The History of Chemistry
Chemistry is everywhere, and involves everything. But how did chemistry get to be what it is? I'm Steve Cohen, a chemist and writer, bringing you The History of Chemistry. This podcast explores the development of chemistry from prehistoric times to the present, including the people and societies who made chemistry what it is today. The History of Chemistry is for you, whether you hated chemistry in high school, or got a PhD in inorganic chemistry. We'll explore how chemistry affected art, music, language, politics and vice-versa. Whether it's ancient Greek philosophers, medieval alchemists, or modern laboratory apparatus, it's all here. Don't forget to support my series at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry !
Episodes
147 episodes
Break Time
Dear Listener,I have been posting episodes weekly for two and a half years. I need a short break. I promise I will be back very soon. I have many more episodes already written and recorded for you. Please stay tuned. Until then….brave t...
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0:23
144: Rare as Hens' Teeth
Here we explore the history of unusual and uncommon isotopes of known elements on the periodic table. We discuss the (almost) true statement that all isotopes of an element react the same. Then we reach inside the atomic nucleus and hear of the...
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Episode 144
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25:07
143: Queer as a Clockwork Orange
In which I give a brief history of queer chemists. We talk of the rise of queer scientific associations, and the slog to acceptance of the Gay and Transgender Chemists and their Allies in the American Chemical Society, some current queer chemis...
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Episode 143
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20:08
142: Molecular Valves
Science-fiction writers (and scientists) have been promoting molecular transistors since the 1950s, and we explore the history of why that hasn't happened yet. We start with the parallel sci-fi writer (and biochemist) Isaac Asimov's "molecular ...
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Episode 142
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21:53
141: Chemical Communications
In this episode, I have a conversation with Professor David Perlmutter in the Communications Department at Texas Tech University, on the public's impressions of chemistry, and what value chemistry brings to the wider world.
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Episode 141
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36:53
140: Chemical Paranoia
We start with the first chemical conspiracy theory from 1996, "chemtrails." Then we move to another popular chemical hoax, "alkaline water" somehow being healthy for you. Related to that are the bizarre "hexagonal water" and water memory ideas....
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Episode 140
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24:08
139: To the Max
A new material, the MXene, discovered in 2010, is the topic of this episode. We hear of its creation and derivation at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Then we learn of ways to create single layers, variations in materials, and new methods of...
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Episode 139
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21:36
138: Smells Like Teen Spirit
We finally get to discuss what the term "aromatic compound" means in chemistry, from Michael Faraday's report in 1825 of a new organic compound (we call it benzene), to von Hofmann's first use in 1856 (without defining it) of the term "aromatic...
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Episode 138
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27:42
137: Light My Fire
Aerogels, those feather-weight materials, have a century-old history. We begin with Samuel Kistler, the inventor of the first aerogels, and move forward through time with loss of interest in them, then revival of interest in the 1970s. We learn...
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Episode 137
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21:04
136: AI, Robot
Artificial intelligence, or AI, can be applied to chemistry, too. Here we discuss a brief history of AI, especially for chemistry, beginning with Djerassi's DENDRAL program. We talk of the current problems in chemistry to which AI is being appl...
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Episode 136
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22:23
135: Bond, Chemical Bond
In which we consider what, really, is a chemical bond. Lewis and Langmuir promoted the idea that bonding was sharing of electron pairs. Then we hear about Slater, Hellman, and Ruedenberg's discussion of how covalent bonding works. Kossel and Le...
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Episode 135
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22:42
134: Atto-boy!
In which we talk about the fastest spectroscopy yet, attosecond spectroscopy, which can resolve electrons moving around atoms. The topic begins with Christian Spielmann in 1997, working to get shorter and shorter laser pulses, and continues wit...
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Episode 134
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19:27
133: A Horse of a Different Color
Instead of molecules that absorb light based on their molecular orbitals, this episode talks of nanostructures and their materials that refract light based on interference of light waves. We start with Robert Hooke who described this process in...
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Episode 133
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20:51
132: Name Dropping
This episode concerns the phenomenon in organic chemistry of classifying a set of similar reactions by a single umbrella name. Most named reactions honor a person, but not always. We discuss the early history of named reactions from the 1870s o...
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Episode 132
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22:09
131: From Fluor to Ceiling
Polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, seem to be ubiquitous now in the environment and the news. In this episode I delve into why chemists found these compounds so fascinating and useful. Then I discuss some history of how the world finally lear...
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Episode 131
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22:23
130: I Have an Axe to Grind
Mechanochemistry, using purely mechanical processes to run a reaction, is much less known in the chemical world, but has been around since the ancient Greek Theophrastus described a mechanochemical process. We describe the history of mechanoche...
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Episode 130
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22:05
129: Sheets and Giggles
In which we learn of the history of graphite, its molecular structure, and electrical properties. Then we discuss the isolation of thinner and thinner layers of graphite through the mid-to-late 20th century. The first isolation of a single atom...
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Episode 129
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21:17
128: Heavy, Man, Heavy!
With this episode, we complete our history of the discovery of the elements (up through writing this episode). We talk of elements 110 through 118, completing that row of the Periodic Table, and the various experiments that the major heavy-ion ...
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Episode 128
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31:19
127: Black is Beautiful
In which we discuss the entry of People of Color into chemistry, mostly in the USA. We start with the first Black to get an Ph.D. in Chemistry in the USA, St. Elmo Brady, and work forward through the 1940s through the 1960s. We discuss various ...
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Episode 127
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22:04
126: Run of the Mill
In which we talk of a huge problem currently plaguing chemistry (and science in general), the "paper mill," in which researchers pay to get their name attached to others' publications, or they write fraudulent publications and pay to get them i...
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Episode 126
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22:27
125: Das Model
Here we discuss all sorts of kits chemists use to build models of different molecules. We start with the pre-molecule set built for John Dalton, and then we hear of August von Hofmann's set for lecture demonstrations. We talk of John Dewar's br...
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Episode 125
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23:29
124: Lumen Large
Our history of LEDs continues with the entry of LEDs into commercial lighting. We talk of different ways to get white light out of LEDs, and materials for white-light LEDs. We briefly discuss color temperature because there are different kinds ...
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Episode 124
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20:39
123: Setting the Ground Rules
This episode gives a basic review of geochemistry, starting with pioneers such as Christian Friedrich Schönbein, Frank Wigglesworth Clarke, and thence into the 20th century, especially Victor Goldschmidt. We hear about the development of geoche...
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Episode 123
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21:51