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

We Made Pop Rocks at Home with Science

S7 E26 / 8m 31s

Pop Rocks are just sugar and high-pressure CO2, but making them at home is way harder than it looks. In this video, we use three different methods to try and capture carbon dioxide in sugar: a middle-school chemical reaction, a state transition, and biological production!

How Do Hydrogen Fuel Cells Work?

S7 E24 / 8m 11s

Hydrogen fuel cell cars seem great: hydrogen and oxygen in, nothing but water out. But if that hydrogen comes from dirty, carbon-emission spewing power plants, your sustainable car might not be so green after all.

How Oxygen Masks Brought Down a Plane

S7 E23 / 6m 31s

The same safety feature that gives you oxygen during an airplane emergency caused a plane to crash in 1996. How did something meant to keep you safe end up killing over 100 people?

Better Pizza Through Chemistry

S7 E19 / 6m 20s

We show you how two simple changes can turn cardboard-y pizza into award winning pie (okay, award-winning might be a slight exaggeration, but we awarded ourselves a win, so deal with it).

Why is There Plastic in Our Rain?

S7 E16 / 6m 43s

Every year more than 1,000 tons of plastic rains down onto national parks and wilderness in the western U.S. Where does that plastic come from? And is it also in rain that falls on Washington, DC?

We Tried to Preserve a Strawberry Forever. Things Got…Ugly

S7 E15 / 8m 5s

You’ve heard of the epoxy hot dog, but how about the epoxy strawberry? On this week’s episode we’re going to try to make a strawberry last forever.

How Lead (Maybe?) Caused the Downfall of the Roman Empire

S7 E12 / 5m 55s

Ancient Rome’s emperors did some pretty bizarre stuff—bursting into uncontrollable fits of laughter, appointing a horse as a priest, dressing in animal skins and attacking people… the list goes on. Why did they act this way? Possibly… lead poisoning. In this week’s episode, we unwrap the possibility that lead caused the Roman Empire’s collapse.

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