One of our JoVE editors highlights his top five picks for the most visually appealing chemistry and engineering video articles from the journal.
As a scientist and the Chemistry editor at JoVE, I think many researchers appreciate the fact that science can be colorful, symmetrical, and just plain cool to look at! During my time as an editor, I’ve come across many examples of how artistic visuals and science can go hand-in-hand. Here’s an ‘Editor’s Pick’ of some of the most visually interesting chemistry and engineering articles in JoVE.
Algae Alchemy
In a process that looks reminiscent of an alchemist transmuting lead to gold, researchers from Western Washington University, the USDA, and Wood’s Hole isolate fuels from algal biomass. This method starts with a dark viscous sludge composed of the marine algae Isochrysis and transforms it into two valuable products – biodiesel and purified alkenones.
Filter Paper Flower
This might be a familiar sight to anyone who took organic lab in college – a ‘flower’ formed from filter paper in a funnel. This particularly colorful example is a demonstration of C-H functionalization via Intermediate Peroxides (CHIPS) by chemists at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research. They’ve branched out from just coal since their founding and naming – in this article the products are antiviral tetrahydro carbazole derivatives.
Worm-like Micelles – in more ways than one
Researchers from the University of New South Wales present a visible light-mediated synthesis of worm-like micelles. These nanostructures are described as worm-like because of their elongated morphology on the microscopic level. But you can also see a solution of the polymer wriggle and writhe in a very worm-like fashion while the solvent is removed with compressed air. This is a good example of how a video can be worth a million words on paper. In just this second-long clip, the viewer can get an intuitive feel for the correct color of the solution, its surface tension and viscosity, and the positioning/force of the stream of compressed air.
Since readers might expect a few more colored solutions in beakers on a list like this, here are some other visually interesting scenes from the same synthesis:
Starry Night of Nanodiscs
The Cheng group at Texas A&M published an efficient synthesis and exfoliation of discoid zirconium phosphates. When allowed to sediment and viewed under crossed polarizers, solutions with different concentrations of the resulting nanodiscs form a shimmering stairway. In addition to looking a bit like the background in a Van Gogh painting, these nanodiscs are important as a model for studying the fundamental behavior of discotic colloids such as blood and clay.
Just a normal day in the world of plasma physics
The top spot goes to the Rice group at MIT. This is high-temperature plasma glowing during an experiment using the Alcator C-Mod, a tokamak fusion device. The authors implemented an X-ray imaging crystal spectroscopy system to observe the plasma’s behavior. Apart from the scientific importance of this article, the visuals in the video demonstration are spectacular.
These are just a few recent examples of visually compelling experiments from JoVE Chemistry and Engineering, out of the more than 6000+ JoVE video articles that are available to scientists and researchers worldwide. In fact, I found it challenging to limit this overview to just five examples. So if you feel any noteworthy article has been missed, feel free to suggest an addition or just submit the article link in the comments section. I look forward to hearing your feedback!
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