
101: Totally Tubular
12/31/23 • 22 min
We examine the history of carbon nanotubes, starting with Sumio Iijima in 1990. Or maybe Howard Tennett. Or maybe A.M. Nesterenko, N.F. Kolesnik, Yu.S. Akhmatov, V.I. Suhomlin, and O.V. Prilutskii, or maybe John Abrahamson, Peter Wiles, and Brian Rhoades. Or maybe others. Whoever it was, we then look at what mechanical, electrical, and optical properties are so interesting about nanotubes, then some practical applications for them.
- Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry
- Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at [email protected]
- Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook
We examine the history of carbon nanotubes, starting with Sumio Iijima in 1990. Or maybe Howard Tennett. Or maybe A.M. Nesterenko, N.F. Kolesnik, Yu.S. Akhmatov, V.I. Suhomlin, and O.V. Prilutskii, or maybe John Abrahamson, Peter Wiles, and Brian Rhoades. Or maybe others. Whoever it was, we then look at what mechanical, electrical, and optical properties are so interesting about nanotubes, then some practical applications for them.
- Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry
- Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at [email protected]
- Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook
Previous Episode

100: I Have the Power
To celebrate our 100th episode, we have an extended discussion on the history of lithium batteries, which power so many of our portable electronic devices today. Our story starts in 1800, when Jozé Bonifácio de Andralda e Silva found a new mineral near Stockholm, which he called petalite. Lithium batteries, however only began with the great American chemist, Gilbert Lewis, in 1913. We follow the trail through the 1960s and 1970s in Japan, Britain, Germany, and the United States, and the multiple inventors, each devising a piece of the modern lithium battery. Become a Patreon supporter, and download a supplemental sheet with several diagrams for your edification.
- Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry
- Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at [email protected]
- Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook
Next Episode

102: Chemical Philosophy
This episode takes a bit of a sidestep: instead of actual chemistry, we discuss the philosophy of chemistry, which underwent a revival in the 1980s and 1990s. We talk about the "ultimate units" of chemistry, what exactly does chemistry study, how chemistry is different from other sciences, what is a chemical bond, and what is a reaction mechanism. All of these topics are argued about by chemical philosophers--even as chemists go blithely on, doing whatever it is chemists do.
- Support my podcast at https://www.patreon.com/thehistoryofchemistry
- Tell me how your life relates to chemistry! E-mail me at [email protected]
- Get my book, O Mg! How Chemistry Came to Be, from World Scientific Publishing, https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12670#t=aboutBook
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