to be in the range of terrestrial life, and what's in their atmospheres. Support the show Support ...
Sep 01, 2025•21 min•Ep. 183
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. Included in the tour are temperature measurements, spectroscopic views, gas chromatography, radioactive labeling, photographs, electrical conductivity, and more. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail m...
Aug 22, 2025•21 min•Ep. 182
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 molecular machine different from a regular-sized machine. We also talk about molecular machines as a subset of "molecular devices." Finally, we mention a poll for researchers that IUPAC has set up to help chemists define what a molecular machine really is. Support the show Support my podcast at https...
Aug 17, 2025•20 min•Ep. 181
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--out of the topsoil. We explore the recent history of this topic, its advantages and pitfalls. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofchem.com Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came t...
Aug 08, 2025•20 min•Ep. 180
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, through the various books on the subject, the founding of the History of Chemistry Section of the American Chemical Society, various chemical-history journals, the Science History Institute, and the Royal Society of Chemistry's Historical Group. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon....
Aug 01, 2025•27 min•Ep. 179
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; and a variety of awards given to chemists during their professional careers by different chemical societies. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofchem.com Get my book, O Mg! How ...
Jul 25, 2025•19 min•Ep. 178
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 Greek letters not used as chemical symbols too. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofchem.com Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be , from World Scientific Publishing, https...
Jul 17, 2025•20 min•Ep. 177
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, matching their sensitivity to various kinds of indoor lamps, and such developments in the last couple of decades. We discuss research into various materials for these low-light panels. Finally, we shift gears and learn about new batteries that work inside bodies, using the body fluids as electrolyt...
Jul 08, 2025•21 min•Ep. 176
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 compounds with humorous molecular structures. We discuss chemistry-related parody songs, plus a bonus of me singing an actual song from 1901. We hear of some chemistry games designed to teach students. From there we move on to chemistry dad jokes and puns (hey, I am a dad), and chemistry in the Journal of ...
Jun 26, 2025•22 min•Ep. 175
Water, the most important chemical for us, deserves its own episode describing the history of how chemists understand it. We start with pre-Enlightenment views of water as an element, then as a compound, then how electricity affected our understanding, then with dissolved salts, the crystal structure of ice, water's actual molecular structure, and how hydrogen bonding affects it. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to...
Jun 20, 2025•27 min•Ep. 174
We start with a 1927 patent awarded to George Washington Carver, an agricultural chemist, for a locally-sourced Prussian blue. We learn a bit about Carver's life, education, and hobby of painting which may have led to the patent. We examine the patent in some detail, and then hear how it's been revived by a modern artist. Then we discuss other blue pigments throughout history, ending with the newest blue, an accidental discovery in a laboratory in 2009. Support the show Support my podcast at htt...
Jun 12, 2025•22 min•Ep. 173
In which we discuss the history of scientists attempting to determine a half-life of a specific radioactive isotope of samarium, and why that determination is so important for other branches of science. We learn of the poor quality of the observation, how at least one result was retracted, and how a new way to measure half-lives offers hope for a resolution to this problem. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemi...
Jun 06, 2025•20 min•Ep. 172
This is a brief history of how chemists understand the way liquids wet things. The first glimpse was by Francis Hauksbee in the early 1700s, and how water rises in narrow tubes. Through the 18th century, natural philosophers described surface tension. The 19th century brought understanding of wetting via macroscopic observations and descriptions. The 20th century added insights of quantum mechanics and the influence of surface roughness. Finally we discuss the 20th-century observation of superhy...
May 29, 2025•21 min•Ep. 171
In which we talk about the history of fractals and how they relate to chemistry. There is a brief overview of what a fractal is and how it developed in mathematics. Then we talk of how fractals apply to chemistry, including surface reactions, descriptions of molecular structures both artificial and natural, growth of polymers, and even how the concentrations and flows of minerals in streams follow a fractal variation with time. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehi...
May 23, 2025•19 min•Ep. 170
It's an ancient story, but fossils have been with us since time immemorial. In this episode, we hear about the history of chemists and their interpretation of fossils. Scientists first began considering fossils as evidence of past life in the 17th century. We hear about the fossil record, and the oldest fossils, then the oldest fossils with organic matter preserved, and the chemical controversy over how collagen can remain for millions of years. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www...
May 07, 2025•25 min•Ep. 169
Refrigeration always has been closely intertwined with chemistry. In this episode we explore the history of refrigerants, from the first hints of artificial cooling in the mid-1700s, through the invention of the first practical refrigerator 8 decades later. We talk about a variety of refrigerants through the 20th century. Finally we examine some other newer or less-common methods of cooling. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your lif...
Apr 27, 2025•25 min•Ep. 168
Magnetic tape was an integral part of the new, growing recording industry. Herein we talk about the chemical history of magnetic recording, from the first idea in 1888, onward. We encounter Poulsen, Pfleumer, Stille, Nagai, Mullin, and an array of corporations as well. Finally we discuss a bit about digital computers and the history of magnetic tapes for data. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail m...
Apr 21, 2025•25 min•Ep. 167
Here we talk about supersized sandwich compounds and their history, beginning with ferrocene in the 1950s. We go from single-decker to double-, triple, and quadruple-decker sandwich compounds through the 1970s and 1980s, a variety of "breads" and "fillings," and then even bigger as we move to the 21st Century. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofchem.com Get my book, O Mg! How...
Apr 15, 2025•21 min•Ep. 166
Herein we examine the cubical hydrocarbon, cubane, and its role in chemical history. We talk of difficulties in synthesis, possible uses as an explosive, its use as an isostere to benzene in medicinal compounds, and polymers of cubane. Patreon supporters can download a supplemental sheet to see some of the molecular structures I discuss. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofche...
Apr 06, 2025•22 min•Ep. 165
In which we talk about how chirality, or handedness, has diffused through chemistry since its discovery in the 19th century, starting with Louis Pasteur. We look at work by Arnaldo Piutti and Emile Fischer. We discuss not only organic compounds, but amino acids, proteins, DNA, and inorganic chiral compounds. Ultimately we have to bring up the question of the biochemical handedness of life. Patreon supporters may download a supplemental sheet of some of the molecular structures mentioned in this ...
Mar 30, 2025•26 min•Ep. 164
In which we talk about the history of using ammonia, the nitrogen analog of methane, as a fuel. We start two centuries ago with Goldsworthy Gurney, move to the mid-19th century when horseless carriages began to appear in Europe. World War II spurred necessary fuel adjustments to public transportation. We then examine post-war research. We tackle some pros and cons of using ammonia as fuel, as well as the ecological spectrum of ammonia sources. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.p...
Mar 23, 2025•20 min•Ep. 163
Here we talk about how chemists historically have viewed the way life began: as chemicals self-organizing. The earliest serious chemical views began in the 1870s, with synthesis of proteins. Ideas through the decades included warm ponds, auto-catalytic enzymes, genes (whatever they were), a primitive reducing atmosphere, lightning bolts, and DNA or RNA. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at st...
Mar 16, 2025•26 min•Ep. 162
Contrary to popular belief, chemists have always found involvement in politics. Herein are some examples of chemists getting involved politically, whether willingly or unwillingly, from the past 250 years, starting with Englishman Joseph Priestley. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofchem.com Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be , from World Scientific Publishing, https...
Mar 09, 2025•24 min•Ep. 161
We look at the history of some recent problems in recycling materials. First we examine the history of wind farms, and how to recycle the fan blades. Second we talk about recent history and problems of recycling polyethylene terephthalate. Then we discuss the persistent and growing problem of electronics waste. Finally, we briefly touch on recycling of spent batteries. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry!...
Mar 02, 2025•22 min•Ep. 160
Given the environmental catastrophe into which we now zombie-walk, here is a bit about the history of extracting greenhouse gases directly from the air. Extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere began in the 1930s, but proposals to do it environmentally only began about 25 years ago, with the first large-scale systems appearing in the 2020s. We also talk a little about pulling a worse gas, methane, from the atmosphere. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistory...
Feb 23, 2025•27 min•Ep. 159
We hear about the history of hydrogen gas as a fuel, starting in the early 1800s with François Isaac de Rivaz. We continue through the 19th and 20th centuries, with dual-burning vehicles, airplanes, and fuel-cells. We talk of advantages and disadvantages of such engines, and the ecological spectrum of hydrogen gas. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofchem.com Get my book, O Mg...
Feb 16, 2025•24 min•Ep. 158
In which we talk about the history of differently abled chemists, from around the year 1600 to the present. We mention some differently abled chemists, and how the American Chemical Society and Royal Society of Chemistry handle things, plus hope for continued improvement in the future. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@historyofchem.com Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be , f...
Feb 09, 2025•20 min•Ep. 157
We hear about the recent history of quantum computing to do quantum calculations on molecules. First we briefly discuss different types of computers. Then we talk about the kinds of calculations chemists want to do with quantum computers. We also learn about some ways chemists currently use to simplify the mathematics for quantum calculations. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at steve@histor...
Feb 03, 2025•20 min•Ep. 156
In which we [cue theremin!] discuss how chemistry is presented in science-fiction stories. We start with Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein," move through Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, then to 20th-century writers like Isaac Asimov. Kurt Vonnegut, Fred Hoyle, H. Beam Piper, and many others. We talk of "Star Trek," "Battlestar Galactica," and David Foster Wallace. Support the show Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at ...
Jan 27, 2025•21 min•Ep. 155
