1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: Works dot com. Hey, you're welcome to stuff to Blow 3 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: your mind. My name is Robert Lamb and I'm Julie Buchlas. Julie, 4 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: what what is in this room with us right now? Pure? Sweeten? 5 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: It's not pure? A little oxygen in there. There's oxygen 6 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: in there because we are breathing and we are alive 7 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:30,639 Speaker 1: right now, and we're not concerned about running out because 8 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: the room is relatively well ventilated. I mean they had 9 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: to cover up most of the ventilation with soundproofing, but 10 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: I think there's a little air is getting in just enough. 11 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: As long as we don't go three or four hours 12 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: in here, will probably not die, which is a good thing, right, Um. 13 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:47,159 Speaker 1: And typically we don't go three or four hours in 14 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:49,879 Speaker 1: here anyway, No one podcast followed by a second like 15 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 1: two hours max. Yeah, you go over. Maybe we could 16 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: punch in a little bit towards that three hour point, 17 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: but there's still plenty of oxygen. That's my point. And yeah, 18 00:00:57,400 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: that's the main concern here, and that's what we're talking 19 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: about today. Oxygen. How did it get here and into us? Um? 20 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: How can we manipulate it? Because that's always a question, right, 21 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: like this is so cool, how can we use it 22 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,120 Speaker 1: for our own gain? And um, of course we're going 23 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,119 Speaker 1: to explore as you already sort of alluded to one 24 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: of those tropes and films like oh there's not enough 25 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,959 Speaker 1: oxygen in thirty seconds, we're going to run out. Oh yeah, 26 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: I mean, especially in your space your space movies, you're 27 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:28,679 Speaker 1: underwater movies. That's always an important trope. I mean, because 28 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 1: the core idea here is that humans have evolved to 29 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: live in a very particular portion of our atmosphere. And 30 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:39,680 Speaker 1: if you start going too high, you start going too low. 31 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:43,120 Speaker 1: If you move outside of that atmosphere and into an 32 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,679 Speaker 1: underwater environment or out into the into orbit, then you 33 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: have to bring a portion of your actual atmosphere with 34 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:51,720 Speaker 1: you in some sort of pressurized compain or at least 35 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 1: an air mask. UM. I was recently looking into Winston 36 00:01:56,240 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 1: Churchill and uh during the Second World War. UM, they 37 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: they developed this egg for him to recline in and 38 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 1: smoke in and read in. UM. Egg egg a big 39 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,440 Speaker 1: pressurized egg because the planes that they were depending on 40 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: they were not pressurized, so you would have to wear 41 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:16,079 Speaker 1: an air mask to go at a high altitude and 42 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: you would need to be at a high altitude, uh, 43 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:22,639 Speaker 1: you know, to be safe in in a war torn world. Um, 44 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: the sadly than ever actually used this egg. But it's 45 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: just another example, like you want Winston Churchill up there 46 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:32,400 Speaker 1: out of a comfortable area of the atmosphere, Well, then 47 00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 1: you have to have an egg of atmosphere for Winston 48 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:37,000 Speaker 1: Churchill to take with him. So this was this idea 49 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:39,639 Speaker 1: like if everything went to crap with the war, how 50 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: do we say Winston Churchill? When it was just more like, 51 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: how do we fly him around at a high altitude 52 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: and keep him comfortable and stay And it just turned 53 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:49,120 Speaker 1: out that it was too large to fit in the 54 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: airplane and then it was too heavy to fit in 55 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 1: the airplane. After that, I have a blog post on 56 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 1: it you can go check. Oh yeah, and he was 57 00:02:57,360 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 1: going to smoke in it too, And that was that 58 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 1: was a core design principle there. Well, we have been 59 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 1: trying to uh you know, take oxygen into our own 60 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: hands for a long time, and I would say this 61 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: is this is something that was pretty popular. I don't know, 62 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:13,799 Speaker 1: maybe in the early two thousand's oxygen bars. I I've 63 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 1: heard a lot about these and now I've I've read 64 00:03:15,639 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 1: a little bit, but I've I've never seen one. I've 65 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:20,919 Speaker 1: never visited one. Um, I just heard. I'd remember hearing 66 00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: stuff about how Michael Jackson. Jackson supposedly slept in an 67 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: oxygen tent, and I guess that's that's partially really like 68 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: a hyperbaric one. I think so. But again, this may 69 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:31,800 Speaker 1: be a complete hearsay, and I don't want to tarnish 70 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 1: man's good name. Sure, Um, all right, So there's this 71 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: idea that there's a purity in this oxygen, right, if 72 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 1: you just get more of it, then maybe you could 73 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: think clear. And so that's what these oxygen bars were 74 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: trying to sell to people, Like, sit down and have 75 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:51,280 Speaker 1: a twenty minute huff of some of this oxygen. Like, 76 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,480 Speaker 1: I don't see. I think the concentration was compared to 77 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: that we normally get. Yes, but the thing is you're 78 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 1: not really getting anything out of it. Yeah. It kind 79 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: of reminds me of the there's certain vitamins, of course 80 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 1: that you can mean some vitamins you can you can 81 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 1: have a toxic reaction to, but other vitamins, if you 82 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: take over the recommended amount, you're just gonna pee it out. Anyway. 83 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:14,720 Speaker 1: I mean, your body has evolved to deal with certain 84 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 1: levels of intake, and if you exceed some of those levels, uh, 85 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 1: if it doesn't hurt you, then it it's not really 86 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:23,160 Speaker 1: going to do you any good, right, because, as you said, 87 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:26,719 Speaker 1: that's what we're sort of molded for, that's what we 88 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 1: crawled out of the muck and UH and evolved to 89 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: deal with. So yeah, if you if you have something 90 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:36,000 Speaker 1: tremendously stronger than you start, it's not gonna really pay off, 91 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:39,159 Speaker 1: right because at that level, the blood is almost completely 92 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: and we're talking about saturated, So that means there's really 93 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: no need for more oxygen. Now. Of course in UH, 94 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 1: in hospital environments, you'll sometimes see a hundred percent oxygen 95 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: administered for a very short amount of time. But but 96 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:56,719 Speaker 1: they still they have to be careful with that because 97 00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: it can result in various health problems in some individuals 98 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:03,680 Speaker 1: if it's if there's prolonged use. So again, it underlines 99 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:06,480 Speaker 1: the fact that we've we've developed, we've evolved to deal 100 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:11,039 Speaker 1: with and going higher doesn't help and it could conceivably 101 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,040 Speaker 1: hurt in some situations. Yeah, and if you're wondering, like, well, 102 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,440 Speaker 1: why is oxygen really important in the first place. We 103 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: we should celebrate it at all times, really, because it's 104 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,600 Speaker 1: one of the reasons why life here on Earth exists 105 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: in the first place. That's right, If you travel back 106 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:27,760 Speaker 1: far enough in time, you will encounter a very different 107 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 1: world than we have now. Yeah, because if you think 108 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:33,479 Speaker 1: about it, for the first two billion years of earth existence, 109 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 1: we're talking about this modeled volcano popped planet, it had 110 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:42,880 Speaker 1: little oxygen about point zero zero zero one percent of 111 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 1: current levels. But then about two point three billion years 112 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 1: ago there was a really big change when This change 113 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:54,160 Speaker 1: had a lot to do with photosynthesizing bacteria, which began 114 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:58,119 Speaker 1: to create oxygen. And Elizabeth Barber, writing for the Christian 115 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 1: Science Monitor, had this great disc ccryption. She says, it was, 116 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:04,840 Speaker 1: so far as we know, a moment unlike any other 117 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:08,559 Speaker 1: in the universe. While Mars, just sixty million years older 118 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:12,720 Speaker 1: than Earth browned and reddened, Earth was furnished in greens 119 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 1: and blues, and later in all the brilliant colors that 120 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:19,560 Speaker 1: decorate its planet and animals and all the protests in between. 121 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:22,839 Speaker 1: The modern Earth owes about eighty five of its oxygen 122 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:27,719 Speaker 1: to phytoplankton, beginning with the cinobacteria blue green algae that 123 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:31,320 Speaker 1: first quilted the planet those billions of years ago. I 124 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:36,080 Speaker 1: love that quilted the planet with his blue green algae. Yeah, 125 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:38,279 Speaker 1: I love that description. Um, it's it's interesting. I was 126 00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:42,800 Speaker 1: reading around different accounts of the Great Oxidation event and uh, 127 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,359 Speaker 1: Phil Plate of Bad Astronomy and his right up on this. 128 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 1: He actually framed it more as this is really a 129 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:53,159 Speaker 1: mass extinction event of one uh species, like really kicking 130 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:56,919 Speaker 1: into high gear to the detriment of most of the 131 00:06:56,920 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 1: other life forms. Because before before this guy hit the scene, Um, 132 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:06,039 Speaker 1: we're talking about the the Santo bacteria. Not late Um, 133 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:09,240 Speaker 1: you had you had a world of simple bacteria, mostly 134 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: in the ocean and uh, and you know, these these 135 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 1: bacteria just doing their thing and then the one superstar 136 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 1: kicks it up and begins to to change the environment, 137 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: to change the atmosphere ultimately change the climate as well. Yeah, 138 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 1: and um, I mean what I think is so interesting 139 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: about Santo bacteria is not only did it contribute to 140 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:33,880 Speaker 1: the creation of diurnal and nocturnal patterns, which we talked 141 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: about in our last episode. I believe it's called the 142 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 1: dark um. But yeah, as you say, it completely changed 143 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:45,119 Speaker 1: the profile of life and the oxygen profile, and in turn, 144 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 1: in doing that it helped to create multicellular life which 145 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 1: then would turn around and munch on the sino bacteria. 146 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:54,680 Speaker 1: And so thanks a lot for all the oxygen and 147 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: creating us. I think we're going to feast upon you. 148 00:07:56,960 --> 00:07:58,560 Speaker 1: I mean, it's kind of kind of like a horse race, 149 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:01,360 Speaker 1: right where everything everything is kind of running neck and neck, 150 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 1: and then one of the horses just really starts running 151 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 1: ahead of the pack and it's clear that this, this 152 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:09,080 Speaker 1: is going to be the winner. And in this case, 153 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: the winner is going to be the kind of the 154 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:13,640 Speaker 1: initial model for everything that comes afterwards. Yeah, so you have, 155 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:16,280 Speaker 1: I mean, photosynthetic life forms are dominating here. And the 156 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,200 Speaker 1: interesting thing about this is that you look, you're kind 157 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:21,800 Speaker 1: of travel back in deep time and you think about this, 158 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:25,480 Speaker 1: and the interesting question becomes, well, did it happen just 159 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:28,960 Speaker 1: in little pockets around the Earth or did it just 160 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: sort of spread willy nilly, And we can't answer that, 161 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 1: of course right now, but it's interesting to even think 162 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:38,439 Speaker 1: that this huge sea change was happening. Yeah, there was 163 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:40,800 Speaker 1: a two thousand and thirteen paper post in Nature that 164 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 1: actually suggested that the Earth's atmosphere was already somewhat oxygenated. Um, 165 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:48,520 Speaker 1: you know, not oxygen rich or anything, but but there 166 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 1: was already a certain amount of oxygenation going on about 167 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:54,080 Speaker 1: three billion years ago, and so that that would revise 168 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:56,520 Speaker 1: the timeline some some what kind of in sort of 169 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 1: a six hundred million year transition point. Yeah, And I 170 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:02,000 Speaker 1: think trans action is key, right, because that's not when 171 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:03,800 Speaker 1: the sea change happened. It just sort of like it 172 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:07,880 Speaker 1: was round in pockets. And if you look at that study, 173 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 1: its researchers at the University of Southern Denmark, they actually 174 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,680 Speaker 1: analyze a pair of two point nine two to two 175 00:09:14,679 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: point nine six billion year old rocks for evidence of 176 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 1: oxidation and lo and behold they found it. So that's 177 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:23,040 Speaker 1: how we know that it was it was lurking, shall 178 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:26,240 Speaker 1: we say. So fast forward to the present. We live 179 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:29,320 Speaker 1: in this world that has a plenty of oxygen and 180 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:31,360 Speaker 1: uh and and we all have sort of the grade 181 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:33,920 Speaker 1: school science understanding of how it happens. I think we 182 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:37,839 Speaker 1: can all picture that a diagram of administration. It always 183 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 1: looks like it's all going down, like just at your 184 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: local neighborhood park. Sure, and then you see that, you know, 185 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:46,160 Speaker 1: you see the human breathing out the CEO two and 186 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: then the human breathing in the oxygen that plants and 187 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: trees create. And so this idea is that if we 188 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:56,480 Speaker 1: lived in this treeless world, this shrub less world, we 189 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 1: wouldn't have any oxygen. And that's partly true, but it's 190 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,280 Speaker 1: not the whole story indeed, because we can really lay 191 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:04,000 Speaker 1: most of the credit at the feet if they had 192 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:07,720 Speaker 1: feet of the phytoplankton. These are single cell plants that 193 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,000 Speaker 1: live at the ocean surface. They only need two things 194 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,960 Speaker 1: for photostints of this, and that is energy from the sun, 195 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:18,120 Speaker 1: new troots from the water, and uh, they're actually responsible 196 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:21,600 Speaker 1: for producing half the world's oxygen half of it. Yeah, 197 00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:26,360 Speaker 1: so it really recasts your idea of I think, how 198 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:28,760 Speaker 1: the atmosphere is formed, because we tend to think more 199 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:31,320 Speaker 1: land base. But of course, the more and more we 200 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: learn about the ocean, the more we understand how much 201 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:38,199 Speaker 1: it is informing our atmosphere and how that changeability of 202 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: the ocean can really cause some some very drastic changes. Yeah. 203 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:43,960 Speaker 1: I mean, when you look at this and when you 204 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:47,560 Speaker 1: look at just models for global climate in general, we 205 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:50,000 Speaker 1: really live on a water world and the way that 206 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: water behaves um is tremendously important in our various systems. 207 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 1: The the the be the creation of oxygen, or be 208 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:00,800 Speaker 1: at our weather, weather patterns. Yeah, and we could dive 209 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:03,840 Speaker 1: deep into the ocean and have an entire episode on this, 210 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 1: and we perhaps will later. Um. I know that we 211 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:08,480 Speaker 1: have covered it before, and we've talked about this idea 212 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: of dragging the ocean really disturbing the life forms. There 213 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:16,439 Speaker 1: is completely sort of a stab in the dark by 214 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 1: humans not realizing that our entire ecosystems that were disturbing 215 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:23,920 Speaker 1: that that actually affect us land lovers. Um. So all right, 216 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:26,040 Speaker 1: you guys, put that in your pipe and smoke it, 217 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:28,000 Speaker 1: because we're gonna take a quick break and we get back. 218 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:31,720 Speaker 1: We're going to talk about binding and storing oxygen like 219 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:42,240 Speaker 1: oxygen ninjas. All right, we're back. We've been talking about 220 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 1: the the origins of oxygen, the importance of oxygen, where 221 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:48,120 Speaker 1: oxygen is coming from in the world that we, uh, 222 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:50,439 Speaker 1: we experience every day. But now we're gonna get a 223 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:54,760 Speaker 1: little high tech, because you know how humans are. We 224 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:57,680 Speaker 1: can't help but but hack into everything. We we we 225 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:01,240 Speaker 1: hack into our bodies, we hack into the world around us, 226 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:04,679 Speaker 1: and of course we also hack into digital infrastructures of 227 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:07,520 Speaker 1: our own creation. But but we can't help a tinker 228 00:12:07,559 --> 00:12:09,800 Speaker 1: and try to figure out how to manipulate things a 229 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:12,840 Speaker 1: little more in our favor. And of course we've done 230 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:15,200 Speaker 1: that with oxygen as well. Its particularly in this case 231 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 1: with the binding and storing of oxygen. Yeah. I like 232 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:20,960 Speaker 1: to think about this is a couple of scientists sitting around, 233 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:24,959 Speaker 1: perhaps on the rooftop of their building one night, saying, 234 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:28,319 Speaker 1: wouldn't it be cool we could just like suck all 235 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:31,480 Speaker 1: the oxygen out of the room. And then they're like, yeah, 236 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:33,559 Speaker 1: we could do that. I could literally do that. We 237 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:35,920 Speaker 1: could literally do that. And it turns out the researchers 238 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:38,200 Speaker 1: at the University of Southern Denmark had that kind of 239 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:43,199 Speaker 1: stoner moment. They synthesized a crystalline material that absorbs and 240 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:46,600 Speaker 1: stores oxygen in large quantities. As you say, it can 241 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,679 Speaker 1: be used to bind, store, and transport oxygen like a 242 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:54,280 Speaker 1: dense artificial hemoglobin. I love that, that idea that you 243 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:56,679 Speaker 1: just have your own portable hemoglobin. Yeah, I mean the 244 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:00,120 Speaker 1: idea that you have this material that works like like 245 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:03,679 Speaker 1: a biological system, that's it's capable of just sucking all 246 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:05,720 Speaker 1: this oxygen out of the room. And and I have 247 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 1: a feeling that a lot of you have probably caught 248 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 1: some of at least the headlines that have made their 249 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 1: way regarding this, because people really latched onto that sucks 250 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:16,960 Speaker 1: all the oxygen out of the room, because it's it's 251 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:18,880 Speaker 1: an amazing stat but of course it can't help but 252 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 1: stir our imaginations. But we can't help but imagine somebody, say, 253 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:24,160 Speaker 1: pulling this out at a dinner party, and then all 254 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:28,160 Speaker 1: the air in the room just rushes into this material. Thanksgiving, 255 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:32,559 Speaker 1: I don't think so. Yeah, conversation starts getting a little uncomfortable, 256 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:35,120 Speaker 1: you just whip it out and uh takes the breath 257 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:37,200 Speaker 1: literally out of everyone's face. Yeah. And I think this 258 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 1: was exacerbated because when it was first put out the media, 259 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:41,560 Speaker 1: it was something like, oh, a spoonful of this stuff 260 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:43,200 Speaker 1: was like out of all the oxygen in the room. 261 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:46,840 Speaker 1: In fact, a ten liter bucket of this solid material 262 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:50,440 Speaker 1: would be enough to store all the oxygen in a room. 263 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:53,920 Speaker 1: And we're talking about a few grains could contain enough 264 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:57,960 Speaker 1: oxygen in a single breath. Now, once trapped, this oxygen 265 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:01,320 Speaker 1: can be stored until the material is heated gently to 266 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:04,320 Speaker 1: release the oxygen and the cool thing about this is 267 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:07,439 Speaker 1: that it can absorb and release oxygen a whole lot, 268 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:11,719 Speaker 1: like many different times without losing its ability. And this 269 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: is according to Christine Mackenzie. She's a physics professor at 270 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,880 Speaker 1: the University of Seven Denmark. She said, it's like dipping 271 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:20,640 Speaker 1: a sponge in water, squeezing the water out of it 272 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:24,000 Speaker 1: and repeating the process over and over again. Yes, she 273 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:25,920 Speaker 1: pointed out, the material is both a sensor and a 274 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:27,840 Speaker 1: container for the oxygen. It can be used to bind, 275 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:30,760 Speaker 1: to store, to transport. So I mean you can really 276 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:33,920 Speaker 1: the mind can run wild with the various potential uses 277 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:35,800 Speaker 1: for this that was obvious. One of course, would be 278 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:38,360 Speaker 1: for any kind of environment where you needed to take 279 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:42,320 Speaker 1: oxygen with you, be it diving, traveling into space. But 280 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,840 Speaker 1: I mean also it would have tremendous potential for use 281 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:49,240 Speaker 1: in automobiles that use fuel cells and need a regulated 282 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:52,920 Speaker 1: oxygen supply. So and it's again when you think about 283 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:54,760 Speaker 1: the fact that we live in such an oxygen dependent 284 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:58,400 Speaker 1: world and we have oxygen dependent lives. Uh, there from 285 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:02,120 Speaker 1: this tremendous application for this technology. Yeah. Now, the key 286 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:05,600 Speaker 1: component of the material is cobalt because it's bound in 287 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:11,119 Speaker 1: a specifically designed organic molecule, and again this is from mackenzie. 288 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 1: She says that cobalt gives the material precisely the molecular 289 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:19,040 Speaker 1: electronic structure that enables it to absorb oxygen from its surroundings, 290 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:21,480 Speaker 1: and she said the mechanism is well known from all 291 00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:25,240 Speaker 1: breathing creatures on Earth. Humans and many other species use iron, 292 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:29,640 Speaker 1: while other animals like craps and spiders use copper. She said, 293 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:33,200 Speaker 1: small amounts of metals are essential for the absorption of oxygen. 294 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 1: So actually, it's not entirely surprising to see this effect 295 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:38,840 Speaker 1: in our new material. So here again is another example 296 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:41,680 Speaker 1: of biomimicry, right right, Yeah, And indeed, that's one of 297 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:44,360 Speaker 1: the tremendous things about this material is that it's it's 298 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:46,920 Speaker 1: it's just a it's a material that when we manipulate 299 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:50,160 Speaker 1: it a little bit, it can it can actually replicate 300 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 1: some of the processes that they go on inside the 301 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:55,600 Speaker 1: human body. Yeah. No, McKenzie and her team are researching 302 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:59,480 Speaker 1: whether light can trigger oxygen's released from the material, which 303 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:05,520 Speaker 1: would be halfway too artificial photosynthesis. Again, the implication of 304 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:08,280 Speaker 1: this is is pretty widespread, and especially when you're thinking 305 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:19,400 Speaker 1: about terror forming. Yes, so in this we get into 306 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 1: the quest to create a material that is essentially an 307 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,040 Speaker 1: artificial leaf. Um not in the it looks like a 308 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:28,560 Speaker 1: leaf necessarily, but then it can carry out photosynthus and 309 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:31,720 Speaker 1: so in this we turn to the Royal College of 310 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:36,360 Speaker 1: Art where Julian Melakori has developed a photosynthetic material. It 311 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:39,800 Speaker 1: allegedly lives and breathes just like a leaf. It sorbs 312 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:43,280 Speaker 1: carbon dioxide and water and releases oxygen, and it works 313 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:46,920 Speaker 1: by suspending chloroplast. These are the part of the plant 314 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:51,680 Speaker 1: where photosynsus actually happens in a material made from silk protein. Yeah, 315 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:57,760 Speaker 1: Melchiori envisions the facades of buildings and lampshades covered in 316 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:02,280 Speaker 1: this photosynthetic material, and it would essentially exhale fresh air 317 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:05,280 Speaker 1: for us. I love. I love these sort of utopian 318 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:09,960 Speaker 1: futuristic technologies. Yeah, yeah, you can imagine somebody's kind of 319 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:12,800 Speaker 1: waxing poetic about it. In the future of the lamp 320 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:15,879 Speaker 1: will not only illuminate the room, but if we'll breathe, 321 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:19,280 Speaker 1: the lamp is a living thing and deserving of our respect. 322 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:23,000 Speaker 1: It is a is a cohabitative that's your utopian voice. Yeah, 323 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:27,119 Speaker 1: I like it, of course. The the other implication of 324 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:30,080 Speaker 1: this again is, hey, you know, we know that we 325 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: can grow plants in zero gravity, but a material like 326 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 1: this could produce oxygen with less management and in time 327 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:42,200 Speaker 1: and effort required for growing plants. So again terraforming off planet, 328 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:45,679 Speaker 1: you know. And it's I have to say though, it's 329 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:47,359 Speaker 1: kind of it's kind of scary in a way because 330 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:49,159 Speaker 1: it's like saying, oh, but we don't necessarily need the 331 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:51,320 Speaker 1: plants to get what we need, right. Maybe it just 332 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:54,159 Speaker 1: ends up with a situation like in uh, like in 333 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:56,399 Speaker 1: Silent Running, where they decided to just blow up all 334 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:57,919 Speaker 1: the gardens that they have in space. They don't need 335 00:17:57,960 --> 00:17:59,800 Speaker 1: them anymore. Maybe that's why they didn't need them need 336 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:02,119 Speaker 1: them anymore, because they had it. They developed a technology 337 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:03,959 Speaker 1: like this that they could run on Earth and just 338 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:06,359 Speaker 1: build all the plants they wanted it plastic trees, if 339 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:08,639 Speaker 1: you will. It's funny how technology like this makes the 340 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:12,399 Speaker 1: movie Wally even more relevant, this idea that what we 341 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:17,880 Speaker 1: will be on this generation ship or generational ship and 342 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:21,439 Speaker 1: looking back at like this specimen of a plant and 343 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:24,520 Speaker 1: all this footage of growing things. Now it's worth noting 344 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:27,400 Speaker 1: that both of these examples of these types we've talked about. 345 00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:30,880 Speaker 1: I mean, these are early goings with these materials. They're 346 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 1: they're not being manufactured yet. You're not gonna be buying 347 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:36,080 Speaker 1: them even it's sharper image in the next a few months. 348 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:39,960 Speaker 1: But they show tremendous potential and it really helps us 349 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,199 Speaker 1: um get a better idea of where we're headed in 350 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:45,960 Speaker 1: the future. Well, and you know, you can sit here 351 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:48,119 Speaker 1: and think about all it could you know, maybe it 352 00:18:48,119 --> 00:18:51,280 Speaker 1: could even help with our atmosphere. Things got out of whack, right, 353 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:54,119 Speaker 1: You could create some sort of balance there. Yeah, not 354 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:56,000 Speaker 1: a replacement by any means. I was being a bit 355 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,399 Speaker 1: hyperbolic with all that, but but in terms of just 356 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:01,160 Speaker 1: sort of tweaking things a little bit more in our favor. Yeah, 357 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:05,439 Speaker 1: and then you know, emergency room medicine and space exploration. 358 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:09,639 Speaker 1: It has really some some great ideas tagging along with it. 359 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:12,160 Speaker 1: And then of course you have more of the dystopian 360 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:16,360 Speaker 1: negative view, and this is where things get probably much 361 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:18,840 Speaker 1: more fictional and dark, and you start thinking, oh, but 362 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:21,919 Speaker 1: then perhaps the world takes a turn and there is 363 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:26,040 Speaker 1: no ability to restore balance, and you know, the oxygen 364 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:30,000 Speaker 1: is is poorly saturated throughout and it becomes a question 365 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:32,879 Speaker 1: of the oxygen haves and the oxygen have not. I 366 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:35,679 Speaker 1: love that. That's that's a tremendous vision of the future 367 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 1: where we're just the oxygen you breathe that we take 368 00:19:38,119 --> 00:19:42,280 Speaker 1: for granted. Now he's no longer free. Um. And of 369 00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:44,639 Speaker 1: course I can't help but think of like a potential 370 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:48,080 Speaker 1: like cinematic layout where a uh you know, a guy 371 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:50,679 Speaker 1: walks into a bank, puts on a gas mask and 372 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:54,320 Speaker 1: whips out his his bucket of material and sucks all 373 00:19:54,359 --> 00:19:55,960 Speaker 1: the oxygen and then he runs off with the money 374 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:59,440 Speaker 1: or uh you know. It's easy to to to run 375 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:02,240 Speaker 1: loud with those today as well. But where where I 376 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:06,760 Speaker 1: see the real potential for possible weaponization of this kind 377 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:11,120 Speaker 1: of thing is not so much like an oxygen sucking device. 378 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:13,640 Speaker 1: But it makes me think, Um, you know, what else 379 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:16,359 Speaker 1: is possible with meta materials in the future. Could we 380 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:20,480 Speaker 1: create one that generates a toxic chemical compound instead of 381 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:22,800 Speaker 1: just creating oxygen? I don't know, but it makes me 382 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:26,639 Speaker 1: wonder what is possible? Yeah, this is the interesting dark territory. 383 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:29,040 Speaker 1: So does it enter into bioterrorism? I think it's what 384 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:31,199 Speaker 1: you're saying. Yeah, yeah, could if we can create a 385 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:33,639 Speaker 1: material that that traps oxygen. If we can create a 386 00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:35,840 Speaker 1: material that acts like a leaf, you know, what's what's 387 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:37,960 Speaker 1: to say that in the future we can't create materials 388 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 1: capable of other chemical transitions. Good good questions here? Um, 389 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:46,200 Speaker 1: you know what I'm gonna throw in here, just because 390 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:49,480 Speaker 1: that's a bit depressing that. Um, the question about how 391 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:53,000 Speaker 1: baby birds breathe inside and egg. I came across this 392 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:54,960 Speaker 1: during our research, because you know how you can kind 393 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:59,360 Speaker 1: of go down that sort of research vortex and you're like, oh, 394 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:02,080 Speaker 1: I don't it's not really relevant, But that's quite interesting. 395 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:05,000 Speaker 1: I don't think i'd ever thought about that. Well, what's 396 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:07,360 Speaker 1: the answer. Well, the folks that mental plust did um, 397 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:09,720 Speaker 1: and they have an article on it, and it says like, 398 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:12,320 Speaker 1: you know, obviously we know that when we're babies, we 399 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:15,880 Speaker 1: we have the luxury of an umbilical cord to give 400 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:19,880 Speaker 1: us oxygen. But baby birds, well they have to sit 401 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:21,879 Speaker 1: inside of that egg. And it turns out that when 402 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:23,879 Speaker 1: the eggs are laid by the mother, they're really warm, 403 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,280 Speaker 1: and as they cool, the material inside the egg shrinks 404 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:30,800 Speaker 1: a little bit and the two membranes they pull apart 405 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,680 Speaker 1: a little and create a small pocket or sack of air, 406 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:37,240 Speaker 1: and then as the developing bird grows, it breathes in 407 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:41,320 Speaker 1: oxygen from the air sack and exhales carbon dioxide. And 408 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:45,280 Speaker 1: there are several thousand microscopic pores all over the surface 409 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:47,159 Speaker 1: of the egg and this allows that CEO two to 410 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:50,200 Speaker 1: escape and fresh air to get in. Well, that's beautiful. 411 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:52,640 Speaker 1: I never never even thought about that, right, I mean, 412 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:55,159 Speaker 1: talk about a portable atmosphere. Yeah, and it brings us 413 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:57,639 Speaker 1: right back again to the egg, from church shells to 414 00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:01,320 Speaker 1: the egg of your common bird. It's right here we 415 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:04,199 Speaker 1: go three six yeah, all right, Well, then you have it, 416 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:07,800 Speaker 1: a little crash course in oxygen where it comes from, 417 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:09,639 Speaker 1: what we do with it, and what we're trying to 418 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:13,000 Speaker 1: do with it with some cutting edge technology. Um hey, 419 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:15,159 Speaker 1: why don't check out our website. Go over to us 420 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:17,040 Speaker 1: stuff to Blow your mind dot com. 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And you can send it to blow 431 00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:53,280 Speaker 1: the mind. How stuff works dot com for more on 432 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:55,800 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics. Is it how stuff 433 00:22:55,800 --> 00:23:00,320 Speaker 1: works dot com