The World of Chemistry is a television series

Television program

A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

 on introductory chemistry hosted by Nobel prize

Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...

-winning chemist

Chemist

A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...

 Roald Hoffmann. The series consists of 26 half-hour video programs, along with coordinated books, which explore various topics in chemistry through experiments conducted by Stevens Point emeritus professor Don Showalter the "series demonstrator" and interviews with working chemists, it also includes physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

 and earth science

Earth science

Earth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...

 related components. The series was produced by the University of Maryland, College Park

University of Maryland, College Park

The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...

 and the Educational Film Center and was funded by the Annenberg/CPB

Corporation for Public Broadcasting

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...

 Project (now the Annenberg Foundation), it was filmed in 1988 and first aired on PBS

Public Broadcasting Service

The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

 in 1990. This series supports science standards recognized nationally by the United States (NSTA

National Science Teachers Association

The National Science Teachers Association , founded in 1944 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, is an association of science teachers in the United States and is the largest organization of science teachers worldwide...

 and NCSESA) and is still widely used in high school and college chemistry courses. The entire series is currently available on learner.org for free in an online video streaming

Streaming media

Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...

format.

Awards

• American Film and Video Festival
  1990 Finalist Award for "On the Surface"
• Columbus International Film and Video Festival
  1991 Honorable Mention Award for "Color"
• Houston International Film Festival "Worldfest Houston"
  1991 Silver Award for "Color"
• National Educational Film and Video Festival
  1990 Gold Apple Award for "The Periodic Table"

List of episodes

1. The World of Chemistry
   - The relationships of chemistry to the other sciences and to everyday life are presented.
2. Color
   - The search for new colors in the mid-19th century boosted the development of modern chemistry.
3. Measurement: The Foundation of Chemistry
   - The distinction between accuracy and precision and its importance in commerce and science are explained.
4. Modeling the Unseen
   - Models are used to explain phenomena that are beyond the realm of ordinary perception.
5. A Matter of State
   - Matter is examined in its three principal states — gases, liquids, and solids — relating the visible world to the submicroscopic.
6. The Atom
   - Viewers journey inside the atom to appreciate its architectural beauty and grasp how atomic structure determines chemical behavior.
7. The Periodic Table
   - The development and arrangement of the periodic table of elements is examined.
8. Chemical Bonds
   - The differences between ionic and covalent bonds are explained by the use of scientific models and examples from nature.
9. Molecular Architecture
   - The program examines isomers and how the electronic structure of a molecule's elements and bonds affects its shape and physical properties.
10. Signals From Within
    - Chemists' knowledge of the interaction of radiation and matter is the basis for analytical methods of sensitivity and specificity.
11. The Mole
    - Using Avogadro's law, the mass of a substance can be related to the number of particles contained in that mass.
12. Water
    - The special chemical properties of water are explored, along with the need for its protection and conservation.
13. The Driving Forces
    - Endothermic and exothermic reactions are investigated and the role of entropy is revealed.
14. Molecules in Action
    - Observing molecules during chemical reactions helps explain the role of catalysts. Dynamic equilibrium is also demonstrated.
15. The Busy Electron
    - The principles of electrochemical cell design are explained through batteries, sensors, and a solar-powered car.
16. The Proton in Chemistry
    - Demonstrations explain pH and how it is measured, and the important role of acids and bases.
17. The Precious Envelope
    - The earth's atmosphere is examined through theories of chemical evolution; ozone depletion and the greenhouse effect are explained.
18. The Chemistry of the Earth
    - Silicon, a cornerstone of the high-tech industry, is one of the elements of the Earth highlighted in this program.
19. Metals
    - Malleability, ductility, and conductivity are examined, along with methods for extracting metals from ores and blending alloys.
20. On the Surface
    - Surface science examines how surfaces react with each other at the molecular level.
21. Carbon
    - The versatility of carbon's molecular structures and the enormous range of properties of its compounds are presented.
22. The Age of Polymers
    - How chemists control the molecular structure to create polymers with special properties is explored.
23. Proteins: Structure and Function
    - The program examines proteins — polymers built from only 20 basic amino acids.
24. The Genetic Code
    - The structure and role of the nucleic acids, DNA and RNA, are investigated.
25. Chemistry and the Environment
    - Dump site waste management demonstrates chemistry's benefits and problems.
26. Futures
    - Interviews with leaders from academia and industry explore the frontiers of chemical research.