Awesome Chemistry

This unique recipe book is a great gift for science lovers and home mixologists. Dr. Logan Richardson of Flavor Lab explains the science behind beverages with step-by-step guides to making alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. You’ll learn to make cola, hard seltzer, and kombucha from scratch, along with unusual drinks like Viking Blaand and buttered popcorn soda.

We’ve been rewatching Breaking Bad and just saw the episode where Walt and Jesse used thermite to break into a chemical company. As you’ll see from this video from Veritasium, the mixture is every bit as reactive as seen in TV and movies. Along the way, you’ll learn about the history of thermite and see some incredibly revealing footage of its fiery behavior.

Fermenting sugar and yeast is the most basic way to produce alcohol. After several attempts to turn Monster Energy Drink into an alcoholic beverage, Golden Hive Mead finally figured it out. It turns out that some Monster ingredients make it inhospitable to yeast and require a special brewing process. Turns out it makes pretty good wine.

We rely on batteries to power everything from our watches to our phones to our vehicles. But where did batteries come from, and who invented them? Origins explores the history of batteries and their evolution since 1799. Along the way, you learn we don’t see “B” cell batteries and what frog legs and torpedo fish have to do with it all.

NileRed enjoys destroying things with chemistry. In this short video he shows what happens to a gummy bear when its sugar interacts with potassium chlorate, causing the gates of hell to open and swallowing up the innocent bear. If that wasn’t horrific enough for you, some masochist enhanced the video with blood-curdling sound effects.

We would say, “Don’t try this at home,” but most of us don’t have a cauldron of molten lava or a vat of acid lying around. Mark Rober’s video includes a series of experiments in which he and his pals tested the destructive abilities of lava, acid, and some wildcards. The video culminates in a challenge to see which could kill a car engine quicker.

Anyone can grow their own crystals with just a few household chemicals. Photographer Jens Heidler connected a Sony mirrorless camera to a Motic Panthera microscope and recorded a number of fascinating time-lapse sequences showing how crystals grow. He grew the colorful crystals using a combination of beta-alanine, vitamin C, water, and isopropyl alcohol.

Did you know that putting ink from a ballpoint pen on the tail of a leaf turns it into a tiny, self-propelled boat? Science educator Steve Mould digs into this phenomenon and explores the chemistry and physics at work to make these leaf boats move and leave a trail of ink on the surface.

Gold, silver, and platinum are just a few of the 118 elements which appear on the Periodic Table. Word nerd RobWords explains the etymology of some common chemical names, why their symbols don’t always line up with their full names, and how to pronounce the word “aluminum” once and for all… maybe.

We love the rainbow of colors that can be found on some titanium objects. If you’ve wondered how those colors appear without paint, The Action Lab explains the science at work when heating or anodizing titanium. By applying different voltages to the metal in an ionizing bath, you can change how light reflects off of its surface.

Artist and filmmaker Maria Constanza Ferreira created this intriguing short film by animating macro images of dyed crystals. Along with Dr. Bart Kahr, Ferreira grew her own crystals using a mix of chemicals and dyes, which formed organized, gem-like structures.

Filmmaker Scott Portingale and composer Gorkem Sen created this engrossing short film using macro and time-lapse photography to explore how fluids move, and chemicals react and change states. Each of its vignettes feels like a journey to a strange new world. Gorkem’s yaybahar perfectly complements the footage.

This Cognitive Surplus mug celebrates the science of coffee. Science nerds will geek out on its breakdown of the molecules that give coffee its flavor, aroma, and kick. Choose from a 13 oz. borosilicate glass or 11 oz. ceramic mug. Their Social Chemistry collection includes beer, whiskey, tea, wine, and water glasses.

If you heat up a penny with a blow torch then lower it over a puddle of acetone, the reaction with the vapors will make the penny glow like a dim red lightbulb. NileRed shows off the reaction and points out that it must be done with a copper penny and not one with zinc or it will melt. And remember, chemistry is dangerous.

James over at The Action Lab shows off a neat series of chemical reactions that make it look like he cut his hand, then miraculously heals it. The combination of ferric chloride and potassium thiocyanite produce the deep red blood color, while the addition of sodium fluoride makes it turn transparent again.

After a failed attempt to create a squirtgun that fires elephant’s toothpaste, The Backyard Scientist realized the reaction was too slow to make it work. So he set out to reverse engineering Mark Rober’s much more reactive and dangerous devil’s toothpaste, and loaded up his weapon. Definitely don’t try this at home.