Videos
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In the Fog about Smog: Solving the Smog Puzzle
on Earth and from Space
Ozone, Our Global Sunscreen
ChemMatters, April 2013
NASA's Aura satellite can measure air quality across the entire planet in just 24 hours. This episode describes some of Aura's achievements, explains how smog is formed, and discusses the future of Earth's ozone hole.
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The Big Reveal: What’s Behind Nutrition Labels
ChemMatters, December 2012
This episode explains the science behind calories and nutrition facts labels. Find out how scientists first determined the calorie content of food in the 1800s, and how fat, protein and carbohydrate levels on nutrition facts labels are found today.
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Graphene: The Next Wonder Material?
ChemMatters, October 2012
Graphene, a material created from sheets of carbon that are one-atom-thick, has unique properties that could lead to amazing applications, such as a coffee cup that streams the day’s headlines in real time, a cooking pot that can detect the presence of E. coli bacteria, or a television screen that is as flexible and thin as a piece of paper.
Episode 9
Digestion: The Incredible Disassembly Line
Episode 8
The Taste and Smell of Food
Episode 7 (Part 1)
The Chemistry of Gross Stuff — Bad Breath
Related Article
24 Hours: Your Food on the Move
ChemMatters, February 2012
After you eat, you probably don’t give your food another thought. But the story of what happens to your food after you swallow it is quite fascinating.
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Mmmm…Flavorful Food
ChemMatters, December 2011
Why do people have different reactions to the same food? The smell of food, its texture, its color, and its temperature also contribute to what is more generally known as the “flavor” of food.
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Demystifying Gross Stuff
ChemMatters, October 2011
People can be uptight about the sounds and odors that come from the human body, but understanding the science behind what may appear gross may make these things a little less gross. In Part 1 of this two-part video, we discuss what causes bad breath.
Episode 7 (Part 2)
The Chemistry of Gross Stuff — Acne
Episode 6
"Priceless" Painting — Real or Fake?
Episode 5
Purifying Polluted Water
Related article
Demystifying Gross Stuff
ChemMatters, October 2011
People can be uptight about the sounds and odors that come from the human body, but understanding the science behind what may appear gross may make these things a little less gross. In Part 2 of this two-part video, we explain how acne forms and how to treat it.
Related article
Authentic or Not: Chemistry Solves the Mystery
ChemMatters, April 2011
In this episode, find out about the scientific techniques--many based on chemistry--used to examine paintings at the molecular level and to determine whether they are fake or real.
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Wastewater Recycling
ChemMatters, Feb. 2011 issue
In this episode, we explain how wastewater goes from polluted to pure. To get more acquainted with this process, we visited Washington, D.C.'s Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant, which treats a whopping 370 million gallons of sewage a day!
Episode 4
How Do Microwaves Work?
Episode 3
Demystifying Magic Tricks
Episode 2
Plastics Go Green
Episode 1
Nanotechnology’s Big Impact
Related article
Nanotechnology
ChemMatters, Oct. 2009
Explores the promises of nanotechnology, a field of science and engineering in which devices are made from very small components that are as small as one-millionth of an inch in size.
