Opera House and Borodin - Periodic Table of Videos 

for a good few seconds at the end, he considered revealing his secret identity of batman

Another awesome skill of The Professor: he always tells interesting stories!

No Professor, you do have another, not so secret talent: You have a talent and a zeal for teaching!

Here's an easy chemistry fact about the Opera House. The air conditioning system uses the sea water from Sydney harbour in it's heat exchangers. The way they stop all the pipe work from corroding from the salt is that they use Zinc Sacrificial Anodes. The Zinc Anode corrodes first protecting the other metal pipes.

This exemplifies the fact that I'm always telling my students - that Chemistry is the only creative science (where completely new substances/materials are made) and therefore it attracts creative people.

Professor Poliakof's skill is making people love what he loves. And hair.

Did you know that the Opera House uses zinc blocks to cool the building and to stop corrosion of the ventilation and plumbing systems? Would love to see a video about that please Brady.

he's also a great public speaker and ambassador for chemists and the chemical industry...

IIRC the opera house's tiles are "self-cleaning" -- they don't stain and rain keeps the surface clean without oxidizing it unlike other limestone buildings that are damaged by acid rain.

The professors other skill? He's an excellent teacher.

should have talked about how they avoid the ocean eroding the stilts that hold the opera house up. zinc blocks attached to the steel mean that the salt water attacks the zinc first and leaves the frame alone. :) (thats the basic jist)

i hope to one day meet prof. poliakoff, and have him autograph one of my ties

Opera, for the most part, is not a visual medium. The magic occurs via the ear in the brain. It really is a short leap from classical music to opera.

Martin Poliakoff has a great non-chemist talent of being very interesting when he tells people about something.

What an incredible man!! So much passion, really makes me love the videos and the subject!! Thank you to both of you, keep up the good work!

looks up Borodin on youtube... Borodin: Second Symphony I love going down the rabbit hole and discovering new things. Thanks!

I remember in highschool someone in my class made a comment to the teacher about how she couldn't wait to get to college so she didn't have to study all of that "other stuff." My science teacher then informed her that she almost majored in Irish Literature and that you have to keep open to more than just science. She was also a very good painter, sometimes taking inspiration from the astronomy and geology work she had.done.

How interesting. In a music lecture today, there was a list of five Late-Romantic Russian composers, which noted the other jobs they had on the side. Guess which one I'll have no trouble remembering now!

I think the lesson here is that chemistry is everywhere, and you can find something interesting everywhere you look :)

He is so nice. I would love to be his student. :')

Well, I'll be. I didn't know Borodin was a chemist! Prince Igor overture (not the singing bits) has been one of my favorites since early childhood.

@EyItsKimron There's air inside the Opera House, therefore the Opera House is connected to the Linde process of air liquefaction?

This could have been a pretty wonderful lesson on the materials science of ceramics an what accounts for their strength and durability.

1:42 - 1:47 The Professor shows us his hitherto unknown ability at ventriloquism, he even takes a swig of water to show off!

Such a modest man

I think the professor does a fair bit of beatboxing in his spare time.. and rumor has it, he can throw down a mean two step if you get up in his grill..

proper humble bloke

Speaking about non-chemical skills of chemists, I have a remark to make about Mendeeleev: his hobby was making suitcases. It was really surprising when I found that out.

@Serostern Exactly. Was going to mention that he has an amazing skill at explaining things in ways everyone can understand. And makes it fun in the process :-)

@endimion17 That not the point, it's still has far more to do with Chemistry than the Operatic Chemist mentioned. It is also something to do with Chemistry that is involved with the Opera House.

Is this filmed a while back? How can Brady upload vids from other channels back in Nottingham while also filming in Sydney?

@seahawk124 I remember seeing a video about that type of corrosion. For some reason I thought that was Brady's video.

WHAT?!?!?!?!??! What about the redox reactions under the Opera House that keep it afloat? They use zinc ingots to protect the steel piping! Thats something to do with chemistry about the Opera House :P

the irony that Australia has an Opera house as one of its iconic symbols

What kinds of chemicals are ceramics?

Borodin was a brilliant composer. Personally I find Russian classical music to be much more exciting than all other kinds.

Please tell me the professor used to be red haired! That hair would be even more awesome as red!

@JehuMcSpooran That is an excellent fact! Nicely done. :)

hooray! Brady is australian. judging from your videos of yourself im guesing melbourne?

Alexander Borodin was a chemist????

lol, you can't hide your skills forever professor！！！

The only opera I ever liked was the turret opera. ;)

Borodin's mother was Georgian!!

In Iceland we have a society of tuba playing chemists. True story.

Yeaah! I like classical music too!

Borodin was a chemist?

Crying babies are calmed by the sound of Martyn's voice.

1:43

@endimion17 EXACTLY! See, now we're getting creative. This is exactly what the professor should've talked about :D

both you and your brother please get a grip please pleaaassseeeeeeeee

the hair is the skill

What's the Prof's skill? This thing called Periodicvideos. Have you heard of it? Ha ha.

I wish the Professor was my grandpa. :o)

Alex Borodin! Hurraaaaah!

@theslayermon You beat me to it :-)

I think I know what the prof is talented in ;D *wink wink, nudge nudge*

he "looks like einstein," what hidden talent would a chemist need beside that :D ?

paintures

The Professors hidden skill is that he is a pro at Modern Warfare 3!!!! He be bustin up some noobs!

Hidden skill? KUNG FU!!! SHAOLIN STYLE!!!

Проф. Мартин Поляков

I love carrots

I think the professor's hair requires skill ;)

made me L.O.L

No interesting chemistry in ceramics? Surely you jest. Then again, I work with ceramic oxides, so I'm biased. :)

@EyItsKimron That's not special.

Practicing physician for a while too until he realized that doctors of his time didn't know crap so he'd better start doing organic chemistry.

That what prof. Poliakof said last is a lie! He cares about other people, and he does something about it; Everybody should read his article in NewScientist (dot com) on science in Africa posted November 4.

Skill of teaching perhaps..?