The Chemistry of Fire and Gunpowder - with Andrew Szydlo

[@trustthewater]

I'm 33 and can't say there was anything really new to me and I also tend to have a short attention span. I'm used to working on some project while having videos like this playing in the background. This lecture consumed 100% of my attention. Absolutely amazing. Those kids have no idea how lucky they are to be there in person. I'm sure many will have an intense interest in chemistry for the rest of their lives thanks to this.

[@locutusofborg2880]

There's a good reason for the fact that this video captured your attention and held it, actually! You and I both suffer from adult ADHD, so focusing on something for any length of time is difficult... HOWEVER, the professor is so "scatterbrained" that he bounces around from topic to topic, and often within the same topic, that our brains don't have "time" to get bored. I would LOVE to have him as a professor... He's absolutely wonderful. And his son is GORGEOUS.

[@NickSommerville]

If there is nothing new to you at 33 years old then you have lived a very closed life.

[@MmeHyraelle]

@@locutusofborg2880 Are you the borg queen? :)

[@OpnWrldgmng]

I see why people clap. Its so amazing and he deserves the props

[@accidentalheadclunkers8517]

Somebody needs kids

[@johnrobinson357]

If this man had taught at my school, i would have taken a very different career path. If you have a class he teaches, You are a lucky person.

[@fun2flyin]

Same here

[@martijnvanweele6204]

I think if you ask most people why they are working or studying in the field they currently are, the answer will boil donw to them having had a teacher that got them hooked.

[@BluGuyMyco]

John Robinson I’m pretty sure my chem teacher was a pill addict 😂

[@BattleBunny1979]

@@BluGuyMyco did he get ya hooked?

[@bossmcmurder2984]

truth

[@tristanchiu5984]

Earlyer today I was wathcing a video on "HOW TO CHOP WOOD WITH AN AXE".... My settings must have been set to AUTOPLAY because I just came back to my computer 12 hours later and this video was playing. I have no idea who this guy is I'm not a scientist or a chemist Nor am I a student, I'm just a dumb carpenter who now has an interest in science because of this guy . I LOVE THIS GUY ,he sure knows how to teach.

[@josephgalarneau7177]

Coming from northern New England where wood chopping and splitting are part of every day life it kind of shocked me to realize not everybody is brought up that way. Two things I might mention is 1. that most modern axes, splitting mauls and splitting wedges are crap. 2. most of the demonstrations use dry straight grained wood with no knots, not very realistic. Any ways thanks for the reality check.

[@diamondflaw]

I know it's now a quarter from your comment, but if you haven't already do check out SkillCult. I have a feeling you'll like it.

[@พีพีรเดช]

_

[@bryanergau6682]

Learning is fundamental

[@markshort9098]

"How to chop wood with an axe" step one throw the axe away, step 2 get a chainsaw

[@tilethio]

I am commenting this from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia 🇪🇹🇪🇹 far far away from Great Britain. Dr. Andrew Szydlo is not just one genius chemist. Rather he is a passionate person with a combination of talents packed in together. He is a humble ingenious teacher, an amazing musician and a talented painter. Moreover, unlike many scientists today who prefer to dwell in their area of specialization, he is curious about nature and how things work in general. His teaching techniques should be adopted by many trainers. As for instance, when he sketched with that graphite, he was not just try to show what elemental carbon can do, but he was summarizing his flask experiment with a picture so everyone will not forget the lesson when he switch to the next lesson plan. Besides chemistry, I think there are a lot of lessons to take from his videos. I had been following his series for a while and was always fascinated by his simplistic methods and his common sense explanation. Big love and hug for Dear Dr. Szydlo from the rainy city of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.🇪🇹🇪🇹🇪🇹🇪🇹

[@linabasilisk1955]

Dr. Szydlo reminds me of the physics teacher I had 20 odd years ago who, among other things, walked over coals to demonstrate various principles of physics. He was passionate about his subject and did his best to teach as much as possible to as many as possible. The equations tend to confuse me, but that man did manage to drill some physics and a love of that science into my head.

[@Albanez39]

Take a shot of ethanol every time he: 1. Thanks his assistants. 2. Mentions Faraday. 3. Starts a new sentence without finishing the previous.

[@WingCommanderAE24]

you'd be knocked out cold in the first 10 mins of this lecture xD

[@SkashTheKitsune]

no, I want to survive...

[@milire2668]

thank you very much indeed

[@ShrapnelACU]

All I have is methanol... and I don't intend on self preservation.

[@sepo3451]

5 min into thee video, first bottle of scotch is empty.

[@jurriaanthemmen]

For the love of god I do not understand why Prof Szydlo's video's dont have more views and likes. I abolutely LOVED chemistry when I was in highschool and this man has completely re-invigorated my love for the subject. Thank you.

[@arguan]

Andrew Szydlo is an archetypal professor, his mind always a few steps ahead, the now a bit helter-skelter and absolutely lovely with impeccable manners. He makes it a tour the force of interesting experiments mixed in with enough chaos to give it a dangerous edge 😊

[@slip8293]

Did anyone who liked this not notice that 'tour the force' is not a saying? Ted, where did you hear that saying? And if you weren't sure then you should have googled it

[@tituswilliams8063]

Tour the force is in French tour de force that means that you succeed in a very complicated situation.

[@slip8293]

@@tituswilliams8063 Yeah, I'm sorry, but no

[@error.418]

*tour de force, not "tour the force", "de" here is French for "of" not "the", the literal translation is "feat of strength"

[@Aquila009]

SliP _ it is indeed a French expression. But since “de” is not an English word, I just assume the original poster’s autocorrect kicked in.

[@ryanlashbrook5721]

Absolutely uplifting to know that these type people still exist. Passion for one's field and the desire to pass on his knowledge rather than overcomlicating the subject with curriculum designed to inhibit imagination and mindfulness and drifting further away from any real world knowledge. Refreshing to see someone who just truly loves what they do and want everyone to have true knowledge.

[@altareggo]

This is simply AWESOME!!!! Love almost everything about this teaching genius, from the way he so charmingly says "dear children", to the way he mingles such a huge amount of information with a wealth of historical perspective. Also adore the way he shows how beautiful and interesting science can be, when approached in such a manner as he does. BRAVO and thank you for posting this for everyone to enjoy and learn from.

[@tilethio]

"My dear childrens," only your favorite uncle says like that. Hehe

[@notablediscomfort]

This is the kind of passion I wanna see in people who lift. No, not just the energy. *The deep understanding and ability to explain it in a way that gives a grown man a childlike fascination with the subject.*

[@ryanlastnameredacted7569]

This video was far more interesting than any action movie.

[@AZ-zd6dz]

His emotional remembering at the end of the lecture.. that was intense. A great professor, a greater man. That sense of passion is the kind of things that pushes us into the future.

[@themoonsevilsister1561]

A man explains what wood is made of for over an hour. I love it.

[@gerardmazzarese9363]

Let me tell you how brilliant Andrew truly is: Most lectures are boring. Boring means that the lecturer has succeeded in cutting bloodflow to your brain making it harder to learn. Andrew realizes this either consciously or unconsciously and he keeps the class engaged. No one is bored, everyone pays attention, cerebral perfusion is increased and this helps memory as well as intelligence. Anyone who would criticize my professor is ignorant of psycophisiology and the science of how we learn.

[@PacificAirwave144]

I absolutely love this guy's presentations! The best classes I had in high school 35 years ago were from a Physics teacher and Chemistry teacher who both loved demonstrations. You can read about the numbers and theory...but watching your Physics teacher go down the hallway on a CO2 extinguisher-powered cart. Or seeing a sledge-hammer/construction-block/bed-of-nails demo with YOUR teacher on the bed-of-nails during class...oh man that was awesome! Hat's off to those great teachers from my youth and to these great presentations from The Royal Institute!

[@Gamefreak8112]

I thought what the hell I'll watch his general chemistry video. Now I have my fourth ready for tomorrow. He certainly does love his fire.

[@andrestrujado]

So happy that I was part of this magnificent lecture demonstration!! Andrew is an inspiration and a great value to all chemistry and chemists!

[@topiasr628]

Well done sir. You all did an absolutely wonderful job here!

[@Stephen._.Chapman]

Andrew Szydlo is a LEGEND!!!

[@macacofrito]

He mastered chemistry so much he can turn off breathing to maximize talking and teaching

[@lydia2366]

🤣🤣🤣

[@madeiralegend6574]

O

[@villie86]

He's more of an entertainer, who has an exceptional scientific knowledge for being an entertainer, rather than a scientist, who has a superb knack for entertaining people. I wish we had more teachers like him. Hats off to that man, I enjoyed every minute of this.

[@destinyovbiebo8988]

So brilliant

[@Hyraethian]

1:37:45 UNACCEPTABLE! This brought tears of laughter to my eyes. I love the royal institution videos as background noise, although i'll admit they tend to draw me away from what i'm doing more often than not. Edit: it's rare I have the impulse to clap along with the audience at the end of a video but the Royal Institute consistently has wonderful presenters who inspire that reaction.

[@nadnavlis240]

This guy is great. I love watching everything he is featured in on this channel. He is the reason I subscribed to this channel the first time I watched it. Thanks again to The Royal Institution.

[@SlopedOtter]

Without a doubt my favorite lecturer, his mannerisms have me in tears

[@StreuB1]

This man is absolutely brilliant. He didn't stop for nearly 2 hours.....unreal!!! What a stellar performance!

[@johnferguson4089]

What a teacher and a true gentle-man, thoroughly courteous and brilliant person. I think I've learned more in this one session than I ever learned at school. A very captivating lecture/demonstration, many many thanks.

[@ernestoterrazas3480]

Dear Mr. Andrew Szydlo I want to congratulate you for being a SUPER teacher. The studnts that have the honor to know you should be proud and gratefull. Thank you very much for transmiting a us litle part of your big knowledge.

[@WylieECoyote56]

This man is indeed a remarkable scientist and so inspirational, that I can't stop watching ! And I'm 63!

[@book3100]

I love this guy. Just knows the subject so well it's almost unconscious. He makes me think this is what happens when you open a book and all the words spill out and catch fire.

[@d74g0n]

This is so amazingly good; the music segment was... delightful.

[@chroniclesofbap6170]

The RI Lectures are a traditional part of Christmas, and this gentleman is a legend.

[@saia24]

I just love the essence of joy and interest this man displays throughout the video, it's like watching a small child having fun with homework, this man has a gift of sharing what he likes, my best hopes for him

[@ΒασίληςΌμικρον]

I ve loved watching this. Dr Szydlo looks like kid in a playground, i could watch him every day. Nice, thanks RI.

[@jedtattum9996]

absolutely brilliant. knowledge and the passion to express it to others.

[@adamlewellen5081]

jed tattum the thing I like the most is this guy doesn't hide his mistake. He embraces it and uses to to teach.

[@garyhardman8369]

Absolutely superb. At the age of 58, I also learned something new - that Carbon Monoxide is flammable.

[@marc-andrebrunet5386]

Gary Hardman it was new for me too

[@aussiebloke609]

I never thought about it before, but it makes sense...there's still room for further oxidization, as we know it can take two oxygen atoms. :-)

[@davidlloyd3116]

Town gas for cooking was CO and H2 - from burning coal (C) in steam (H2O). Then we discovered natural gas - methane - which was far safer.

[@qcislander]

I've known that since I was about 4 years old (I turned 58 myself a few weeks ago)... but that's not the weird part: I learned it from reading one of my mother's *nursing* textbooks (she was a working RN until less than a week before I was born). :-)

[@teresashinkansen9402]

When you light a charcoal fire for a BBQ and you blow air then you stop you see lots of blue flames, that's burning CO! Reason why charcoal fires should never be used on enclosed spaces, it can be deadly.

[@JosephdiCaro]

I love this guy so much! He so enthusiastic about everything and the kids feel that and love him for it!

[@markbrookes5835]

This guy is the best teacher I have ever seen. It's like Doctor Who meets Ace Ventura. He's brilliant :)

[@skyeturner5003]

you can tell he truly understands and is interested in what he is talking about, he can hardly stay quiet with how excited he is to show everything.

[@daniellebarker7205]

He talks as if him and his assistants broke into this lecture hall and he's trying to get through a lecture before security comes to drag him away

[@daniellebarker7205]

But cool experiments

[@tonyclark7882]

It's all part of the act to entertain the children. It enables him to appear harassed and flustered, so the kids think there is going to be an almighty catastrophe any moment (they hope).

[@BilgePump]

Very good theatrics i must agree...are the cops coming???

[@thugasaurusrex6004]

Tony Clark it's a combo of that and just him having so much information to tell. It's much easier to explain such things to people when they already know about it. He's explaining it in a way that a 5 year old and a 50 year old should be able to understand it. It's actually a quite hard thing to do. He's mastered it lol

[@jamesnelson3491]

His energy and his ability to project it with so much info so people understand what he's trying to do is incredible, I thought it was amazing

[@laserfloyd]

Andrew Szydlo is inspiring. So excited he's like a kid in a candy shop. Never a dull moment with his lectures. I love fire, too, but he might love it more than I. Thanks for sharing.

[@djjoel1]

How come every time I fall asleep, no matter what I'm watching, I wake up to this guy doing incredible feats of science?

[@tonyclark7882]

He has developed his 'absent minded professor' act to perfection, extremely entertaining and educational.

[@Tigerbythetoe]

I thought at the very beginning that I would be only able to watch a few minutes and then I was most of the way through having been entertained the whole time! This man has a gift, what great enthusiasm for the subject of chemistry and the desire to share it with children. What a great way to get kids interested in the subject! I lost count of all the demonstrations he performed. Great stuff!

[@matthewpollock9685]

Best lecture I've ever witnessed. The props are all well and fine, but my goodness, that man just exudes excitement and favor for his profession and desire to share his passion. And share he does. What a joyful man.

[@matthewhull5876]

The thing I love about this is that he loves his subjects and passing knowledge that he dashes from one to the other with little direction.

[@mr.j_krr_80]

Wish I could see this brilliant guy before the call comes. You better live long, cause world need this kind of people. Mindful of work and pursuit, musically entangled, appreciating others but never thyself for once...

[@metanumia]

I *love* Andrew Szydlo! These are my favorite lectures and demonstrations at the Royal Institution. :D

[@aussiebloke609]

Yay - my favourite pyromaniac! *settles back with a bucket of popcorn*

[@tncorgi92]

I like how he emphasizes the words "FIRE" or "BURN" whenever he says them.

[@andrewgalloway7344]

popcorn is surely flammable ! ...

[@yungchill69]

@@andrewgalloway7344 doritos are apparently

[@HiddeWinter]

@@yungchill69 -a man who has clearly tried

[@lazatursusaudio4827]

@45:06 Open flame ignites the vapor. "Oscar, very well done!"

[@kevinfealy4769]

"Slightly out of control" LoL. Oscar is his sons name, which I believe would be the other guy who appears to be slightly older then Yarkov

[@kevinfealy4769]

Upon further viewing, I'm completly confused as to what their names are now...

[@can.slaughter]

You can clearly see that the fire started from the other flame in the desk, going from left to right. So it wasn't his fault,

[@slydawg798]

This is the best professor on the planet. I want to study under him now and I’ve been out of school for 19 years. Bravo

[@JohnSmith-dv5pi]

Omg. I love watching this man. I just wished people would stop interrupting him. He speaks fast because he has a time limit.

[@TheNightmareBeforeyouakaDrnigh]

I love his high speed talking. I wld love to have had him as a teacher when I was in school. Wld love to see more from him.

[@CaseyDJones38]

I absolutely love his lectures and how passionate he is about FIRE.

[@Ai-he1dp]

So so entertaining!, A wonderful man who obviously takes delight in enlightening people! Thank you sir for your time and all involved in bringing such educational entertainment to KZbin for us all who cannot be there.

[@macklee6837]

Brilliant lecturer. An absolute pleasure to watch!

[@jianuflavian6451]

i am romanian and i am working in Germany for 3 years but that small violin melody moved my soul . THANKYOU

[@XM-qk5sh]

I always enjoy watching a teacher with such passion.

[@NorwayT]

Having studied Chemistry at University, but I still find Andrew Szydlo an extremely entertaining and fun lecturer to watch! If anyone can win over new Chemists from the crowd of exited children, it's Andrew Szydlo! One of the very, very best The Royal Institution features!👍

[@truevegas]

These videos are so easy to watch. Andrew is better than a grand master!

[@19822andy]

I had a fantastic teacher. His name was Mr Millington. He walked around with a white lab jacket that he painted "Acme science teacher" painted on the back. He was full of life and used to speak regularly to BRMB. He went on Live TV in the 90's to do stand up. He tragically died out of the blue not long after I left school. He was brilliant.

[@BernardMiller-u4t]

Andrew dear fellow you masterfully managed to stop them from clapping before you started the demo.

[@wolfeyeforever]

I love how he stops the applause at times for reasons of either humility or scientific demonstration. Legendary man

[@Stuit3rb4l]

45:05 The ether cought flame from the burner, 'Oscar' never lit it! Just shows even more how dangerous the invisible gasses coming from the (heated) flamable liquids are...

[@SuperCoopdogg]

I can see, hear, and feel his passion and excitement for what he does. His energy makes me want to listen.

[@stevelawrence4722]

I love this gentleman. From the way he speaks on so many things at once, but always brings it all together. I enjoyed the unexpected musical part . A genius, performance.

[@ThilinaRajinda]

Thank you gentleman. I never thought chemistry would be this much interesting subject to learn. Long live Sir Andrew Szydlo and his crew.!

[@iseeolly9959]

What a clever, wise, lovely polite person....I'm working my way through all his vids and love them all....when he gets things wrong he says it's because he's nervous.....how endearing is that! He's a becoming a hero of mine.

[@iseeolly9959]

He often says "Dear children".....such a lovely phrase.

[@matthewhackett1710]

I like at 45:00, when playing with vaporising ether in the hot trough, how Andreas rescues the situation.... he anticipated the flashover and moved put the stopper in the bottle just out of shot. Well held.

[@dimitriisov1262]

When he was playing with that plane I lost it he's very spritely and seems so sweet and endearing when he says dear children

[@efeguleroglu]

Andrew Szydlo makes chemistry understandable by everyone. Perfect.

[@fburton8]

There's something for everyone in this demo-talk. Brilliant!

[@andrewgalloway7344]

this sis far and away the best yet .. well narrated. highly educational ... I'm 59 and learned a lot here ... failed higher chemistry three times !

[@pragyanmajumdar676]

Szydlo is absolutely amazing.

[@ZeedijkMike]

Hectic, but so intertaining that you just can't stop watching.

[@ZeedijkMike]

Can't help thinking on "Professor Farnsworth" here and there.

[@kevinfealy4769]

@@ZeedijkMike Good news, my dear children

[@TheEyez187]

...and at the same time, we had a little bit of extra flame produced, which was the most important! - Andrew Szydio 2018

[@saiphascain6883]

these videos are such a fantastic and entertaining resource. Thank you Dr. Szydlo, and thank you Royal Institution.

[@Noahs_Crazy_Kid]

I love this man! I’ve heard all this before BUT thanks to this slightly out of control teacher, I UNDERSTOOD IT this time! He is a master! Thank you

[@c42cly]

Brilliant !!! Great talk, great delivery, great subject. Now I'm looking at my fire completely differently!!! I hadn't thought that so much stuff was happening with a 'simple' wood fire.

[@TomJones-tx7pb]

What an amazing lecture for children. Also convinced me that I do not want to sit around a bonfire inhaling the smoke ever again.

[@kaksakvisagie4131]

Hydrogen (followed by exited villain face), "Which I'll show you at the end" - priceless.

[@taketimeout2share]

He talks at a constant speed which is clever because it doesn't allow us to have spaces in which our attention can be diverted by something else. He is a pro and I guess he knows that this technique works in maintaining interest.What a brilliant way of imparting knowledge.

[@kpapi4355]

Amazing video! He managed to speak for over an hour without even a second of silence, absolutely superb!

[@vincejamison8078]

I just love Andrews enthusiasm. In is upper years, he is bouncing around WANTING to tell this.

[@gerardmazzarese9363]

I love this guy. I'm 60 but I'm happy to be one of his "children."

[@gilloselton824]

I could watch Andrew Szydlo forever. . He's amazing!

[@Semicolondude]

I have a wish that he should be my chemistry teacher and his teaching is really ossum

[@cleverusername9369]

I think you need a spelling teacher

[@xXDrSnugglesXx]

I dont think i know anyone else who can make science of wood this interesting, and these lectures are way to short. Been watching every lecture by Andrew thus far on the Ri channel.

[@samsonian]

I just wish I could have had EVEN ONE science teacher in secondary school that was as fun and taken with his/her discipline as Mr. Szydlo here. I have always loved science, but I never had any teachers that were worth a damn to draw me towards a college degree in the sciences.

[@donaldbarnett8045]

Love this old chemist. He is a British national treasure. This is the kind of science teaching we need in our public school system today, it is more like the way science ,chemistry was taught when I was in high school back in the early sixties. I sub taught high school in the early 2000's chemistry and science is so boring in public school to day it is even boring to teach it.

[@davidwright8432]

Utterly charming and engrossing! He must be a nightmare for health and safety, tho! Not a pair of goggles in sight ... and open fire in an enclose space! I love this guy. Me, age 11, doing stuff with home-made gunpowder ... still alive 64 yrs alter. Never underestimate the power of luck, in life.

[@latimeralder1]

Proper chemistry. Not the mamby-pamby stuff.

[@error.418]

He did put on safety goggles for the firecracker

[@raJlabaJloM]

People are afraid because they dont know. He knows ;)

[@TheSpinref]

Old school. I'll just pour this nitric acid into a tube with no gloves goggles or even a funnel.

[@victorsartor]

Fantastic! Mr. Szydlo is a spectacular teacher and has an excellent presence!

[@irvingkurlinski]

The Professor is marvelous. Love his "older and slightly batty" demeanor. Educational because he's also entertaining.

[@danielkosciuszko9788]

Love this guy. In the US the lawyers wouldn’t allow this. I’m a chemistry teacher and I am not allowed to even put calcium in water. Thank god some people still have common sense

[@hyperspaced0]

True. Europe welcomes

[@BalticLab]

If every science teacher, - strike that - every teacher, would have this enthusiastic and kind style, the world would be a better place.

[@latreclays4246]

Learning the chemical change that wood takes in order to catch fire is amazing. This means that wood itself technically doesn’t burn but rather the flame brings out the charcoal and the CHARCOAL catches..... mind blown...

[@trdi]

I learned quite a bit from this, good stuff. The guy was on fire... also he could play a villain in a movie.

[@Sl8ter909]

Great show! Keep em coming. Thank You Prof. Szydlo

[@SGM260190]

Andrew Syzdlo is awesome!

[@TheEyez187]

The fire at the start - Potassium Permanganate, Glycerin and water, if I remember correctly from one of Andrew Szydio's other lectures; though part of me thinks an aspirin (acetycylic acid??) might also be in the mix. If curious watch his Magic of Chemistry lecture; if not, watch it anyway! (I might have to just to check for my own curiosities sake!) I knew a good majority of what he spoke about yet I still found it thoroughly enjoyable. Always gives interesting lectures and brilliant demonstations. A truly talented, charismatic man. His son (and any other children) are very lucky, but I can't help but imagine how awesome he would be (in the future obviously) as a Grandparent. Using his knowledge of chemistry to do "magic" for the grandkids when they're particularly young, then explaining how it really works once they're old enough to understand it!

[@dimitriisov1262]

So captivating, he has my attention every step of the way, the mark of the best and rarest of educators