This week Reactions is taking a look at the science and chemistry behind how artificial snow is made.

In what may be the warmest Winter Olympics on record, Sochi looks more like SoCal by the day. With few real snowflakes to blanket Sochi’s slopes, our latest episode explains how science keeps the Winter Olympics alive with artificial snow.

Video by Kirk Zamieroski
Series created by Adam Dylewski
Produced by the American Chemical Society

References:
What’s that Stuff? Artificial Snow (by Steve Ritter): https://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/8203snow.html
ChemMatters: Artificial Snow – Powder for the Slopes (Print – Vol. 18, No. 4)

This week Reactions is looking at the chemistry of love. What is the science going on when we fall in love?

Love has inspired timeless songs and sonnets — not to mention a few less-than-timeless romantic comedies. Now the chemistry of love is the subject of our latest Reactions episode! The video explains how feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine and oxytocin fuel lifelong pair bonds in prairie voles, which — along with humans — are the mammalian kingdom’s leading monogamists.

“If you block oxytocin receptors, you can totally cut off that pair-bonding response,” explains Abigail Marsh, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at Georgetown University. “People who excite romantic feelings in us also probably trigger increases in oxytocin, which results in an increase in dopamine, and then we find that person someone we want to stick with.” In the video, Marsh also explains that addictive drugs affect the brain in ways similar to love — which helps explain the painful, withdrawal-like symptoms of heartbreak.

Video by Sean Parsons
Series creator and nerd-in-chief: Adam Dylewski
Produced by the American Chemical Society

This week Reactions is bringing you some chemistry life hacks! Science can help you cure bitter coffee, ripen your bananas quickly, breathe life back into stale cookies, and remove rust from cast iron.

0:16 – Cure bitter coffee
0:54 – Ripen your bananas overnight
1:30 – Bring life back into stale cookies
2:03 – Remove rust from cast iron

Check out our debut Reactions video to find easy chemistry-fueled solutions for everyday dilemmas, plus more useful tips to improve your life dramatically (OK, maybe just a little bit).

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Video directed and produced by Kirk Zamieroski
Co-directed by Adam Dylewski
Produced by the American Chemical Society

Roberto Daglio – Bibossa – Provided by Jamendo