Why is Pyrex exploding? | How To Cook That Ann Reardon

I've found myself watching a bunch of cooking/science videos lately. Dunno why, but I partially blame the YouTube algorithm for steering me via what they present to me.

That being said, I love that there is a good overlap between science and food videos. In the above one, Ann Reardon, an Aussie YouTuber who does a bunch of debunking videos for recipes that seem too easy to be real, looks at the differences between Pyrex and pyrex including whether that simple capital letter logo trick really works to distinguish the borosilicate from the tempered soda lime glass.

She says it's not quite that easy, though I've heard it is that easy.

Either way, be careful with your kitchen pyrex and drastic temperature changes, folks.

The Story of Borosilicate Glass: Why Pyrex was Special

The narration in the above video is not done by a professional. The video would be way more enjoyable if it had been, but the content is high quality enough that I'm going to recommend watching it.

You have been warned.

The video is a narrated slide show (aka Powerpoint) explaining why borosilicate is a great material for glass that is going to be heated or cooled rapidly without shattering.

It does have corny jokes (the Mat Sci Aficionado cover, 'A Glass of Ice and Fire', for example) and some serious chemistry on the atomic scale (the Leonard-Jones scale, coordination numbers), but the video is worth a watch - for the teacher if not maybe for the student, at least not the students in the material science course at Princeton.

The video, by the way, is good enough that I'm going to check out what else The Mat Sci Guy has posted on his YouTube channel.