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

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
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

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife

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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.

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

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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

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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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

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.

#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

1. 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
2. What are deodorants and antiperspirants, and how do they fight sweat? - Everts, Chemical and Engineering News
3. 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
4. Breast Cancer and Deodorants/Antiperspirants: A Systematic Review
5. Aluminium, antiperspirants and breast cancer
6. 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
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

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

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.