Month: December 2010

Celebrate the holidays Distillations style with our version of Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol. It’s a bleak (yet entertaining) end-of-the-year/world show with visits from the ghosts of chemistry past, present, and future. Segments on Greek Fire, the devilish 8th-century weapon used by Byzantine naval forces. A feature from reporter Stefan Bos on the red sludge toxic spill that devastated a small town in Western Hungary this fall. Plus the future death of a very important star – our sun.

Image from CHF Archives: Scrooge and his third visitor. Illustration by John Leech, 1843.

The fourth and final installment of our series on the original four Greek elements: Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. Segments include a history of the air we breath – how it was formed and how it’s changing over time. Plus a feature from WABE reporter Jim Burress on how volatile organic compounds and tailpipe emissions combine to make a “toxic soup” and how furniture and carpet manufacturers are changing their products to make our air healthier.

New York Skyline image courtesy of Flickr user Sev!.