Reactions

Science and Nature Series / 11 Seasons

Reactions is a show that uncovers the chemistry all around us. We answer the burning questions you’ve always wanted to ask, blending the worlds of science and every-day life.

9m 47s

Time to Strike Antifreeze Off Your List of Usable Poisons

S8 E21 / 10m 34s

Ethylene glycol is the most common ingredient in automotive antifreeze. But for years it was used in homicidal poisonings. What made this household chemical so dangerous? And why is it no longer a viable poison?

What Science Says About Brining Your Bird

S8 E20 / 12m 40s

George and Andrew violently disagree on whether brining meat matters. George thinks brining is totally unnecessary; Andrew thinks George is a heathen. They resolve their dispute with the help of some chemistry, a blind tasting, and DC’s very own Roaming Rooster.

Some Sugar Free Gummy Bears Are Laxatives. No, Really.

S8 E19 / 15m 23s

Sugar free gummies are delicious, low on calories, and… technically laxatives? Reactions producer Andrew dives into the science to figure out how he can make delicious sugar free gummies without the uncomfortable side effects.

Is DNA the Future of Data Storage?

S8 E18 / 18m 1s

Could the future of data storage be DNA? It’s the original format after all, storing the information needed to build every living thing. and it has a handful of qualities that would make it perfect to store all the digital information in our world. With recent advances in DNA sequencing and DNA printing, it’s technically possible.

Why Does Salt Change the Taste of Everything?

S8 E17 / 13m 15s

If your coffee is too bitter, add a pinch of salt. If your salad isn’t sour enough, add a pinch of salt. If your beer is too bitter, add a pinch of salt. Salt has a seemingly magical ability to enhance good flavors and dampen bad ones. Come along on George’s epic journey into the wilds of salt science.

How Roundup Kills Weeds (And How Weeds are Fighting Back)

S8 E16 / 9m 41s

In 1997 there were 432 new patents for herbicides, by 2009 there were only 65. The development of broad spectrum glyphosate and “Roundup Ready crops” was a game changer that worked so well people basically stopped looking for new herbicides. That is until the weeds started fighting back.

Carbon Structures from Pencils to Jetpacks

S8 E15 / 17m 15s

Buckyballs, nanotubes, and graphene sheets have been the way of the future for *decades* but so far, the science just hasn’t lived up to the hype. Yet there are new carbon structures that pop up about once a year claiming to be the next big thing. So… how far are we actually from carbon structures revolutionizing the world and finally bringing us jetpacks?

Are Wine & Food Pairings All Nonsense?

S8 E14 / 14m 45s

Foodies know that coffee and chocolate go well together. But add garlic to the mix and you get a taste sensation that *absolutely* broke my brain. I dig into the science of flavor pairings, especially when it comes to the famous (infamous?) combo of wine and cheese.

How Quinine Caused World War One

S8 E13 / 10m 39s

Can a medicine cause a war? When chemists isolated a new compound from the bark of a South American tree, they had no idea they were changing world history, and cocktails, forever.

SPACE TRASH! ft. Chemistry

S8 E12 / 11m 30s

What happens to the space debris a little closer to earth, all the stuff that we humans have sent into space and just left there to orbit us? The unusual environment of space means it breaks down and degrades differently than it would down here on earth. But… how long does it take to break down? Does it all break down?

Can Science Replace Blood Transfusions?

S8 E11 / 12m 47s

Blood from a lamb, into a human – this sounds like a horror movie, but it’s actually the first recorded blood transfusion… four hundred years ago. In this video we look at how far we’ve come, and the century-long quest for the Holy Grail of transfusion medicine: synthetic blood.

A Deep(er) Dive Into Whiskey Distilling Science

S8 E10 / 13m 38s

Have you ever wanted to make your own bourbon? Don’t! The process might be relatively simple- heat a fermented liquid and keep only the boiled alcohol – but it is dangerous and illegal without a license. This video discusses how to separate one type of liquid from a slurry of others through boiling points and the intermolecular forces that influence them.

How Do They Make Maple Syrup?

S8 E8 / 13m 43s

Are you a grade B maple syrup fan? Well, you can’t get it anymore. To understand why, we have to look at the science behind the whole process, from sap to syrup. On the way, we’ll cover hydrometers, reverse osmosis, boiling point elevation, and George’s dislike of Maillard reaction diagrams.

Making Drinking Water From Sewage

S8 E7 / 11m 50s

Sure, drinking toilet water *sounds* gross, but with the right cleaning methods we can turn the dirtiest water you can think of back into clean, safe, refreshing drinking water. In this video we’ll walk through how humans have cleaned water over centuries, and how we’ve managed to get so good at it that we can turn wastewater into a refreshing drink again!

How to Demo a Building Without Exploding Everything Around

S8 E6 / 9m 12s

How do you demolish a massive building – in the middle of a populated city – in a matter of seconds… safely? Counterintuitively, you do it with explosives. We explore how chemistry, engineering, and more than a little artistry come together to safely bring down massive structures.

You Don't Understand Water (and Neither Does Anyone Else)

S8 E5 / 12m 10s

Water is weird… really weird. We’re gonna dive into the controversial chemistry and heated debates around the science of what gives water it’s super unusual properties, and maybe bust a popular water myth along the way.

This Toxic Gas is Responsible for Almost All Our Food

S8 E4 / 10m 3s

Anhydrous ammonia can cause headline-grabbing disasters, but it’s also responsible for 50% of the food on your table. It all boils down to nitrogen, and the process of turning the inert dinitrogen in our air into useful fertilizer. So what is this stuff, how is it used, and how is something so dangerous also so vital?

What's In "Premium" Gas?

S8 E3 / 8m 43s

Is it worth it to put premium gas into your car? And what’s even the difference between the regular and premium gas? It all has to do with the octane rating, which we’ll explain with fire, ice-cream, and a bit of chemistry trivia.

Climate Change is Affecting Hibernation Patterns of Animals

S8 E2 / 7m 29s

Think hibernation is just a nap bears take during the wintertime? It’s way more complicated–and climate based. With climate change happening, how will hibernating animals be affected and will animals who don’t hibernate now begin to?

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