Chemistry For Your Life

What exactly is a swamp cooler, and why can it beat the heat in Arizona but leave you sweaty and betrayed in Houston? How can an air conditioner run on water, what does humidity have to do with its effectiveness, and could an icy new invention help prevent overloaded power grids? In the final installment of our air-conditioning series, Melissa and Jam explore evaporative cooling, ancient climate-control tricks, and some promising innovations for a hotter world. It turns out “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity” is more scientifically accurate, and more annoying, than we’d like.

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Timestamps

00:00 — The happier finale to our air-conditioning trilogy

00:37 — What exactly is a swamp cooler?

02:34 — How water can be used as a refrigerant

04:16 — The benefits and drawbacks of evaporative cooling

06:26 — Why air can only hold so much water

08:08 — How much can a swamp cooler lower the temperature?

08:56 — Why swamp coolers only work in certain climates

09:47 — Are refrigerants basically reusable sweat?

12:55 — Jam explains the complete swamp-cooler process

15:45 — Ancient evaporative cooling technology

17:19 — Could swamp coolers affect indoor air quality?

18:40 — An ice-slurry air conditioner designed to relieve the power grid

25:06 — Could underground temperatures heat and cool our homes?

References from the Episode:

Thanks to our monthly supporters

Sara Hull

Dog Day Dan

Bri .

Summer Alden

Amanda Raymond

Kyle McCray

Justine

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

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

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Could a cheaper, more environmentally friendly refrigerant already exist, and could corporate lobbying be helping keep it out of American air conditioners? Why did the chemicals once hailed as safe alternatives become environmental villains, and are their replacements actually much better? Melissa and Jam follow the twisty history of Freon, ozone depletion, greenhouse gases, propane, and air-conditioning regulations to find out why choosing a refrigerant is never as simple as “this one works.” Grab your red string and conspiracy board, because the chemistry drama is heating up.

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

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Timestamps

00:00 — The chemistry and drama hiding inside refrigerants

02:31 — Is propane an ideal refrigerant?

05:37 — How an AC episode became an eight-hour research rabbit hole

09:57 — What makes a good—and safe—refrigerant?

11:19 — The hazardous chemicals used in early refrigeration

12:08 — The invention of Freon and chlorofluorocarbons

13:18 — How CFCs damage the ozone layer

16:40 — The Montreal Protocol and the next generation of refrigerants

18:08 — Solving ozone depletion while worsening global warming

22:24 — Why isn’t propane widely used in American air conditioners?

25:35 — How US refrigerant regulations differ from international standards

29:02 — The document requesting government protection for synthetic refrigerants

40:42 — What conspiracy theories might actually be true?

50:00 — Coming next: the surprisingly cool science of swamp coolers

References from the Episode:

Thanks to our monthly supporters

Sara Hull

Dog Day Dan

Bri .

Summer Alden

Amanda Raymond

Kyle McCray

Justine

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

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

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What happens when a chemist ventures onto Reddit to answer the internet’s most pressing science questions? Why does carbon get its own entire branch of chemistry, what makes fireworks burn different colors, and can an invention work even when its inventor has no idea why? Melissa and Jam tackle those mysteries, plus laboratory disasters, stress recovery, wireless charging, and one surprisingly complicated “Am I the Jerk?” dilemma. It’s chemistry support for the internet, because Reddit clearly has plenty of need for it.

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

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Timestamps

00:00 — Chemistry Support: answering Reddit’s science questions

01:30 — A chemist’s biggest “oh shoot” laboratory moments

05:36 — Jam’s alarming muriatic acid spill story

09:28 — Can inventors discover something without knowing how it works?

11:49 — Why does wireless charging feel like magic?

16:50 — Why does carbon get its own branch of chemistry?

24:30 — Why do metals make flames different colors?

26:51 — What are some science-backed ways to recover from stress?

28:10 — Completing the body’s stress cycle

31:42 — Why rest isn’t optional—even for busy people

32:03 — “Am I the Jerk?”: A student, a failed class, and an awkward favor

36:01 — What grades really tell professors about their students

References from the Episode:

Thanks to our monthly supporters

Sara Hull

Dog Day Dan

Bri .

Summer Alden

Amanda Raymond

Kyle McCray

Justine

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

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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Is your air conditioner secretly doing chemistry while you’re inside pretending summer doesn’t exist? How does it turn hot air into cool air, and why does part of the AC blow out even more heat? In this episode, Melissa and Jam crack open the mysterious black box of air conditioning to explore refrigerants, phase changes, energy transfer, and the surprisingly clever science keeping your house livable. Plus: frozen AC coils, summer survival drinks, and the beginning of Hibiscus Girl Summer.

Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

Watch our episodes on YouTube

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Timestamps

00:00 — Could we survive a Texas summer without air conditioning?

01:52 — Opening the mysterious black box that is your AC

02:50 — Traditional air conditioners vs. swamp coolers

03:33 — The two chemistry concepts behind air conditioning

04:38 — Understanding energy transfer through human collisions

05:49 — Phase changes explained using a crowded theater

10:30 — How an AC removes energy from hot air

14:20 — What happens inside the refrigerant coils

15:46 — Cooling and recycling the refrigerant

18:50 — Do refrigerators work the same way?

23:19 — Why would ice form inside a broken AC?

28:42 — Our favorite treats and drinks for surviving hot weather

References from the Episode:

Thanks to our monthly supporters

Sara Hull

Dog Day Dan

Bri .

Summer Alden

Amanda Raymond

Kyle McCray

Justine

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

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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#044 Rebroadcast

You know what we're talking about. That spectacular fizzy geyser. This week, Melissa and Jam explore what makes diet coke and mentos go crazy together. Is it love? Is it hate? Is it chemistry? Why diet coke specifically? Or more importantly, why mentos? Let's get into it.

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Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com

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References from this episode

1. Diet Coke and Mentos: What is really behind this physical reaction? - American Journal of Physics 76, 551 (2008)


2. Diet Coke and Mentos: What is really behind this physical reaction? - Tonya Coffey


3. Spurting Science: Erupting Diet Coke with Mentos - Scientific American - Science Buddies

Thanks to our monthly supporters

Sara Hull

Dog Day Dan

Bri .

Summer Alden

Amanda Raymond

Kyle McCray

Justine

Ash

Vince W

Julie S.

Heather Ragusa

Autoclave

Dorien VD

Scott Beyer

Jessie Reder

J0HNTR0Y

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.