Monday, August 18, 2025

Why Lithium Is Dangerous But PERFECT For Batteries

Our chemistry book has a diagram of a battery in the electrochemistry chapter, and I discuss that battery for a bit before explaining to my students that the basics of ACME (anode, cathode, metallic path, electrolyte) hold for every battery but that the engineering of modern lithium-ion batteries is far different from the diagram in the book.

This video - again leaning into the algorithm-rewarded longer and longer format - explains some battery basics involving the activity series, the history of the development of the lithium-ion battery, and the methods of fiery failure when the battery overheats.

This is, as Dr Derek says, a technology that has allowed our modern, battery-dependent world.

Monday, August 11, 2025

Unsolved Physics Problems

 

Source - XKCD

See, today Randall explores and pokes fun at the idea of zinc whiskers, an admittedly freaky phenomenon in which some metals - including zinc, tin, cadmium, and lead - spontaneously grow tiny 'whiskers' from their surface. These whiskers can cause short circuiting in electronic devices, and the mechanism through which the whiskers form isn't well understood.

Sources to learn more about whiskering...

...and a freaky photo of actual zinc whiskers from wikipedia...

Source - wikipedia


Monday, August 4, 2025

Melting Metals in the Microwave | The Ultimate Guide

This video needs a massive - Don't Try This at Home - disclaimer. 

That's in spite of the fact that the entire video is telling you how you can exactly do that - melt metal at home. 

The procedure is interesting...

  • use insulating ceramic wool to shape an insulating chamber 
  • wrap the insulating chamber in kapton tape
  • polish the surfaces of the ceramic wool
  • 'paint' the surfaces with kiln wash
  • make a crucible from silicon carbide
  • ???
  • profit!
I've posted videos showing processes similar to this before, but today's video includes way more detail on the 'how-to' part of the process.