SciShow
We Threw Away $15 Billion in Gold Last Year
In 2022, humanity threw roughly 15 billion dollars of gold into the trash. That's because gold plays a small but significant role in our electronics. E-waste is a major issue these days, and scientists are hunting for better ways to...
SciShow
Could Deep-Sea Mining Solve the Energy Crisis?
Polymetallic nodules, found at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean's Clarion-Clipperton Zone, have enough metals to secure the future of green energy. But is it worth the cost? Hosted by: Savannah Geary (they/them)
TED Talks
Why are we sending critical metals to the dump? | Jeff More
The world is heading toward a massive copper shortage that could derail the clean energy transition, says mining expert Jeff More. He shows how advanced sensing technology could get us back on the right track, drastically cutting down on...
TED-Ed
The dark history of arsenic | Neil Bradbury
No substance has been as constant an ally to insidious scheming as arsenic, the so-called “king of poisons.” In its chemically pure form, it isn’t much of a threat because our bodies don’t absorb it well; it’s when arsenic combines with...
PBS
Companies dig the deepest depths to mine valuable metals from the ocean floor
Mankind has mined the earth’s surface for thousands of years. Now there’s a furious race to find even more metal that will enable the world’s energy transition away from fossil fuels. In Papua New Guinea, one company is digging what may...
SciShow
We Don’t Know What the Sun Is Made Of
Unlike Earth, our Sun is a giant ball of mostly hydrogen and helium. Astronomers managed to figure that one out roughly 100 years ago. But after all this time, they still can't come to an agreement on what "mostly" means, precisely.
SciShow
The Metal Claw Hiding in Your Food
Have you ever seen "calcium disodium EDTA" on an ingredients label and wondered what it's doing in your food? As it turns out, ethylenediamene triacetate is an important preservative that's helping to preserve your food. It's totally...
SciShow
The Biggest Star In The Universe Is Too Small
R136a1 is the most massive star that astronomers have ever discovered. It's so massive you might think the laws of physics wouldn't allow it. But it turns out that its current mass estimate is actually so low that it threatens our...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why your phone battery gets worse over time | George Zaidan
Almost all batteries, even single-use batteries, are theoretically rechargeable. That's because the metals and other chemicals are still there in the battery. So chemically speaking, a dead battery is actually not that different from a...
SciShow
Why Haven't We Built a Better Battery?
Improving batteries is a tough problem, but it’s also an important one because in many ways the future of our planet also depends on the future of batteries. Luckily, scientists are on the case, figuring out ways to give this essential...
SciShow
What Happens If A Plane Gets Struck By Lightning?
If you're flying on a plane in a thunderstorm, you should be more worried about the wind than the lightning.
SciShow
3 Surprising Things Matter Does Under Extreme Pressure
3 Surprising Things Matter Does Under Extreme Pressure
SciShow
8 Structure Secrets of Gemstones
Gems are more than just pretty rocks! Hosted by: Michael Aranda
SciShow
Metal vs. Bacteria
Even before we knew what bacteria were capable of, we were using certain metals to help fight off their effects.. Hank Green explains how on this episode of SciShow. Hosted by: Hank Green
PBS
How moss revealed undetected air pollution
Portland, Oregon, prides itself on being very focused on the environment. So many people were shocked to discover that certain neighborhoods contain high levels of toxic metals. Scientists made the discovery when ordinary moss samples...
SciShow
Hardcore Metal Stars
SciShow Space describes a new phenomenon that might be out there: Stars made entirely out of metal. But it's not quite what it sounds like!
SciShow
6 of The Weirdest Places on Earth | Compilation
There are a lot of weird places here on Earth, but here are a few of our favorite strange spots!
SciShow
What Happens If A Plane Gets Struck By Lightning?
If you're flying on a plane in a thunderstorm, you should be more worried about the wind than the lightning.
SciShow
Blue Is Pretty Special: How Nature Gets the Blues
It's really difficult for life to create blue pigments, but the color can appear in a handful of compounds that create just the right conditions to reflect blue photons.
SciShow
Hiding a Nobel Prize From the Nazis
To keep their solid gold Nobel Prizes away from the Nazis, James Franck and Max von Laue sent their medals to trusted colleague Niels Bohr. But when Germany invaded Denmark in 1940, the medals were no longer safe - so chemist George de...
SciShow
This Hot Jupiter Is Leaking Metal! SciShow News
Astronomers have found a Hot Jupiter - WASP-121b - that is leaking metal, and put together a new 3D map of the Milky Way showing that our galaxy is actually a bit twisted!
SciShow
Weird Places: The Glowing Blue Lava at Kawah Ijen
Maybe you've seen pictures of glowing blue lava flows and dismissed them as Photoshop trickery. Healthy skepticism is good, but there really is a volcano in Indonesia where a unique fluke of chemistry creates an eerie blue glow.
SciShow
Making Reactions Go Faster Since the 1700s | Great Minds: Elizabeth Fulhame
The chemical process of catalysis happens in a myriad of places in our modern world - from industry to inside your cells. Our knowledge of catalysis today springs from Elizabeth Fulhame, who over 225 years ago became the first person to...