Star Warsologies 79: Chemistry in Star Wars!
On this episode of Star Warsologies, we chat with chemistry professor (and Melissa’s former boss!) Seth Cohen.
We get into a discussion of lightsabers, of course, and learn about the real-life crystals involved in laser experiments that sound a lot like Kyber crystals. There’s also a lot of cool info about different metals, including how the strength of beskar might not be in the material itself but how it’s prepared. We get into some fun new questions about the cortosis helmet in The Acolyte too. Seth calls chemistry “the central science” and we really do find a variety of topics to cover when it comes to Star Wars!
Show Notes:
Seth’s research group is currently at UCSD but he’s moving soon to UC Irvine! And learn more about DARPA projects like Atmospheric Water Extraction and LifeStraw that we talked about.
Learn more about MOFs (the chemistry kind) that earned the Nobel Prize!
You can also check out Mike Sailor’s research at UCSD that we talked about in terms of beskar armor!
Check out our related episodes on lasers in Star Wars and one about prosthetics.
You can order James’s crossword puzzle book now! For a free puzzle, download the activity kit from Star Wars Reads!
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Star Warsologies is a podcast about science and other fields in a galaxy far, far away. Hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of storytelling in the franchise with their keen interest in all things academic.
