Chemistry For Your Life

What is the chemistry of film photography?

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Melissa and Jam delve into the fascinating chemistry behind film photography. They reminisce about their childhood experiences with analog cameras and discuss the shift to digital cameras. Melissa, a chemist, explains the complex chemical processes involved in capturing and developing photos on film, focusing on the role of light-sensitive silver bromide. The episode also includes shout-outs to community members who spurred the topic and closes with personal stories and favorite film photos. Get ready to explore the intersection of chemistry and photography while revisiting nostalgia from the days of film cameras.

00:00 Nostalgia: From Film to Digital Cameras
00:38 The Shift to Digital Photography
01:52 Introduction to the Podcast
02:01 Shoutouts and Listener Requests
12:32 The Chemistry Behind Film Photography
28:03 Amplifying the Latent Image
28:24 Creating the Negative
29:11 Fixing the Image
29:51 Understanding the Negative
30:30 Inverting the Negative
31:15 Early Photography Challenges
32:12 Explaining the Process
33:21 Chemical Reactions in Film Development
34:44 Scanning and Developing Film
41:15 Personal Film Photography Stories
51:29 Supporting the Show

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References from this episode:

  1. https://pubs-acs-org.libproxy.library.unt.edu/doi/epdf/10.1021/ed052p622?ref=article_openPDF
  2. https://pubs-acs-org.libproxy.library.unt.edu/doi/10.1021/acs.jchemed.6b00400
  3. https://pubs-acs-org.libproxy.library.unt.edu/doi/10.1021/ed081p694
  4. https://edu.rsc.org/experiments/making-a-photographic-print-using-silver-chloride/454.article
  5. https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/articlesbytopic/metals%20and%20nonmetals/chemmatters-feb2006-digital-photo.pdf
  6. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rolf-Steiger/publication/279964154_CHEMICAL_SENSITIZATION_OF_SILVER_BROMIDE/links/5a7d8b55aca272341aef2f6f/CHEMICAL-SENSITIZATION-OF-SILVER-BROMIDE.pdf
  7. https://www.acs.org/education/celebrating-chemistry-editions/2024-ncw/chemistry-of-polaroids.html
  8. https://cen.acs.org/articles/87/i12/Instant-Film.html
  9. https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/land-instant-photography.html
  10. https://pubs-acs-org.libproxy.library.unt.edu/doi/epdf/10.1021/ed051p72?ref=article_openPDF

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