What comes to mind when you think of a chemistry lab? Maybe it’s smoke billowing out of glassware, or colorful test tubes, or vats of toxic substances. Chemistry and hazardous solvents just seem to go hand in hand. But chemists like James Mack think there’s a greener way: It’s called mechanochemistry, a kind of chemistry that uses physical force to grind materials instead of solvents. And it’s getting the attention of such huge corporations as Exxon Mobil. Still, some chemists are not ready to give up their traditional techniques. “I thought they were married to the molecules,” says Mack, who is pictured above placing vials into a machine that uses fast-spinning ball bearings to pulverize molecules. “Little did I know they were actually married to the flask.”
Host: Elisabeth Berry Drago
Reporter, Producer, and Audio Engineer: Jonathan Pfeffer
Senior Producer: Mariel Carr
Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez
Associate Producer: Padmini Raghunath
Episode 181: Chemotherapy
Episode 180: Best of Distillations #12
Episode 179: Best of Distillations #11
Episode 178: In the Air
Episode 177:The Old Show
Episode 176: The Adult Show
Episode 175: The Kid Show
Episode 174: Water Webs
Episode 173: Power Up
Episode 172: On Beauty
Episode 171: Underground Worlds
Episode 170: Urban Agriculture
Episode 169: Neighborhood Preservation
Episode 168: So Argon Walks Into a Bar...
Episode 167: Cold War Chemistry
Episode 166: Alchemy After Dark
Episode 165: In Good Taste
Episode 164: Bones
Episode 163: A Day in the Life - Night
Episode 162: A Day in the Life - Noon
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