Show Notes
We give a "solid foundation" to chemistry by recounting the history of concrete, starting with the earliest architectural use of lime around 10,000 years ago. We continue through ancient history and modern times with Roman concrete, the loss of its recipe, and (partial) rediscovery in the Renaissance. We continue to the present and the likely complete rediscovery of Roman concrete in the 21st century. We talk of the chemical reactions to make and set concrete, and its ecological problems. Fin...
More from The History of Chemistry
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 I...
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 Suppo...
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/thehistoryofchemistryTell me how your life relates to chemistry! E...
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&nb...
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/thehistoryofchemistryTell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at [email protected] my book, O Mg! How Chemistry ...