Chemistry For Your Life

Question and Response #76

You asked… so we answered. What do carbon chains have to do with Greek words? How do MRIs make “3D pixels”? Is that pool smell actually chlorine? And wait… are birds blue, or is that just a trick of the light? This episode is a rapid-fire round of your questions, and the chemistry behind them.

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Timestamps

0:00 – Intro + “Ask a Chemist” episode setup

1:20 – Listener shoutout + why we love your questions

2:20 – Why a 20-carbon chain is called “icosane” (Greek roots)

6:00 – MRI “3D pixels” explained (and the Minecraft analogy)

9:20 – What is a particle accelerator actually doing?

12:40 – Can we really taste CO₂? (and Pop Rocks teaser)

13:40 – Why birds look blue (without blue pigment)

16:20 – “Isn’t this physics?” + bird stories from listeners

21:30 – Pool chemistry questions: chlorine, salt, and safety

22:20 – What that “pool smell” actually is

23:30 – Why pool chemistry feels different from “real” chemistry

27:00 – Stabilized chlorine + lingering pool mysteries

28:50 – Wrap-up + how to send in your questions

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References from the Episode:

Thanks to our monthly supporters

Bri

Summer Alden

Amanda Raymond

Kyle McCray

Justine

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

Jeannette Napoleon

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Venus Rebholz

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon

Support this podcast on Patreon
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#235

You’ve seen it a hundred times… but how does it actually work? Why do diapers change color when they’re wet? What kind of chemistry is happening in there? And how does something as simple as pee trigger such a dramatic color shift? Let’s talk acids, bases, color, and one surprisingly deep piece of everyday science.

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0:00 – Intro + diapers, parenting, and the big question

1:00 – Melissa’s nose update + community shoutouts

4:00 – Where this question came from (real-life inspiration)

5:30 – The two chemistry ideas: acids/bases + color

6:00 – What’s inside a diaper (polymers + absorption)

7:30 – The indicator strip: where the chemistry happens

8:30 – Acid-base reactions explained (with a breakup analogy)

11:30 – What happens after the “breakup” (conjugates + stability)

13:00 – Conjugation + the “electron highway”

18:30 – How this leads to color change

21:30 – What is an indicator? (and how this compares to cabbage juice)

23:30 – Why this reaction is so dramatic visually

24:50 – Jam explains it back (and works through the concepts)

30:00 – Clarifying acids vs bases (and common confusion)

33:00 – Building the full picture step-by-step

38:30 – Color, light, and energy (why we see yellow → blue)

44:50 – Wrap-up + why this matters in everyday life

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References from the Episode:

Thanks to our monthly supporters

Bri

Summer Alden

Amanda Raymond

Kyle McCray

Justine

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

Jeannette Napoleon

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Venus Rebholz

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon

Support this podcast on Patreon
Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

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#042 Rebroadcast

What's that smell? Is it us? Is it you? We hope it's neither, thanks to deodorants and antiperspirants. This week, Melissa and Jam delve into the chemistry of this everyday important substance. What are the differences between deodorant and antiperspirant? How do they work in the first place? Does one work better? Is one better for us? Be kind to one another, wear deodorant.

References from this episode

Individual and gender fingerprints in human body odour – Dustin J Penn, Elisabeth Oberzaucher, Karl Grammer, Gottfried Fischer, Helena A Soini, Donald Wiesler, Milos V Novotny, Sarah J Dixon, Yun Xu, and Richard G Brereton

What are deodorants and antiperspirants, and how do they fight sweat? - Everts, Chemical and Engineering News

Studies of trans 3 methyl 2 hexenoic acid in normal and schizophrenic humans - S. G. Gordon, K. Smith, L. Rabinowitz, P. R. Vagelos, Journal of lipid research

Breast Cancer and Deodorants/Antiperspirants: A Systematic Review

Aluminium, antiperspirants and breast cancer

The mechanism of eccrine sweat pore plugging by aluminium salts using microfluidics combined with small angle X-ray scattering. - Bretagne A, Cotot F, Arnaud-Roux M, Sztucki M, Cabane B, Galey JB.

 
Support this podcast on Patreon

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Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

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References from the Episode:

Thanks to our monthly supporters

Amanda Raymond

Emily Morrison

Kyle McCray

Justine

Emily Hardy

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

Jeannette Napoleon

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Venus Rebholz

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon

Support this podcast on Patreon
Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

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Birds… but chemistry.

What does compost have to do with eggs? How are birds basically doing chemistry experiments to make their colors? Why would a bird eat dirt… or rub ants all over itself?? This episode is a grab bag of wild, fascinating bird facts that connect back to chemistry you already know. No quiz, just vibes.

Support this podcast on Patreon

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00:00 Bird Chemistry Vibes

02:02 Compost Egg Incubators

02:58 Feather Colors Chemistry

06:20 Seeing Ultraviolet Light

08:11 Clay Eating Detox Trick

09:28 Hot Bodies Fast Reactions

14:23 Preening Oil Waterproofing

16:15 Rainy Day Birdwatching

16:44 Anting Bird Hygiene

19:17 Seabird Feather Sunscreen

20:14 More Bird Chemistry Ahead

20:41 Bird Phobia Banter

21:19 Documentary Media Swap

22:22 Mississippi Kite Swoops

28:19 Do Birds Recognize Faces

31:12 Photo IDs and Backyard Hawks

32:34 Chicken Show Family Lore

33:00 Wrap Up and Support

Support this podcast on Patreon

Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

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References from the Episode:

Thanks to our monthly supporters

Amanda Raymond

Emily Morrison

Kyle McCray

Justine

Emily Hardy

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

Jeannette Napoleon

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Venus Rebholz

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon

Support this podcast on Patreon
Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

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#053 Rebroadcast

This week, Melissa and Jam revisit one of their fav episodes on the topic of mosquitos. What is DEET? What part does it play in repelling mosquitos? How do repellants repel mosquitos in the first place? Is it just straight witchcraft? Let's do it.

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References from this episode

Staph Retreat - Radiolab - WYNC

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/rachel-carson-silent-spring.html

https://www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/reregistration/fs_PC-080301_1-Apr-98.pdf

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-it-true-that-the-deet/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24892824/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11693870/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26827259/

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(19)31167-4?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982219311674%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(19)31167-4?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982219311674%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/biochemistry/does-DEET-fend-off-malaria/97/web/2019/10

 
 

Thanks to our monthly supporters

Amanda Raymond

Emily Morrison

Kyle McCray

Justine

Emily Hardy

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

Jeannette Napoleon

Cullyn R

Erica Bee

Elizabeth P

Rachel Reina

Letila

Katrina Barnum-Huckins

Suzanne Phillips

Venus Rebholz

Jacob Taber

Brian Kimball

Kristina Gotfredsen

Timothy Parker

Steven Boyles

Chris Skupien

Chelsea B

Avishai Barnoy

Hunter Reardon

Support this podcast on Patreon
Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.