Topic: Materials

This episode explores exciting possibility of buckyballs, graphene and carbon nanotubes.

How do you recover gold that’s been dissolved in acid? How do we know the half-life of uranium? We take on your burning chemistry questions.

In this episode, we’re talking the science of airbags protect you in a car accident.

In this video, learn how leather is made using techniques that are thousands of years old.

The 2014 World Cup "brazuca" is different from most other soccer balls out there, and our pals over at the Compound Interest blog dug in to find out why.

We've found the chemical elements lurking inside a smartphone with help from our friends at the Compound Interest blog.

This holiday, we asked Santa if the compounds found in his flame-retardant suit are naughty or nice.

Watch some cartoons with our host Sam and learn whether their chemistry checks out.

In this episode, we learn how blacksmithing is just as much chemistry as it is an artform.

In this episode of Reactions, learn how you, too, can make magnetic and colored slime!

In this episode: whip out your phones, start Googling to see some quick stain removal tips.

In this video, find out great lengths used to make gunpowder during the Revolutionary War.

In this episode of Reactions, learn why Moon dust might smell like gunpowder.

This video explores the do’s and don’ts of washing your clothes using textile chemistry.

This video explores green plastics as a solution to our throwaway lifestyle.

Reactions is taking science to the skies to see what happens in the chemistry behind chemtrails, or more accurately, airplane contrails.

In this video, we look at gallium, the science behind the holes in the periodic table, and the history of how the elements fell into place.

Theo Gray is 2011 ACS Grady Stack Award winner and in this video, his real DIY masterpiece is the world's first "periodic table table."

Lint from fleece and other synthetic fibers is getting washed down the drain and entering aquatic ecosystems.

Headlines keep on popping up in the news about exploding cellphones and we're covering the chemistry on why batteries go boom!

Learn about an unusual polymer that’s found everywhere you look, from cars to shoes to rocket fuel – even sports balls of all varieties!

Thanks to 30 years’ of color-changing chemistry, the Statue of Liberty is an iconic green symbol of freedom. But what’s her original color?

Petria Noble andf Jaap Boon at the Rijks Museum, work to save thousands of paintings from around the world from microscopic destruction.

Scientists had to overcome a number of challenges to create four elements added to the periodic table this year, completing the seventh row.

The Speaking of Chemistry California road trip continues as we scope out some cutting-edge, flexible electronics at Stanford University.

What’s actually causing that big huge foamy flume mess? Reactions teams up with Matt Hartings, Ph.D., to explain the Elephant Toothpaste experiment.

A Reactions viewer asked us, "Why do metal things corrode?" It’s a great question and number two in our Reactions Q & A series. And did you know that metals actually PREFER to be rusted?

Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens with its intense plot will have you on the edge of your seat. But is it possible to create a real-life lightsaber or build a Death Star laser?

Go to any paint store or nail-polish shelf and you’ll see a dozen or so variations of the color black. Even inside a crayon box, there are a lot of shades. But what is the blackest black out there?

These sprays can work wonders, but how do they actually work? Do they really remove the smell or just mask it?

In a special bonus episode of Reactions, we celebrate the International Year of Light by exploring the science behind light, sight and invisibility.

This week, Reactions looks at the chemistry of the Avengers, including Tony Stark’s suit, Captain America’s shield and Black Widow’s super-fast healing.

Our latest Chemistry Life Hacks video explains how to make your own glass cleaner, keep red wine from staining your carpet and why spit can also be a great cleaning product.

Could you make your own Game of Thrones Valyrian steel sword using real-life chemistry?

Blue jeans are among the most popular clothing items in the entire world. But how did Levi Strauss get his “workwear” so blue?

If there’s one man in Hollywood that knows the value of chemistry, it’s Michael Bay.

Mary Sherman Morgan, Alice Ball and Rachel Lloyd all had amazing accomplishments in chemistry, but their work was nearly lost to history.

While you wait out the winter months, we’ve got advice on keeping your windshield fog-free, getting unstuck from the snow and even how to make your own hand warmer.

Many reach for the moisturizer to keep their skin soft, but how do these products actually work?

Chemist George de Hevesy’s work transformed medicine. He also foiled the Nazis along the way.

This week, we break down the chemistry that keeps the roads safe when bad weather hits.

There’s probably a box of it in your fridge or cupboard, and it has a million uses: baking soda.

Throughout the history of science, many major discoveries came accidentally.

Four fascinating facts about money to make you scientifically richer.

To kick off this football season, Reactions looks at everything that goes into a football helmet and how chemistry helps keep players safe.