6 Chemical Reactions That Changed History

Chemicals React!
↓ More info and sources below ↓

For lots more of history’s greatest chemical innovations, check out “The Chemistry Book” by Derek B. Lowe:

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It’s Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D.
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[sahilkingra]

1:04 Maillard Reaction
1:48 Bronze
2:33 Fermentation
3:42 Saponification
4:30 Silicon
5:19 The Haber-Bosch process
(I need this for a project) ;)

[antrico]

"If your ancestors didnt figure out the chemistry of bronze, they were probably conquered by someone who did." Ouch

[chillsahoy]

What do you pay a police officer for doing the night shift? Copper nitrates.

[besmart]

We had to harness a lot more than 6 chemical reactions to make the world what it is today, but that's all the time I had for this video. What chemical innovations do YOU think made the difference? Let me know!

[deterkcraftaa]

I love how you put out the home alone part at the start when the thief got burn on he’s head

[thereal_deicide]

Glass. Glass is the most important. It's the foundation of chemistry. It can hold nearly every chemical, it's extremely durable, and it's transparent, so you're able to fully observe chemicals and chemical reactions inside of it from top to bottom. It's a necessity. Without glass we'd be sitting in straw and stone huts. The mixing of melted quartz crystal with lead was the single most important chemical reaction in history.

[verdatum]

I cannot pick a favorite! So many have brought us to where we are! Ignoring electro-chemical chemical reactions, I've got about 10 here that I like most:
-The hydration of portland cement gave us our modern infrastructure and architecture. Similar compounds gave the Romans the ability to construct architectural wonders as the Pantheon; and underwater cements needed to construct harbors.
-The distillation of wood and coal gave us charcoal and coke respectively; pure sources of carbon that allowed the smithing and smelting of iron. Reacting that same coke with lime gave us calcium carbonate, when mixed with water gives us the acetylene needed in safety-lamps to safely mine further coal; allowing the rapidly depleting forests of Europe to regrow; once we managed to bottle oxygen at high pressures, acetylene gave us oxy-acetylene welding; giving us stronger structural bonding than the rivets of before.
-The Bessemer process of injecting high-pressure air or oxygen into a mixture of pig-iron and scrap steel allowed us to produce high quality homogenized steel of whatever level carbon desired at a massively reduced cost of iron & steel before it; this is what allowed railroads, steel bridges, and skyscrapers.
-The dissolution of cellulose into nitric acid gave us nitrocellulose; a replacement for ivory, smokeless gunpowder to make the battlefield visible, and the start of the world of man-made polymers, unless you prefer the condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde to form Bakelite for that last one.
-Goodyear's reaction between natural rubber latex, sulfur and carbon gave us vulcanization, and vulcanized rubber, allowing us to use rubber tires to travel quickly and effectively over roads instead of rails.
-The catalytic reaction of combustion exhaust via the catalytic converter allowed us to use internal combustion with massively reduced harm to the environment.
-The reaction of glycerine with sulfuric and nitric acid gave us nitroglycerine, which, in addition to treating heart conditions, was combined with diatomaceous earth by Alfred Nobel to form dynamite, our first stable high explosive, which allowed us to wage new forms of war on each other, but on a more positive note, allowed us to mine the earth, blast tunnels through mountains far faster than we ever could before with previous black-powder methods.

[videotrash]

it would have been cool to see the actual chemical notation and get more details on the reactions - this way, it was more of a history-video (still interesting)

[myusernameissoobnoxiouslyl]

I just had a chemistry exam earlier today and 4:16 clarified that one of my answers was right

[DinosaurEmperor]

"Don't sue me bros" I saw what you did there :)

[mikerr]

"Don't sue me" haha. Well played. Well played.

[shockmonkeyradio]

"Olive oil stains out of your favorite toga." LMAO

[Zerpersande]

The production of bronze is not a chemical reaction. Neither is the silicon process. 33% of your examples were physical changes. You might as well have included the melting of ice.

[bryanngo]

I'd think the Galvanic cell is an important reaction. It's the backbone of batteries, one of the many ways we power our electrical devices.

[larsmichael]

I was going to complain that you did not mention the Haber-Bosch synthesis, but then you made it the #1 in your list - well played!

[rudyossanchez]

I like the memes, don't see the problem with them.

[israelch]

Please make these a series, it was really interesting and there are a lot of different chemicals you can talk about

[ValCronin]

This is how i need to be taught chemistry lol. Simply, and only the most interesting stuff to start.

[owennelan]

Personally, I feel like the existence of Penicillin is a bit more important than the crispy bits on the bottom of the pan.

[GreerFried]

2 Girls 1 Cup reaction changed humanity the most.