RIP Tom Lehrer (The Elements Song) – Periodic Table of Videos

From Periodic Videos. Satirist and singer Tom Lehrer (writer of The Elements song) dies at the age 97. More links and info in full description ↓↓↓ Discussed by Professor Sir Martyn Poliakoff. Tom Lehrer performs it: https://youtu.be/AcS3NOQnsQM See our version: https://youtu.be/afFw91fvNJM Daniel Radcliffe’s version on the BBC: https://youtu.be/rSAaiYKF0cs The Japanese version: https://youtu.be/ljsUVDOcYB0 Videos on all…

The clear ice myth

From NileRed. A while ago I made some perfectly clear ice using a cooler, and I thought it was pretty cool. There were a lot of comments though, that said I could have saved a lot of time and effort, by just boiling the water, so I’ve decided to test that out. #shorts

Liquefying nails is crazy

From NileRed. This is just a bunch of regular nails and I really want to try and liquefy them. Normally this would be pretty difficult, but I bought this little induction heater on eBay, which should be able to do it. #shorts

Mixing sodium and potassium is crazy

From NileRed. For a while now, I’ve been wanting to make an explosive liquid metal, and all I need is some sodium and some potassium. And after mixing them together, I eventually had a perfect liquid metal ball. Finally, I pulled some of it out with a syringe, because there’s just one thing I have…

Making the most of a Blackout – Periodic Table of Videos

From Periodic Videos. Professor Martyn Poliakoff was plunged into darkness by the recent Iberian Peninsula Blackout – but that’s just the start of the story. More links and info in full description ↓↓↓ See the paper about Resilience: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2025/gc/d5gc90103k Videos on all 118 elements: http://bit.ly/118elements Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/periodicvideos More chemistry at http://www.periodicvideos.com/ From…

This is what gallium does to aluminum

From NileRed. Gallium looks a lot like mercury, except unlike mercury, it really likes sticking to glass. It also has a very different and unique reaction, when it’s added to aluminum. I’ve actually never tried this myself, and I think I’ll test it out on this aluminum bat. #shorts

A kilogram of ANY element – Periodic Table of Videos

From Periodic Videos. The Professor answers more viewer questions – with topics including elements (of course), dreaming, and hair shampoo. More links and info in full description ↓↓↓ Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/periodicvideos Our table of Patrons: http://periodicvideos.com/patreon_table/table.jpg Videos on all 118 elements: http://bit.ly/118elements Some previous videos from this Q and A (more soon, especially…

Making bulletproof-er wood

From NileRed. A while ago I was able to turn some generic hardware store wood into extremely dense wood, where only 3 layers of it was able to stop a 9mm bullet. Since then though I started thinking that I could make it even better, by using thinner pieces of wood and Kevlar. #shorts

I Proved Static Electricity Makes No Sense

From Reactions. If you rub two identical balloons together, they both pick up a static charge. This strange and unexpected behavior has been documented in the scientific literature and remains fundamentally unexplained to this day. But when George tries the experiment, he stumbles into something that – to the best of his knowledge – has…

Turning my face into a cookie

From NileRed. **Reuploaded because we noticed that there was some important info left out in the original video. At first, I didn’t a have a lot of faith in these cookie cutters, but my face turned out way better than I thought it would. Before making anything yourself, check out this essential guide to food…

Freezing liquid nitrogen solid

From NileRed. I’ve always wanted to try freezing liquid nitrogen solid. At first, this might seem like something that’s really hard to do, but it’s actually relatively simple. All I need is a vacuum chamber, and a small dish. #shorts

Turning a penny into a light bulb

From NileRed. For this one, I’m going to be turning a copper penny, into a light bulb. The magic happens when a red hot penny, is lowered into a beaker, over some acetone. NOTE: It’s important that the penny needs to be pure copper. If it’s made with zinc, it will melt. #shorts

The Performance Enhancing Drug They Can’t Ban

From Reactions. In February 2025, a number of running world records were absolutely demolished by athletes who claimed they gained an edge through a common kitchen ingredient: baking soda. It sounds like pseudoscience, but incredibly, this trick might actually work… or make you violently ill. So of course, Alex had to try it. If you’re…

Popping corn on the cob in the microwave

From NileRed. I always thought that popcorn was made from regular corn, but it turns out I was totally wrong. To make popcorn, the kernels need to have much stronger shells, and a completely different type of corn is used. To pop it, it’s the same as regular popcorn, and all I have to do…

Amazing Rare Isotopes (Platinum, Mercury, Gold & more) – Periodic Table of Videos

From Periodic Videos. We’re at GSI in Germany where rare samples of enriched isotopes are fashioned into targets for their epic accelerator. More links and info in full description ↓↓↓ Featuring Sir Martyn Poliakoff speaking with Dr Bettina Lommel in the Target Lab. A video from a previous trip to Darmstadt: https://youtu.be/z3oY-XHwss8 GSI: https://www.gsi.de/en/about_us Videos…

I bought a ray gun

From NileRed. This ray gun is an x-ray fluorescence (XRF) gun that blasts things with x-rays to determine what it’s made of. This works because when something is blasted with x-rays, it emits x-rays back that are unique to the elements that it’s made of. #shorts

so we don’t really understand how ice forms…

From Reactions. Well, we do understand how ice forms if it’s really, really pure, not touching anything, and is super cold like -38ish° C. But if the water has something dissolved in it or is touching anything, you know, almost all the water on the planet, we don’t have a great understanding of how this…

Making a block of perfectly clear ice

From NileRed. Regular ice is usually filled with bubbles, and I think it’s really ugly. What I want is some beautiful ice that’s perfectly clear, and I’m gonna try to make some. Videos on YT that I used as reference: • How to Make Clear Ice Home | Pro | Expert • Advanced Techniques –…

Making glowing nylon goo

From NileRed. A little while ago, I was able to mix two solutions together and pull out some white goo. This was actually all just nylon plastic, but I still feel that it looked kind of nasty. What I didn’t try though, and what I think could be cool, is to add something called fluorescein.…

Why Norway’s Osmosis Power Plant Failed

From Reactions. Check out Weathered and the PBS Earth Month Playlist: When seawater and freshwater mix, a surprising amount of energy is released. Norway tried to capture this energy using an osmotic power plant, but the plant mysteriously and abruptly shut down. Join George as he tries to figure out why using dialysis tubing, toilet…

Dissolving a pure gold bar in acid

From NileRed. What I have here is 100g of pure gold, and at around $57 US per gram, it’s worth about $5700. It’s one of the most expensive, and precious things that I own, but I think I’m just gonna destroy it using acid. Dissolving this gold bar is actually part of the process that…

Hot Water Freezes Either Faster or Slower Than Cold Water

From Reactions. The Mpemba Effect happens when hot water freezes quicker than room temperature water, or does it? Alex goes on an exhaustive journey to replicate the Mpemba effect and hits a few snags on the way, including a paper being released the week this video was supposed to come out. Does this paper finally…

Melting glass in the microwave is crazy

From NileRed. A little while ago I cooked a match in the microwave, and it made some scary plasma, which I thought was fun. The only problem was that it also damaged my glass beaker, and now, I have to sacrifice it. I don’t want it to completely go to waste though, and I’ve decided…

Samarium (new) – Periodic Table of Videos

From Periodic Videos. A brand new and improved video all about Samarium. More links and info in full description ↓↓↓ Extra footage just for Patrons: https://www.patreon.com/posts/124126262 Featuring Professor Sir Martyn Poliakoff from the University of Nottingham. Videos on all 118 elements: http://bit.ly/118elements Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/periodicvideos More chemistry at http://www.periodicvideos.com/ With the School of…