WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Rhodium

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh, and

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<v Speaker 1>there's Chuck. And let's take it back to Christmas Eve.

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<v Speaker 1>The year's eighteen hundred, and I'm an English scientist named

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<v Speaker 1>William Hyde Wallaston. Who are you, Chuck?

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<v Speaker 2>I guess that would make me your colleague Smithson Tenant.

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<v Speaker 1>Neil Tennant's great great great great grandfather.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't believe you have not falling for anything anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, so what are we doing on this Christmas Eve

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen hundred.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, we're coming. We're unwrapping a very special thing, a

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<v Speaker 2>precious metal platinum or that's right. We paid got to

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<v Speaker 2>stop that.

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<v Speaker 1>We paid a pretty penny for it too. It came

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<v Speaker 1>from what we would call Columbia today, what Wallaston and

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<v Speaker 1>Tenant us called Nueva Granada, which is fancy. But they

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<v Speaker 1>paid something like seven hundred and ninety five pounds for it,

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<v Speaker 1>which in eighteen hundred that'd be one thousand dollars and

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<v Speaker 1>today it'd be like twenty three thousand dollars. I would

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<v Speaker 1>have thought inflation would have made that way more, but still,

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<v Speaker 1>that's a decent amount of money to pay for a

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<v Speaker 1>hunk of platinum. Even back then, the reason why they

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<v Speaker 1>paid so much for it and why they had to

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<v Speaker 1>smuggle it out is because it was essentially pure platinum,

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<v Speaker 1>which is very, very hard to find. And one of

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<v Speaker 1>the reasons that Wallaston wanted it was because he was

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<v Speaker 1>trying to figure out how to create a chemical reaction

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<v Speaker 1>that could make platinum malleable and therefore even more useful

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<v Speaker 1>than it already was.

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<v Speaker 2>That's right. He's like, I think I can do it.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm pretty smart, and I think we can get a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of uses out of valuable platinum. And so he

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<v Speaker 2>worked on it for a few years, or rather you

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<v Speaker 2>worked on it for a few years.

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<v Speaker 1>And you helped.

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<v Speaker 2>I helped a little bit. I got your tea and

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<v Speaker 2>stuff like that, latch at your jokes, kind of like

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<v Speaker 2>this podcast, Oh here's your tea, by the ways. And

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<v Speaker 2>he eventually would or you eventually would get that chemical

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<v Speaker 2>process down pat and isolate that platinum, and it was

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<v Speaker 2>in fact malleable. But what he noticed was was like,

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<v Speaker 2>wait a minute, there's something left over here, these reddish salts,

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<v Speaker 2>and like, what in the world could this be? And

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<v Speaker 2>it turns out that Wallaston, Wallaston and Tenet had also

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<v Speaker 2>discovered not just one other precious metal. But two we're

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<v Speaker 2>going to focus on rhodium, but they also discovered palladium.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, pretty neat stuff.

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<v Speaker 2>That's a big bang for your buck.

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<v Speaker 1>And the reason they called it rodium it was after

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<v Speaker 1>the Greek word for rose, which is rodin, right, which

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<v Speaker 1>sounds like kind of like a robot that assembles from

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<v Speaker 1>different parts and fights.

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<v Speaker 2>I was gonna say the same thing.

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<v Speaker 1>So, and the reason why is because those salts are

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<v Speaker 1>kind of like a reddish rose color. Oh that's pretty cool.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a great name right off of the bat. But

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<v Speaker 1>even more than that, they figured out that roodium and

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<v Speaker 1>palladium were related to platinum. They're part of what's called

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<v Speaker 1>the platinum group metals. I don't know if that's a

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<v Speaker 1>band or not.

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<v Speaker 2>I was waiting for it, maybe like.

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<v Speaker 1>A prog rock like an all star prog rock band.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah that's not metal, No, not at all. Yeah, yeah, totally. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it's one of the noble metals.

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<v Speaker 2>It is. The roodium has a chemical it's a chemical

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<v Speaker 2>element with the symbol r H atomic number forty five,

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<v Speaker 2>and it is in the group with iridium and ruthenium

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<v Speaker 2>and platinum pladium.

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<v Speaker 1>What else don't iridium and osmium. Yeah, so it's a.

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<v Speaker 2>Pretty big deal that they found this, and also obviously

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<v Speaker 2>gold and silver also precious metals, and it turns out

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<v Speaker 2>that rhodium is super valuable today and very useful today.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, one of them be rare. It is rare. It's

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<v Speaker 1>incredibly rare. Actually, it's I guess almost never found or

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<v Speaker 1>never found in pure form. It's found in alloys with

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<v Speaker 1>other stuff, and it's usually found in just minuscule So

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<v Speaker 1>it's rare. It's scarce, and it's it was until very

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<v Speaker 1>recently in really high demand, so much so that the

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<v Speaker 1>price of an ounce of rhodium in April of twenty

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<v Speaker 1>twenty one was approaching thirty thousand dollars in ounce.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that was the peak, that rodium peak.

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<v Speaker 1>That's one of the most expensive like commodities on the planet,

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<v Speaker 1>if not the most expensive. I'm not sure. What's interesting, Chuck, though,

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<v Speaker 1>is that it's now down to about four thousand dollars

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<v Speaker 1>an ounce. And I say, we don't tell anybody why

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<v Speaker 1>until we come back from a message break.

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<v Speaker 2>Sounds good, all right, So we left quite a cliffhanger.

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<v Speaker 2>Rodium peaked at about close to thirty thousand dollars not

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<v Speaker 2>too long ago, and just march in April of twenty

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<v Speaker 2>twenty one. Now it's abound down to about four grand

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<v Speaker 2>I saw like thirty nine today forty two hundred yesterday

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<v Speaker 2>in that area, and the forecast is for it to

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<v Speaker 2>be about the same, which is still one of the

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<v Speaker 2>most valuable medals.

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<v Speaker 1>In the world, more than gold for sure.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean it's like still twice as much as gold,

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<v Speaker 2>so it's still very, very valuable. But like anything, it's

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<v Speaker 2>all about supply and demand. And while the supply is

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<v Speaker 2>still low because it's still rare, it's not like they

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<v Speaker 2>found some huge supply of it somewhere. The demand has

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<v Speaker 2>gone way down for a lot of reasons that are

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<v Speaker 2>pretty boring. If you're someone who talks about things like

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<v Speaker 2>financial instruments, then you might really enjoy hearing about like

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<v Speaker 2>the twelve reasons that I found that it's not a demand.

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<v Speaker 2>But one of the big reasons that everyone can understand

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<v Speaker 2>is that rodium is one of the biggest uses is

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<v Speaker 2>that it's used in catalytic converters, which is one reason

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<v Speaker 2>why catalytic converters are stolen because they contain palladium, platinum,

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<v Speaker 2>and rodium, and people can cut them off very easily

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<v Speaker 2>and sell them for a lot of money. But catalytic

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<v Speaker 2>converters are on the decline because of the rise of

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<v Speaker 2>electric vehicles, so thus rodium the demand is down.

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<v Speaker 1>Isn't that interesting? Like just the price of rodium indicates

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<v Speaker 1>that the world turned a corner and it's like, yeap,

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<v Speaker 1>electric vehicles are here to stay and we don't really

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<v Speaker 1>need catalytic converters like we used to.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it'll go back up though, because the other eleven

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<v Speaker 2>reasons are much more volatile and not as locked in.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, but still it's just not in demand. I think

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<v Speaker 1>something like eighty percent of the use or the demand

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<v Speaker 1>for rodium was with the automotive industry, largely for catalytic converters.

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<v Speaker 1>The reason why they use it for catalytic converts because

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<v Speaker 1>it is just aces at converting nitrous oxide emissions. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>which it's crazy there, well, some that comes out of

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<v Speaker 1>your tailpipe, but nothing like it would without a catalytic converter.

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<v Speaker 1>Like we would not be breathing basically right now with

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<v Speaker 1>all the cars on the road if there weren't catalytic

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<v Speaker 1>converters featuring rodium. And the solution to that is not

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<v Speaker 1>more rodium, it's fewer catalytic converters.

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<v Speaker 2>Turns out. Yeah, I wrote the catalytic converter article years

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<v Speaker 2>ago at how stuff works.

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<v Speaker 1>How was it?

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<v Speaker 2>It was a slog my friend, Yeah, as someone you know,

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<v Speaker 2>I think for both of us were not super car

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<v Speaker 2>guys so or at least how cars work, so it

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<v Speaker 2>was tough.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, can you take ten minutes and explain how they

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<v Speaker 1>work real quick?

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<v Speaker 2>I have no memory of it, but what I do

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<v Speaker 2>remember is you said eighty percent as far as their

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<v Speaker 2>use in catalytic converters, also, eighty percent. That's how much

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<v Speaker 2>rodium South Africa is putting out, about eighty percent of

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<v Speaker 2>the world supplies coming from South Africa. Russia is number

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<v Speaker 2>two on that list, Zimbabwe is number three, and there's

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<v Speaker 2>also a and again, these aren't rhodium mines. I think

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<v Speaker 2>they're generally platinum mines for the most part, right, but

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<v Speaker 2>there's a platinum mine in Montana that is producing some

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<v Speaker 2>rodium as well.

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<v Speaker 1>Pretty neat, not bad. One of the cool things about

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<v Speaker 1>rodium is that it's super shiny. It's got a beautiful,

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<v Speaker 1>silvery white sheen to it, so it makes it very alluring,

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<v Speaker 1>like momo. Yeah, exactly. It has like a lot of attractiveness.

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<v Speaker 1>It also is very hard, which is a double edged

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<v Speaker 1>sword for jewelers. It makes it really hard to make

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<v Speaker 1>jewelry out of. But if you can figure out how

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<v Speaker 1>to plate rodium onto other kinds of jewelry, it will

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<v Speaker 1>make it super shiny and super hard and durable. And

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<v Speaker 1>that's one way that they have figured out how to

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<v Speaker 1>use rhodium is they plate it. And to plate it

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<v Speaker 1>you actually have to dissolve it in certain kinds of acids,

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<v Speaker 1>and that causes fumes, and you do not want to

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<v Speaker 1>breathe those fumes. But if you can successfully avoid breathing

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<v Speaker 1>the fumes, you can plate jewelry with roodium and you'll

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<v Speaker 1>be pretty happy with the result afterwards. I hear.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it is actually one of the least toxic of

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<v Speaker 2>those precious metals, but it is that the fumes that

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<v Speaker 2>are harmful for sure, So they have found ways to

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<v Speaker 2>work on it as jewelers to avoid those fumes. Another

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<v Speaker 2>great part about rhodium on jewelry is that it's hyper hypoallergenic,

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<v Speaker 2>so you're not you know, sometimes if you wear bracelets

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<v Speaker 2>and rings and things that will turn your skin a

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<v Speaker 2>different color. This avoids that that plating of rodium will

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<v Speaker 2>not turn your skin different colors, so that's another big plus.

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<v Speaker 2>And it's also because it's hard. It's very scratch resistant,

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<v Speaker 2>it's corrosion resistant. It's pretty hardy. But they have to

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<v Speaker 2>do it in such a then layers it will wear down.

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<v Speaker 2>So they say if you do have a rodium plated

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<v Speaker 2>piece of jewelry or something, they say that you should

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<v Speaker 2>probably not do it on like a ring. You should

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<v Speaker 2>probably do it for like ear rings or a necklace

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<v Speaker 2>or something that doesn't get rubbed around a lot in

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<v Speaker 2>your skin. And you might want to think about getting

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<v Speaker 2>it replated every few years. And it sounds like, oh

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<v Speaker 2>my gosh, it's the most expensive thing in the world.

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<v Speaker 2>Why would I do that. They need so little of

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<v Speaker 2>it to plate your jewelry that apparently isn't that much money. No,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm sure that's relative, but it's not like you would

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<v Speaker 2>think like, oh, it costs like ten grand to get

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<v Speaker 2>this thing replated.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, because you don't need an ounce of this stuff.

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<v Speaker 2>No, you don't need a little tiny bit.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's all it takes. All it takes one other

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<v Speaker 1>use for it that I think we should end on.

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<v Speaker 1>Not only does it catalyze nitrous oxide into less harmful stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>it is the catalyst for the reaction that produces menthol. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so if you like chewing gum or you can thank

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<v Speaker 1>roodium for that.

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<v Speaker 2>Aren't they getting rid of mental cigarettes?

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<v Speaker 1>They should?

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<v Speaker 2>I thought I just saw something about that recently.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know, but I could. I could definitely see

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<v Speaker 1>us reaching that point.

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<v Speaker 2>Finally, I'm not sure why I would have dreamed that up,

0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:19.600
<v Speaker 2>even though I had the weirdest dream ever last night,

0:11:19.640 --> 0:11:23.200
<v Speaker 2>so you never know, but I thought I saw something.

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<v Speaker 2>So anyway, I'm sure we'll figure that out.

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<v Speaker 1>You're not going to share last night's stream.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh no, no, no no, but it involved Michael Douglas

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<v Speaker 2>and Catherine Zada Jones.

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<v Speaker 1>Awesome. So if you want to know more about this

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<v Speaker 1>wonderful topic, Rodium, you can go on to how Stuff Works,

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<v Speaker 1>because that's where we got this article, and that means

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<v Speaker 1>short stuff is out.

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