June 2008
Monthly Archive
Episode 29: Left Behind
Friday 27 Jun 2008
Matter can neither be created nor destroyed. So when you take your garbage out to the curb every week, do you ever stop to think about where it’s going? In this week’s episode, Jori Lewis explores how New York City is trying to make it easier for residents to recycle their electronic waste. Electronic devices like computers and televisions contain heavy metals that are toxic if they get into our water, soil, or air. It is important for these objects to get disposed of, or recycled, properly. We also take a look inside of CHF’s own new construction project to see how recycled materials of all kinds are finding their way into new building materials. We talk to Demir Hamami, whose company Renewed Materials creates architectural products using recycled (or un-recyclable) aluminum, which is used as a countertop surface in our new museum and conference center. Element of the Week: Cadmium.
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Show Clock
00:00 Opening Credits
00:31 Introduction
01:15 Element of the Week: Cadmium
03:25 Conversation with Demir Hamami
07:16 Recycling Electronics
11:23 Quote: Chinese proverb
11:32 Closing Credits
Resources and References
For more information about recycling batteries, check out BatteryUniversity.com.
To learn more about Renewed Materials and their product, Alkemi, visit their Web site.
If you want to know more about how you can recycle your electronics, the Environmental Protection Agency has the answers.
Credits
Special thanks to Jody Roberts for researching the show.
Our theme music is composed by Dave Kaufman. Additional music was provided by the Podsafe Music Network. The music for the Element of the Week is “Turnstile,” by Eric Dietrich. After the interview the music is “Old Man Coyote,” by Ethan Martucci. The music following the feature is “East Side Bar,” by Josh Woodward.
The images this week were taken in CHF’s new conference center. The top image is a countertop made with aluminum scraps (from Renewed Materials), while the bottom image is of glass wall tiles which are made from recycled glass (from Oceanside Glass Tile).
Posted in Environment 1 Comment
Episode 28: Summer
Friday 20 Jun 2008
Summer 2008 officially begins today, June 20, at 7:50 EDT (at least in the Northern Hemisphere). Here at Distillations, we’re celebrating with a show dedicated to poolside lounging. We’ve got the sunscreen and the chlorine—in fact, two different kinds of chlorine. Later in the show, CHF’ s own David Caruso explains how buoyancy allows some people to float and makes others sink. So lather up, stoke the grill, and enjoy the solstice. Element of the Week: Titanium.
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Show Clock
00:00 Opening Credits
00:31 Introduction
00:58 Element of the Week: Titanium
02:57 Chemistry in Your Cupboard: Chlorination
05:22 Mystery Solved! Why do we float?
07:42 Quote: Henry James
08:00 Closing Credits
Resources and References
For background on titanium: Web Elements Periodic Table.
For a good introduction to the issues surrounding nanoparticles in sunscreen: David Biello, “Do Nanoparticles and Sunscreen Mix?” Scientific American 20 August 2007.
You can find a good introduction to buoyancy, with brainteaser, at this site from the PBS television show NOVA.
Today’s quote was attributed to the novelist Henry James by his fellow novelist, Edith Wharton, in her memoir, A Backward Glance (1934).
Credits
A special thanks to David Caruso for researching the show.
Our theme music is composed by Dave Kaufman. Additional music from the PodSafe Music Network. The music at the Element of the Week is “Stickybee,” by Josh Woodward. At the show ID, you’re hearing “Coombargana,” by 34hZ. The show ends with “One Question at a Time,” by Van Davis.
This week’s image, “Summer Splash,” is from stock.xchng. It was uploaded by zuen.
Posted in Society No Comments
Episode 27: Illumination
Friday 13 Jun 2008
Illumination has been a quest of humans for centuries now—both in terms of the cerebral and the physical. In today’s episode we focus on the physical type of illumination. First we learn about light pollution and why sodium vapor lamps are used so abundantly today. Then producer Ann Dornfeld goes to Bioluminescent Bay in Vieques, Puerto Rico, to explore how bioluminescence works. Finally we uncover the mystery behind glow-in-the-dark products like the green star stickers on ceilings or glowing wristwatch numbers. Element of the Week: Sodium.
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Show Clock
00:00 Opening Credits
00:32 Introduction
01:14 Element of the Week: Sodium
04:09 Chemistry of Bioluminescence
09:10 Mystery Solved: Glowing in the Dark
11:08 Quote: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
11:24 Closing Credits
Resources and References
For more information about light pollution, visit the International Dark-Sky Association.
To see some cool images from Vieques, Puerto Rico, visit Bioluminescent Bay.
On sodium vapor lamps: this helpful entry on Wikipedia.
Credits
Special thanks to Hilary Domush for researching the show.
Our theme music is composed by Dave Kaufman. Additional music was provided by the Podsafe Music Network. The music for the Element of the Week is “Insomnia,” by Josh Woodward. After the feature the music is “Groovelt,” by Denis Kitchen. The music under the quotation is “The Number is Three,” by Matthew Hall.
This week’s image, “jellyfish 4,” was uploaded to stock.xchng by zenpixel.
Posted in Environment, Society No Comments
Episode 26: Performance
Friday 06 Jun 2008
Baseball, track, swimming, biking—is there any sport that hasn’t suffered a scandal in the past few years? It turns out that the obvious culprits—performance enhancing drugs—are just the tip of the iceberg for how chemistry can alter athletic competition. In today’s show we look at some of the chemistry going on both inside and outside athletes’ bodies. We talk with John Hoberman, a professor at the University of Texas, Austin, and the author of Testosterone Dreams: Rejuvenation, Aphrodisia, Doping, for some perspective on how steroids became part of the culture of sport. Later on, CHF’s Erin McLeary explains why you might want to invest in some Lycra if you want to set a world record in swimming. Element of the Week: Potassium.
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Show Clock
00:00 Opening Credits
00:31 Introduction
01:10 Element of the Week: Potassium
02:56 A Conversation with John Hoberman
07:28 Chemistry in Your Cupboard
10:48 Quote: Damon Hill
11:00 Closing Credits
Resources and References
For background on potassium: Web Elements Periodic Table.
For the history of Lycra: DuPont’s Online Archives (click on Lycra).
For more information on the history of spandex: Marc Reisch, “What’s That Stuff?” C&EN 77 (15 Feb 1999), p. 70.
We learned about spandex and biking from the ASSOS company’s Web page.
Online articles abound for the new swimsuit that’s been accused of “technological doping.” Just Google “LZR suits.”
Credits
This show was researched by Erin McLeary.
Our theme music is composed by Dave Kaufman. Additional music from the PodSafe Music Network. The music at the Element of the Week is “Let’s Get High,” by Disciples of Panic Earth. At the show ID, you’re hearing “That’s No Dream,” by Derek K. Miller. The show ends with “Shalom Aleichem,” by Jeremy Gimbel and Shira Tirdof.
This week’s image is the cover of John Hoberman’s book, Testosterone Dreams, available from amazon.com.
