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.

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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.

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• Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry
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• Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook

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.

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• Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry
• Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at [email protected]
• Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook

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.

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• Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry
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• Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook

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.

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• Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry
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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 electrolytes.

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• Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry
• Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at [email protected]
• Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook

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 Irreproducible Results and the annual Ig Nobel Prize. Patreon supporters of this podcast may download a supplemental sheet with some illustrations of topics I discuss in this episode, so join now to see it!

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• Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry
• Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at [email protected]
• Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook

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.

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• Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry
• Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at [email protected]
• Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook

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.

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• Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry
• Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at [email protected]
• Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook

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 chemistry! E-mail me at [email protected]
• Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook