His heart is as warm as he is old I love this man he has a love of chemistry and a human side not the average master chemist.We need more teachers with these qualitys
As an American who works in a gunshop, the gun's were depicted in a pretty realistic frequency. Especially considering the criminal underworld these characters are a part of.
@@marcushendriksen8415 just like warcrmnls from europ who started two worldwars and slautrd more than fifty million people during their disgusng histries.
I watched the pilot episode of Breaking Bad, then immediately downloaded the remaining seasons and binge watched them for a week. It was probably one of the best TV series I have seen.
Takes him a year of quarantine to finally watch breaking bad... Has the professor still never tried Coke or Pepsi? Because that’s the obvious next step :)
11:00 The professor really hit on something there. When he said that Jessie’s nickname was “Captain Cook” it reminded me that the shows creators were originally were going to kill off Jessie in the first season.
FWIW, my high school chem. teacher still remembered me 10 years later, even though I got a D final grade. I was at the school for a stage performance, walking down the hallway, and out of nowhere I hear "Mister JS, how have you been?". That really put a smile on my face.
0:07 - one of the smartest and most educated people in the world showing what ignorance bias is. Commenting on something and having an opinion on something without having the experience of experiencing it. I'm glad the professor took the time to watch it. It is a great series in parts.
I think many Americans know about James Cook since he was a major figure in Hawaiian history, (but perhaps I overestimate us). Fun to see a chemist's impression of the show! I would like to see his thoughts on the scene where Walter throws the thermite at Tuco (S.1, e. 6)
I only really know the Captain Cook story from reading Hunter S. Thompson. I recall a bit of it glossed over in middle school maybe but I don't think we ever got deep into Hawaiian history, or any particular state history for that matter. Isn't it mercury fulminate he uses as the explosive with Tuco? Thermite needs to be ignited.
@@0v_x0 It has been awhile since I watched the show. It probably is fulminated mercury, but if you saw The Professor's second video on Breaking Bad, then you know they make some pretty serious errors about pure chemistry. As for James Cook, I've read his ship's log and find his voyages fairly fascinating because the people of the Pacific were very quickly changed by contact with Europe and the world. They may avoid Cook's story in schools because nothing about the Age of Exploration was politically correct (even though the explorers wanted to be seen as heroic by later generations).
"well that's all part of the stroy wasn't it? but what shocked me was the size of the vessels in their chemistry lab." lol... professor. this man is honestly a treasure.
@@PianoKwanMan Seriously, I was a teaching assistant for a bio teacher in high school and when I went into the supply room it wasn't half as well stocked as in Breaking Bad, and we were a large, pretty well funded school.
I have bing watched the whole series twice. Still got to learn new things from this review. The Professor's attention to detail is immaculate. It's a review done well.
I used to show the first episode of breaking bad to my chemistry students as well as his videos. He did miss the fact that he participated in a noble prize award.
I spoke to a professor a few years back , trying to explain something and said like in this movie /tv series , and he said I don’t watch tv , which made it far harder trying to explain it to him .
It would be interesting to see the professor’s reaction to the mercury fulminate scene. He’ll probably tear it apart since it’s impossible to create crystals the size Walt used without them exploding on contact with basically anything.
@@Qball__ From what I understand, it's extremely volatile to begin with and reacts explosively to friction. A larger shard = larger surface area, meaning a higher chance for it to react to even a slight touch.
@@Qball__ any type of fulminate is very unstable, and very explosive because of how weak some of the bonds are. Since the regular sized crystals (which are almost like sand) are already unstable, when you try to make larger crystals they tend to explode without having done anything “wrong” due to the previously mentioned sensitivity (according to what I’ve read).
How about the part where Jesse disposes of a body in the bath rather than the plastic container Walt insisted on, and the acid creates a hole in the house? I've often wondered how realistic that was
The thought of Brady trying to be cool after shooting a video like "canyoumakemesomedrugs?" "What?" "What?" really tickles me. It's so out of character but I can imagine it so clearly.
All of this guy's personality is exploding out his head pores and turning white when it realizes what was binding it. That's chemistry. I haven't been so bored since I watched my toenails grow.
I honestly would love videos of the professor explaining the chemistry of compounds like Methylamine, it's heavily involved if breaking bad after Walt decided use methylamine to replace Pseudoephedrine. Oh and maybe a video about Pseudoephedrine and other organic and pharmaceutical compounds.
- I need a funny word from chemistry. - Hexafluoroisopropanol! - What about 1-((3-(6,7-dihydro-1-methyl-7-oxo-3-propyl-1H-pyrazolo(4,3-d)pyrimidin-5-yl)-4-ethoxyphenyl)sulfonyl)-4-methylpiperazine citrate? - You can't say THAT in a national theater.
Well, for me chemistry in school wasn't boring. In fact, the chemistry book is the only school book I ever bought from my own money after (!) I took the class 😊
I learned about Captain Cook in elementary school. Any American who studied history would know about Captain Cook, though I understand kids today instead take grievance studies.
I'm sure it's been mentioned, but if the professor can see this, the pink powder was supposed to be pseudoephedrine pill powder, and the pseudoephedrine would be reduced with red P and iodine to methamphetamine
Red phosphorous is used in some of the recipes for methamphetamine. For example, red phosphorous and iodine to make hydriodic acid which can then be used to turn pseudoephedrine into methamphetamine. This is why it is hard to find all those ingredients. It is just one possible synthesis method. I would think that skill level as a chemist, combined with the types and amounts of chemicals available is the driving factor concerning how meth is made. However, every single method would involve volatile and highly dangerous chemicals, which are corrosive to the lungs and which could explode. There is a method being used now involving a soda bottle as a reaction vessel, which contains both lithium and water, which is insane. The pressure alone is dangerous, and combined with the volatility of the agents involved I cannot imagine the damage that could be done to the body. Apparently most of the production within the US is done by people you couldn't even call amateur chemists, because they know very little about chemistry in general. They learn how to make meth from someone else, and their knowledge is incomplete and limited to exactly that. They likely have little to no idea what is actually occurring in any of the reactions themselves, and couldn't even write out the formula for any of the chemicals they are using. I've read that cartels are now bringing in a large volume of the drug into the US, and my guess would be they have actual chemists working in labs which are stocked very well, using very large vessels similar to some of those seen later in the show.
They didn't use the real meth formula. The show was adviced by real FBI agents and chemists, and even if the actors has the know-how (Bryan Cranston revealed the FBI involvement on the series in an interview), producers did quite a lot modifications and dramatization to be able to pass the authority checks on it.
I actually think the proffesor was much closer to the intended reason of the show of giving Walt a second job as a car wash. Walter sure wanted more money, but he was really after status and recognition. Like he said, he is not in the money business, he was in the empire business. He regretted getting out of gray matter and being denied what he saw as his righful legacy and archivement. He wanted to be seen as the best at something, as someone with high status. So yes, the proffesor was spot on there, without knowing it. Walter White at the start of the show has currently the least status but is the best man. Supporting his family with 2 jobs, doing everything to provide even when he is not properly rewarded for it.
I believe they intentionally used wrong ingredients and processes for making meth on the show, because they didn't want to teach people how to make meth
@@kayzeaza there’s a considerable distinction between something that you should do and something that you have to do. Besides, in chemistry you are concerned with splashes, not so much in shop class.
That's one of those sentences you can put emphasis almost anywhere to change the meaning "*I* never asked you to make drugs" "I *never* asked you to make drugs" "I never *asked* you to make drugs" "I never asked *you* to make drugs" "I never asked you to *make* drugs" "I never asked you to make *drugs*"
When we were in a chemistry lab for practice synthetizing nitro-benzene, I asked my teacher what is stopping me from creating nitro-toluene (TNT), a very similar process. He calmly answered: "Nothing."
To be fair trinitrating an aromatic ring is much harder than minonitrating it. You need oleum and RFNA. Although it's a fact that many explosives are much simpler to make than the public believes. The hard part is having them consistently blow up when you want them. A chemistry degree can help you manufacture the explosive, but can only get you so far regarding the hard part.
@@himanshubhambi4690 MDMA and street meth are not at all the same thing. MDMA is more comparable to a psychedelic where as Meth is just...exactly what you think it is.
@@jacket5456 actually MDMA is an amphetamine, so it is more comparable to meth than a hallucinogenic. However it is definitely still far from being a “street version of meth” as that other guy suggested
My old school Chemistry teacher, always sported a 'tache. He died in his 90's only a couple of years ago. So I guess it never caught fire.... until he was cremated.
Heh. When you're in your 20s you can do all the things you could as a teenager. In your 30s, you can still do most of those things, but if you do it two days in a row, you're gonna hurt in the morning. In your 40s, and maybe your 50s if you're lucky, you can do it for only one day, and you will hurt in the morning. Finally, when you are old -- you can do absolutely nothing, and you will hurt in the morning. I dunno if he's old. Maybe he's wiser than he's old. :)
You know a professor knows his stuff when he's got hair like that. If I was on jeopardy and he walked out as an opponent, I'd erase my name off the placard and walk back in the dressing room.
Check out Clifford Stoll :) Not a prof, but still one of the best cases of eccentric scientist. I'd suggest his TED talk "The Call To Learn". Even a few seconds shows what I mean :)
5 mins later: 'if you want large crystals you need to grow them slowly...' Lol jk, forming crystals from a solution is the sa,e whether it's meth or copper sulphate. I know what you're saying;I love this man and wish he was my grandpa. I would love to hear his evaluation and opinions on so many topics. But I also really want to smoke weed and talk terpenes with him.
Jamoygali - True, but this is a VERY exciting time to be alive. Here’s an example: when I was a boy in the late sixties, my father had bought one of the first handheld calculators, which was pretty expensive at the time. The calculator could add, subtract, multiple and divide (possibly exponents, but I don’t remember). I “borrowed” the calculator and my dad found out and spanked me! A calculator like that is basically free now. You have a very powerful computer on your phone, and can do very accurate language translation and very advanced math - as well as take very high-resolution photos. The amount of computing power available to you is truly astonishing, which allows you to do almost anything you can imagine. Not to mention that virtually all publicly available information on the planet is available to you in a few seconds. I find that pretty exciting!
he actually points out an interesting fact that I never realized, if the pants flew off the RV then they couldn't have ended up ahead of it and have floated down under the wheels like that
To be fair, even a non-chemistry student could pull it off. Maybe not crystal meth, but something like chloroform is easy to make. It's more about willingness than ability.
It's interesting that he mentioned captain cook being murdered and suspecting that jesse might get murdered later in the series, Which is what the writers originally planned. So it was actually most likely a real forshadowing intended that eventually got canned because of Aaron Paul's brilliant acting.
I feel like asking a chemist "Do you know how to make drugs?" is like asking a chef "Do you know how to cook -insert food type here-". They might not know how to, but they know they understand the core conecept
@@rivkahlevi6117 He was made a knight bachelor in 2015, not a knight commander. The system is rather confusing, but this seems to entitle him to use the honorific _Sir_ (which most CBEs cannot), but not the letters KBE, only CBE. So I think he is technically both a knight bachelor and a commander of the OBE, but he is not a knight commander. A few old sources do use KBE after his name, but at least one has since been corrected to CBE.
He could react to the state of art laboratory Gustavo builds and Walt's cooking process in that lab, the explosive "meth" scene, the homemade battery scene, Jesse even cooks later in the series and does well.
When I was studying at university, we once looked out of the window of our drawing room and saw a smoke plume coming from one of the buildings on the campus. Later we learned that this was from a storage room for chemicals and a person there had been smoking and caused an explosion. He actually died from the explosion. So yes, do not smoke in the lab, and if possible nowhere else.
I’m a chemist and I get the “oh so you can teach me how to make meth hahahahaha” all the time, I get it more from when I’m doing community volunteering and something tells me our dear professor exclusively associates with academics which is why he hasn’t heard it before
@@Astral_Alchemist LOL. My first question would be. Hm🤔 I mean I have a liter of 88% lactic acid I need to dilute? But I can do that =p. ( cheap AHA acid). Its food grade and used for brewing. Just need diluted and BOOM! Beauty acid. My question would be, know any biochemistry? 😆 I like exploiting stuff. For 2 dollars I found a reliable way to release large amounts of endorphines. Or manually shivering 🤔 I got questions for that one. Lol
@从 Deadpoppin 从 No. If you had pure LSA you could hydrolyze it to lysergic acid (which is illegal) which could then be reacted with diethylamine (also Illegal) and a coupling agent to produce LSD (obviously illegal). But the LSA you're refering to wouldn't be pure enough to do it, as it would contain all the alkaloids present in the plants which includes clavines, and other ergolines.
Why would they need to approach a chemist about it? It can't be that hard. I mean, have you _seen_ the people who get arrested for making meth? Not exactly the academic types.
I read somewhere that certain aspects of the "cooking" was deliberately made to be incorrect, just in case someone tried to make Meth using the series as a guide.
Actually, I'm pretty sure most of my 3rd grade students in organic chemistry can figure out a viable synthesis route based on the reagents mentioned in the series
I like how Martyn thought Walt's second job was highlighting lack of status and not just money, because it was the status Walt gained that kept him Bad after the money started to flow
@@Absurdword Same. Money can be found, made, or stolen in some small amount in some way. How society views you or your position is not so easily altered. Walter's ascent into megalomania had little to do with money. Money was sometimes an excuse for his actions, that or a biproduct of his actions.
I had a chemistry set some 60 years ago, I distinctly remember it had strontium nitrate in it. In those days you could buy any old stuff, I made some ammonal, nearly blew my fingers off when I lit the touch paper. Those were the days
@@rambo-cambo3581 You obviously do not understand FCC laws. Try reading sometime. Step by Step Chemical reactions on TELEVISION? PFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTBWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Ok buddy.
Please show the professor next time: - Walter using the fulminated mercury to cause and explosion in Tuco's office and get things his way - Walter and Jesse using thermite to steal the methylamine they need - The racin poisoning I liked this a lot and am hoping for a sequel!
- the scene where walt uses different chem process instead of pseudo - melting bodies with acid in bathtub - gus underground superlab - jesse buying all the meth ingredients - the scene where saul trying to find places for them to cook meth
Nobody with common sense (and knowledge) would grow such a big crystals of Mercury fulminate, for they could detonate spontaneously from cracks coming from tension in crystals. In fact special care is given to avoid forming any crystals, than small portions of powder should be kept wet until further preparation like encapsulation and pressing into shell of igniter. Use of these is to start explosion of more 'lazy' but stable explosives like TNT. Crystals of size shown in a movie are off the scale, probably impossible to grow, and for sure impossible to hold, or carry them dry in a bag like that, without an explosion. Those are far more delicate than shown in a movie. Not used as standalone explosives. Yes they would explode probably only if they would exist and for 100% when thrown like that. I doubt that any of present person would keep their hearing (at best) after such explosion in a room.
He didn't like that the class wasn't paying attention to the science demonstration. Where did this keep this guy for the last 70 years to preserve his innocence?
He just means that students aren't empty husks, despite what some more jaded people would tell you, and that such a passionate and illustrative demonstration would surely capture the imaginations of a not insignificant portion of them. Surely most scientists had at least one really great teacher, after all.
@@futurestoryteller True, but from a story telling perspective it's important that it feels like Walt isnt appreciated as a teacher. He might actually be a brilliant educator, but from his point of view he's undervalued and having his talents wasted. That's the more important thing to get across, that Walt *feels* like his students dont take him seriously.
@@Nofixdahdress Believe it or not, I understand that, in fact kudos to the show, because it does manage to do that without being utterly subjective about it. If you go back and rewatch the scene quite a few kids seem captivated by his demonstration. The show exploits our innate negativity bias.
well he's use to teaching in college where all the students not only want to be there but are paying to be there so they're probably a lot more engaged.
See also the review of episodes 2 and 3: ua-cam.com/video/jA_tde6lUHI/v-deo.html
The guy with the eyebrows who owns the car wash is actually a professor of chemistry and that was his first acting job
He's an actor and a top scientist in Romania.
I think I've seen him before bb
Yeah he has a masters in physics and a phd in chemistry and works in scientific research. Also from my country Romania. The man is really funny.
Bogdan😎
That’s crazy, I never knew that. Thanks for sharing.
400th like
2026 - "Say my name"
"Sir Martyn Poliakoff"
"You're goddam right"
I totally read that in his voice LOL
You're Jolly Well Right!
@@jmurockstar Hahhahah
jmurockstar /wosh hahahahahaha
@@cucabeludo3452 You're quite right.
This guy looks exactly how everyone thinks a professor looks.
Looks alot like my CS professor too
He does and I can't understand why nobody asked a hip guy like that, even in jest, if he knew how to make drugs. LOL
Nope
He looks more like what pops in my head after hearing "a crazy scientist"
@@deeeznuuuts9406 same here
@@markpoidvin5382 tbh, I’m pretty sure a chemistry teacher would just know how to make drugs as a byproduct of them knowing all about chemistry.
His heart is as warm as he is old I love this man he has a love of chemistry and a human side not the average master chemist.We need more teachers with these qualitys
As an American who works in a gunshop, the gun's were depicted in a pretty realistic frequency. Especially considering the criminal underworld these characters are a part of.
Since it's an American show, isn't it unsurprising that the gun details would be accurate?
@@marcushendriksen8415 Sure, I was only stating as such because he says in the video "Not sure if it's exaggerated for TV or if it's accurate..."
@@marcushendriksen8415 just like warcrmnls from europ who started two worldwars and slautrd more than fifty million people during their disgusng histries.
Gun's.
I watched the pilot episode of Breaking Bad, then immediately downloaded the remaining seasons and binge watched them for a week. It was probably one of the best TV series I have seen.
I did the same
I’m gonna guess you like Dexter? You excited for the new series?
Brother it’s the best show of all time
watch the wire. even better.
@@InfamousJJ420 ... Yes, I did enjoy Dexter
Can't help but love this man.
Scientist from his toes to his hair.
His hair is the definition of a scientist
well he has hair on his toes.
Obviously a High Functioning individual
Takes him a year of quarantine to finally watch breaking bad...
Has the professor still never tried Coke or Pepsi? Because that’s the obvious next step :)
He never, and doesn't intended to do so. Is kinda a funny badge.
Nah it's gross anyways, let him live pure and happy.
Dr pepper is better
Being a biochemist w/o a TV, it took me a year in quarantine to watch it.
Probably wouldn't know what they taste like but would know exactly what they react with.
11:00 The professor really hit on something there. When he said that Jessie’s nickname was “Captain Cook” it reminded me that the shows creators were originally were going to kill off Jessie in the first season.
FWIW, my high school chem. teacher still remembered me 10 years later, even though I got a D final grade. I was at the school for a stage performance, walking down the hallway, and out of nowhere I hear "Mister JS, how have you been?". That really put a smile on my face.
I wish the Prof the best, I love his chemistry talks
I never knew his brother was Stephen Poliakoff the playwright.
That’s a proper family of geniuses. Keep it up professor 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I was curious regarding his being a Sir, and he has 2 children who are also professors.
0:07 - one of the smartest and most educated people in the world showing what ignorance bias is. Commenting on something and having an opinion on something without having the experience of experiencing it. I'm glad the professor took the time to watch it. It is a great series in parts.
I think many Americans know about James Cook since he was a major figure in Hawaiian history, (but perhaps I overestimate us). Fun to see a chemist's impression of the show! I would like to see his thoughts on the scene where Walter throws the thermite at Tuco (S.1, e. 6)
I only really know the Captain Cook story from reading Hunter S. Thompson. I recall a bit of it glossed over in middle school maybe but I don't think we ever got deep into Hawaiian history, or any particular state history for that matter. Isn't it mercury fulminate he uses as the explosive with Tuco? Thermite needs to be ignited.
@@0v_x0 It has been awhile since I watched the show. It probably is fulminated mercury, but if you saw The Professor's second video on Breaking Bad, then you know they make some pretty serious errors about pure chemistry. As for James Cook, I've read his ship's log and find his voyages fairly fascinating because the people of the Pacific were very quickly changed by contact with Europe and the world. They may avoid Cook's story in schools because nothing about the Age of Exploration was politically correct (even though the explorers wanted to be seen as heroic by later generations).
"well that's all part of the stroy wasn't it? but what shocked me was the size of the vessels in their chemistry lab."
lol... professor. this man is honestly a treasure.
It was my first thought as well. Not just the size, but how well stocked it was. And also how there wasn't an timer/alarm clock going off
@@PianoKwanMan Seriously, I was a teaching assistant for a bio teacher in high school and when I went into the supply room it wasn't half as well stocked as in Breaking Bad, and we were a large, pretty well funded school.
I love this guy. The prof makes me happy.
"Prof, you know the chemestry and I know the bussines"
I have bing watched the whole series twice. Still got to learn new things from this review. The Professor's attention to detail is immaculate. It's a review done well.
I used to show the first episode of breaking bad to my chemistry students as well as his videos. He did miss the fact that he participated in a noble prize award.
"How's it going to look if you blow up the lab because someone was smoking?" LOL!
I spoke to a professor a few years back , trying to explain something and said like in this movie /tv series , and he said I don’t watch tv , which made it far harder trying to explain it to him .
It would be interesting to see the professor’s reaction to the mercury fulminate scene. He’ll probably tear it apart since it’s impossible to create crystals the size Walt used without them exploding on contact with basically anything.
Why is it that they explode at that size?
@@Qball__ From what I understand, it's extremely volatile to begin with and reacts explosively to friction. A larger shard = larger surface area, meaning a higher chance for it to react to even a slight touch.
@@Qball__ any type of fulminate is very unstable, and very explosive because of how weak some of the bonds are. Since the regular sized crystals (which are almost like sand) are already unstable, when you try to make larger crystals they tend to explode without having done anything “wrong” due to the previously mentioned sensitivity (according to what I’ve read).
How about the part where Jesse disposes of a body in the bath rather than the plastic container Walt insisted on, and the acid creates a hole in the house? I've often wondered how realistic that was
Mythbusters did a whole episode on BB, most of it is on youtube
The thought of Brady trying to be cool after shooting a video like "canyoumakemesomedrugs?" "What?" "What?" really tickles me.
It's so out of character but I can imagine it so clearly.
As soon as I saw his hair. I knew he was an actual professor
Twist: Actual Heisenberg watching a hypothetical Heisenberg
P.S. As far as I know, "Red Phosphorus" is mixed with iodine to make hydriodic acid, which is used in the process in making meth amphetamine.
He said I'll watch it when I'm old. I like Prof
All of this guy's personality is exploding out his head pores and turning white when it realizes what was binding it. That's chemistry. I haven't been so bored since I watched my toenails grow.
Whoa, the Prof’s playwright brother looks like a total badass!
I honestly would love videos of the professor explaining the chemistry of compounds like Methylamine, it's heavily involved if breaking bad after Walt decided use methylamine to replace Pseudoephedrine. Oh and maybe a video about Pseudoephedrine and other organic and pharmaceutical compounds.
- I need a funny word from chemistry.
- Hexafluoroisopropanol!
- What about 1-((3-(6,7-dihydro-1-methyl-7-oxo-3-propyl-1H-pyrazolo(4,3-d)pyrimidin-5-yl)-4-ethoxyphenyl)sulfonyl)-4-methylpiperazine citrate?
- You can't say THAT in a national theater.
one of the cutest oldies around
Well, for me chemistry in school wasn't boring. In fact, the chemistry book is the only school book I ever bought from my own money after (!) I took the class 😊
For all his considerable intelligence, I always find the Professor's awkwardness and naivete adorably endearing.
Awkwardness? Naïveté? When?
I learned about Captain Cook in elementary school. Any American who studied history would know about Captain Cook, though I understand kids today instead take grievance studies.
*Im surprised he didnt know what the red P was for its to reduce the OH on the psudophed*
Government: Hey, you’re not supposed to know that!
I'm sure it's been mentioned, but if the professor can see this, the pink powder was supposed to be pseudoephedrine pill powder, and the pseudoephedrine would be reduced with red P and iodine to methamphetamine
Yup
I’m impressed by the amount of information he managed to pick up on and remember from watching one episode presumably once.
Red phosphorous is used in some of the recipes for methamphetamine. For example, red phosphorous and iodine to make hydriodic acid which can then be used to turn pseudoephedrine into methamphetamine. This is why it is hard to find all those ingredients. It is just one possible synthesis method. I would think that skill level as a chemist, combined with the types and amounts of chemicals available is the driving factor concerning how meth is made. However, every single method would involve volatile and highly dangerous chemicals, which are corrosive to the lungs and which could explode. There is a method being used now involving a soda bottle as a reaction vessel, which contains both lithium and water, which is insane. The pressure alone is dangerous, and combined with the volatility of the agents involved I cannot imagine the damage that could be done to the body.
Apparently most of the production within the US is done by people you couldn't even call amateur chemists, because they know very little about chemistry in general. They learn how to make meth from someone else, and their knowledge is incomplete and limited to exactly that. They likely have little to no idea what is actually occurring in any of the reactions themselves, and couldn't even write out the formula for any of the chemicals they are using. I've read that cartels are now bringing in a large volume of the drug into the US, and my guess would be they have actual chemists working in labs which are stocked very well, using very large vessels similar to some of those seen later in the show.
having one of the most brilliant chemists in the world watch breaking bad is about one of the most dangerous ideas ive ever heard of
Prof lets slip he once cooked in a volumetric flask
Eventually the anvil will fail and your gonna have chunks of metal flying at you. But I hope not.
They didn't use the real meth formula. The show was adviced by real FBI agents and chemists, and even if the actors has the know-how (Bryan Cranston revealed the FBI involvement on the series in an interview), producers did quite a lot modifications and dramatization to be able to pass the authority checks on it.
Stop, you're gonna make me watch the entire series of Breaking Bad for like the 10th time
I have to see it one time
@@nosuchthing8 it's a great show
I actually think the proffesor was much closer to the intended reason of the show of giving Walt a second job as a car wash. Walter sure wanted more money, but he was really after status and recognition. Like he said, he is not in the money business, he was in the empire business. He regretted getting out of gray matter and being denied what he saw as his righful legacy and archivement. He wanted to be seen as the best at something, as someone with high status. So yes, the proffesor was spot on there, without knowing it. Walter White at the start of the show has currently the least status but is the best man. Supporting his family with 2 jobs, doing everything to provide even when he is not properly rewarded for it.
Art in science is just when you have a process where you can't control/don't fully understand all the variables
He looks just like the mad scientists in everyone's deram
if he doesn't wanna watch the rest of the show, that says pretty much everything.
This teacher is boring asf
Did the Prof just say he used to "cook" in a volumetric flask??!
Fun fact: "Not bad" is the highest rating the professor ever gave for a TV series in his entire life.
That's british understatement.
Yeah, in England, "not bad" is high praise.
I don't know, calling 'Breaking Bad' not bad is a compliment.
@@warb635breaking
@@warb635 "Not Breaking Bad" Walter just keeps teaching and eventually the show ends because he dies. Fun!
I believe they intentionally used wrong ingredients and processes for making meth on the show, because they didn't want to teach people how to make meth
This is true.
Im sure it was that and some legal reasons too
@@bloodmaged I'm certain of this. I remember reading about it way back when they were still making this show...
Red Phosphorous is actually used in methamphetamine synthesis though
@@karlajaeger2082 You are right, I wanted to comment that Fight Club did a similar thing.
4:29 he won me over when he criticized the lack of safety glasses not just from a chemistry perspective, but from a character consistency perspective.
Meh he’s got really glasses on. In shop class we didn’t need to wear safety goggles if we wore regular glasses
@@kayzeaza there’s a considerable distinction between something that you should do and something that you have to do.
Besides, in chemistry you are concerned with splashes, not so much in shop class.
Sure. Like walter white was ever consistent in whatever he was doing.
@@Grey-sq7dy the one thing he was very consistent about was keeping the chemistry very professional
It's because it was a pilot. It was before they ironed out such things.
The day after: *“Neil I’ve got a proposal....”*
:D aye give it time
Not gonna lie, I could see Neil selling amphetamines
"So I persuaded Neil…"
🤣
Best comment here. Please upvote.
“I never asked you to make drugs”
Brady with shear panic realising that the professor has blown his cover.
😁😁😁
"medicine"
Sheer
For legal reasons, they have to say that. Remember, you heard it here in case you are called to testify.
That's one of those sentences you can put emphasis almost anywhere to change the meaning
"*I* never asked you to make drugs"
"I *never* asked you to make drugs"
"I never *asked* you to make drugs"
"I never asked *you* to make drugs"
"I never asked you to *make* drugs"
"I never asked you to make *drugs*"
When we were in a chemistry lab for practice synthetizing nitro-benzene, I asked my teacher what is stopping me from creating nitro-toluene (TNT), a very similar process. He calmly answered: "Nothing."
you could have done a little trolling ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) BOOM
Did you learn chemistry from Ted Kaczynski
To be fair trinitrating an aromatic ring is much harder than minonitrating it. You need oleum and RFNA. Although it's a fact that many explosives are much simpler to make than the public believes. The hard part is having them consistently blow up when you want them. A chemistry degree can help you manufacture the explosive, but can only get you so far regarding the hard part.
@@pietrotettamanti7239 hehe ammonium nitrate fertilizer go brrr
@@pietrotettamanti7239 Go on...
"it's been quite a while since I've handled a firearm" professor
Don't mess with the professor
He’s made drugs, owned fire arms, what else has this man done?
He was in the Army
@@rfmerrill as a cadet 😑
@@youneedsomejuicelol5325 Ok? Back off
@@COMPL3XGAM3R 😎
"I tried to cook in a volumetric flask"
Knew it
I was looking for this comment
Glad someone else saw this
Right though. Man's a straight up kingpin.
was looking for this comment, had to be here somewhere :D
Remember Jesse?
This is him now. Feel old yet?
“I tried to cook in a volumetric flask.” Professor, what aren’t you telling us sir?
cook what...?
@@htf5555 I think it's meth and formaldehyde
@@htf5555 it’s MDMA, chemical form for the street meth
@@himanshubhambi4690 MDMA and street meth are not at all the same thing. MDMA is more comparable to a psychedelic where as Meth is just...exactly what you think it is.
@@jacket5456 actually MDMA is an amphetamine, so it is more comparable to meth than a hallucinogenic. However it is definitely still far from being a “street version of meth” as that other guy suggested
My chemistry students ask me if I can make meth every single year. My response is always, "If a meth-head can make meth, don't you suppose I can?"
WILL YOU make meth for them is the real question... I has gotz a futur 2 git ready 4!!! Dollar, dollar bill, Y'all!!! Lol 🙈
YOLO
@@hokiepokie333_CicadaMykHyn you’re a follower of the crystal I assume?
i cant help but only read that in walters voice
So you make meth for them?
Kinda lame really. Meth isn't that challenging. More fun to synthesize tryptamines tbh.
He lied, he said he would watch it when he got old but he still isn’t old yet
I think he was trying to say that he would never watch it because he won't ever get old
LONG LIVE SIR MARTYN! PS, I really enjoy your work, Sir.
right, I can still see a spot without wrinkles.
@MichaelKingsfordGray cyka.
What else did u watch during pandemic
In a few years we’ll see the professor as one of the most prolific drug czars the world has ever seen. Don’t let him fool ya…
A drug Czar is not what you think.
With his head shaved and a goatee and that kind smile dissolved into and evil frown as his mugshot lol
He did say “i used to cook in a volumetric flask.”
Tsar"
@@captainmccuckin2698middle English spellings before printing press standardization*
"I know very few chemists who have mustaches" the prof is so precious
He always notices things that the rest of us mere mortals miss
My old school Chemistry teacher, always sported a 'tache. He died in his 90's only a couple of years ago. So I guess it never caught fire.... until he was cremated.
Maybe most of them had it burnt off by a bunson burner 😅
I love how he associated having a mustache with science communication / pop science
... few mustaches left, if any? That time when science goes beyond mind blowing, gotta be moustache-blowing aswell.
I like this better than those “Criminals React to Crime Movies!” Genuine and a cool watch!!
That's what i thought too..
Probably better than criminals reacting to chemistry videos ;-)
We have had "mathematicians react to mathematics movies" over on Numberphile. When will we see Keith in a "librarian reacts to library movies"?
I don't need to see a criminals reaction I got my eyes for that
Hi haedox :)
Breaking Bad was one of the very few shows that had me hooked.
There's a joke to be made here
@@blorb2120 it's a pretty oft-made joke tbh
Did you get your fix every day?
It took me a week and a half to binge-watch it all on netflix.
*addicted
Professor got old in 6 years! Never noticed! He's evergreen!
Heh. When you're in your 20s you can do all the things you could as a teenager.
In your 30s, you can still do most of those things, but if you do it two days in a row, you're gonna hurt in the morning.
In your 40s, and maybe your 50s if you're lucky, you can do it for only one day, and you will hurt in the morning.
Finally, when you are old -- you can do absolutely nothing, and you will hurt in the morning.
I dunno if he's old. Maybe he's wiser than he's old. :)
@@Qermaq I must be old then. I can barely get out of bed without some sort of pain.
We all Will be older than him at some point at this rate
@@dinamosflams no I wont, I have tons of health issues and no insurance.
@@MortisObscura F. I Hope you get better
“Nobody’s ever asked me.” Is it me, or did he have a hint of disappointment in his voice, when he said that?
His tongue movement told another story.
He does know how to make crystal meth though.
He probably can just looks at the drugs structure and makes it from scratch
Nah nah nah the video is low resolution but he pushed his tounge into his cheek, im taking that as “i have but i can’t say that on camera”
@@PhilJonesIII i can guarantee, that most chemists know how to cook up methamphetamine
Nobody's ever had to ask the professor if he knows how to make drugs, they see the hair and his mellow attitude and just assume the answer is 'Yes'.
You can have all of my likes ( Bar the one on the video ;) )
He doesn't know how to make them, but he's got the best hook-up in town.
i see someone whose disposition naturally doesn't need them.
I would watch that!
His brain cooks all endogenous drugs he wants, so no additional intake required.
I love how I can take one look at this guy and be like, "Yeah, he knows science."
Einstein 2
He should be in a series called "Breaking Quite Bad."
Breaking not so bad :P
Breaking slightly bad
"Popping Off"
Breaking Rather Badly
That's awesome. 🤣
You know a professor knows his stuff when he's got hair like that.
If I was on jeopardy and he walked out as an opponent, I'd erase my name off the placard and walk back in the dressing room.
Check out Clifford Stoll :) Not a prof, but still one of the best cases of eccentric scientist. I'd suggest his TED talk "The Call To Learn". Even a few seconds shows what I mean :)
Einstein's hair is essential to a scientist's reputation
"I started wondering whether you could fly trousers as a kite" haha a true scientist, asking the right questions.
"I had to look up methamphetamine..."
all of this is just precious.
Sure he did...
5 mins later: 'if you want large crystals you need to grow them slowly...'
Lol jk, forming crystals from a solution is the sa,e whether it's meth or copper sulphate. I know what you're saying;I love this man and wish he was my grandpa. I would love to hear his evaluation and opinions on so many topics. But I also really want to smoke weed and talk terpenes with him.
A world class chemist looking up meth probably had the national crime squad raising their eyebrows.
"Next I'll actually try to make a batch"
"I wasn't quite sure what the point of the red phosphorus was..." hahahaha
born too late to explore new lands
born too early to explore space and the galaxies
born just in time to watch the Prof react to breaking bad
To old to start over and to young to give up .
You can explore the oceans 🤷♂️
@@noirekuroraigami2270 fax
Jamoygali - True, but this is a VERY exciting time to be alive. Here’s an example: when I was a boy in the late sixties, my father had bought one of the first handheld calculators, which was pretty expensive at the time. The calculator could add, subtract, multiple and divide (possibly exponents, but I don’t remember). I “borrowed” the calculator and my dad found out and spanked me! A calculator like that is basically free now.
You have a very powerful computer on your phone, and can do very accurate language translation and very advanced math - as well as take very high-resolution photos. The amount of computing power available to you is truly astonishing, which allows you to do almost anything you can imagine. Not to mention that virtually all publicly available information on the planet is available to you in a few seconds.
I find that pretty exciting!
Your statements true, what else can i venture that hasnt been done or touched!! Such limitations in this world hold back progress too much :(
If Walter had used my school's glass equipment to make meth the end result would be so contaminated that it would be just meh
So meh-thamphetamine?
meh-contaminaphetamine
Eh? In Canada.
Mr. White this is pure MEH grade! You're an even worse cook than I am!
Yeah but he would have cleaned it all perfectly before starting.
he actually points out an interesting fact that I never realized, if the pants flew off the RV then they couldn't have ended up ahead of it and have floated down under the wheels like that
lolol cinemasins detail
Yeah ... But it looks so cool ... XD
Wind?
Typical scientist taking the fun out of everything and being too blind to realize what artistic license is.
@@TomMathesonColes lol just because something is tv show doesnt mean that it cant be critisized for being unrealistic
The "quite good" and "not bad" anbimations were fucking hilarious and amazing
For real, those had me rolling
He understands the difference in meaning of "quite" in Britain and the US though
"I knew he was a chemistry teacher, I knew he made a drug and I knew there was a lot of episodes" hahaha
I remember the producers of the show at the time saying that the chemistry was wrong on purpose not to teach people how to make meth
You can still just google it anyways
@@Nothing-pb8hu and be monitored 24/7 by security services for the next 6 months
@@alessiobenvenuto5159 Funny moment
Its not wrong but its not all the necessary steps.
@@TrueREAL I'm going to report you to fbi
"Has anybody asked you if you can make drugs?"
"No" - said no chemistry student ever since breaking bad came out
Well i actually know so.....
To be fair, even a non-chemistry student could pull it off. Maybe not crystal meth, but something like chloroform is easy to make. It's more about willingness than ability.
@@RisqueBisquet chloroform is not a drug?
@@sijmenkroon5972 Its definitely a drug, maybe not a party or recreational one though.
They used it to knock people out for surgeries etc.
@@Hashishin13 aah okay but its not used anymore as a drug since its mutagenic and carcinogenic. Its almost only used as a solvent or reagent
It's interesting that he mentioned captain cook being murdered and suspecting that jesse might get murdered later in the series, Which is what the writers originally planned. So it was actually most likely a real forshadowing intended that eventually got canned because of Aaron Paul's brilliant acting.
Sir Martyn Poliakoff is a national treasure.
A global treasure.
I feel like asking a chemist "Do you know how to make drugs?" is like asking a chef "Do you know how to cook -insert food type here-". They might not know how to, but they know they understand the core conecept
I mean if some random addicts can do it with a Gatorade bottle then I think a professor of chemistry could
In the UK "It's alright" is the highest form of praise we are capable of.
"nice" is also pretty high level stuff
You all right love ?
Not half bad and you've reached the summit
Pretty decent statement.
Thank you all for making my day 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Good opportunity to call it "Chemistry professor reacts to Breaking Bad" and cash in on the views
Chemistry Professor and Commander of the Order of the British Empire reacts to WALTER WHITE COOKING METH
p.s. what do we have to do to get him promoted to KBE (Knight Commander). Sir Martyn would be the best knight since Galahad.
@@qzbnyv your wish is granted. He was knighted in 2015.
@@rivkahlevi6117 Ahhh that warms my heart!
@@rivkahlevi6117 He was made a knight bachelor in 2015, not a knight commander. The system is rather confusing, but this seems to entitle him to use the honorific _Sir_ (which most CBEs cannot), but not the letters KBE, only CBE. So I think he is technically both a knight bachelor and a commander of the OBE, but he is not a knight commander.
A few old sources do use KBE after his name, but at least one has since been corrected to CBE.
Next episode: Professor watches Full Metal Alchemist
yes please. xD
@Chaotic Neutral
He'd probably find some inaccuracies in that too.
He could react to the state of art laboratory Gustavo builds and Walt's cooking process in that lab, the explosive "meth" scene, the homemade battery scene, Jesse even cooks later in the series and does well.
Omg yes!!!!!!!
Omg show him the walt: "and what conducts electrkcity? :DD". Jesse:"wiiiiirreeeee" walt:"D: copper..." scene
The mercury fulminate has been busted by myth busters.
When I was studying at university, we once looked out of the window of our drawing room and saw a smoke plume coming from one of the buildings on the campus. Later we learned that this was from a storage room for chemicals and a person there had been smoking and caused an explosion. He actually died from the explosion. So yes, do not smoke in the lab, and if possible nowhere else.
LOL
I’m a chemist and I get the “oh so you can teach me how to make meth hahahahaha” all the time, I get it more from when I’m doing community volunteering and something tells me our dear professor exclusively associates with academics which is why he hasn’t heard it before
Yep it's usually the first thing people ask me when they find out I'm a chemist
@@Astral_Alchemist
LOL. My first question would be.
Hm🤔 I mean I have a liter of 88% lactic acid I need to dilute? But I can do that =p. ( cheap AHA acid).
Its food grade and used for brewing. Just need diluted and BOOM! Beauty acid. My question would be, know any biochemistry? 😆
I like exploiting stuff. For 2 dollars I found a reliable way to release large amounts of endorphines.
Or manually shivering 🤔 I got questions for that one. Lol
@从 Deadpoppin 从 No. If you had pure LSA you could hydrolyze it to lysergic acid (which is illegal) which could then be reacted with diethylamine (also Illegal) and a coupling agent to produce LSD (obviously illegal). But the LSA you're refering to wouldn't be pure enough to do it, as it would contain all the alkaloids present in the plants which includes clavines, and other ergolines.
Why would they need to approach a chemist about it? It can't be that hard. I mean, have you _seen_ the people who get arrested for making meth? Not exactly the academic types.
Chemistry teachers in the US probably get asked that a lot more than other countries
Loved this guy's explanations in science videos growing up. So cool to see these videos are still being produced now that I'm grown.
By which you mean Sir Martin Poliakoff, or Walter White?
I read somewhere that certain aspects of the "cooking" was deliberately made to be incorrect, just in case someone tried to make Meth using the series as a guide.
i came to the comment section to post this, yes, the cooking was intentionally inaccurate for this reason, should tell the prof next time too
Yeah they intentionally made it completely hog wash so people couldn't just copy the show to start making meth.
That's a shame honestly, feels less authentic
The part with the pseudoephedrine and the phosphorus is accurate, however they omitted two steps of the reaction
Actually, I'm pretty sure most of my 3rd grade students in organic chemistry can figure out a viable synthesis route based on the reagents mentioned in the series
I like how Martyn thought Walt's second job was highlighting lack of status and not just money, because it was the status Walt gained that kept him Bad after the money started to flow
genius observations
He nailed it exactly, I was a bit bummed that the host glosses over it by saying it’s about Walt being under paid (the lesser side of Walt’s pain)
@@Absurdword Same. Money can be found, made, or stolen in some small amount in some way. How society views you or your position is not so easily altered. Walter's ascent into megalomania had little to do with money. Money was sometimes an excuse for his actions, that or a biproduct of his actions.
because the prof. is detached from reality.
8:11 - "Earlier in my career when I didn't know things so well, I tried to cook in a volumetric flask" => Busted!!!
Actually cancelled tbh.
I would suggest an episode from the later seasons that show large automated labs. And by all means the signature BLUE meth.
the Fring's Blue
"...and it's a long time since I've handled any firearms" - I'd love to hear more about the background to this!
Wasn't he in the british army?
@@AlexssandroMeneses I think he fought at the Somme.
He went to a posh uk school. Would have had shooting (game) lessons.
@@ewetoob1924 that would make him about 125 years old today
He carried Pulver on Nelsons Vessel...
I had a chemistry set some 60 years ago, I distinctly remember it had strontium nitrate in it. In those days you could buy any old stuff, I made some ammonal, nearly blew my fingers off when I lit the touch paper. Those were the days
Breaking Bad is like McGyver: the most dangerous stuff presented in TV was altered to avoid people try to mimic in home
That's old news check out Hamilton's pharmacopeia on TV they're literally showing you how to make methamphetamine on TV now
@@thecloneguyz The Prof should react to this next
@@thecloneguyz to be fair you can look it up pretty easy
I don't know why you sound surprised. You can look up how to make a homemade bomb for example
@@rambo-cambo3581
You obviously do not understand FCC laws.
Try reading sometime.
Step by Step Chemical reactions on TELEVISION? PFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTBWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Ok buddy.
Not so much altered, but a *LOT* of steps are intentionally left out.
Please show the professor next time:
- Walter using the fulminated mercury to cause and explosion in Tuco's office and get things his way
- Walter and Jesse using thermite to steal the methylamine they need
- The racin poisoning
I liked this a lot and am hoping for a sequel!
- the scene where walt uses different chem process instead of pseudo
- melting bodies with acid in bathtub
- gus underground superlab
- jesse buying all the meth ingredients
- the scene where saul trying to find places for them to cook meth
Nobody with common sense (and knowledge) would grow such a big crystals of Mercury fulminate, for they could detonate spontaneously from cracks coming from tension in crystals.
In fact special care is given to avoid forming any crystals, than small portions of powder should be kept wet until further preparation like encapsulation and pressing into shell of igniter. Use of these is to start explosion of more 'lazy' but stable explosives like TNT. Crystals of size shown in a movie are off the scale, probably impossible to grow, and for sure impossible to hold, or carry them dry in a bag like that, without an explosion. Those are far more delicate than shown in a movie. Not used as standalone explosives. Yes they would explode probably only if they would exist and for 100% when thrown like that. I doubt that any of present person would keep their hearing (at best) after such explosion in a room.
OMG YES PLEASE
@@aa-dt5bf I don't think they were asking about the plausibility of it, just saying they would like to hear what the professor thinks about it.
He didn't like that the class wasn't paying attention to the science demonstration.
Where did this keep this guy for the last 70 years to preserve his innocence?
He just means that students aren't empty husks, despite what some more jaded people would tell you, and that such a passionate and illustrative demonstration would surely capture the imaginations of a not insignificant portion of them. Surely most scientists had at least one really great teacher, after all.
@@futurestoryteller True, but from a story telling perspective it's important that it feels like Walt isnt appreciated as a teacher. He might actually be a brilliant educator, but from his point of view he's undervalued and having his talents wasted. That's the more important thing to get across, that Walt *feels* like his students dont take him seriously.
@@Nofixdahdress Believe it or not, I understand that, in fact kudos to the show, because it does manage to do that without being utterly subjective about it. If you go back and rewatch the scene quite a few kids seem captivated by his demonstration. The show exploits our innate negativity bias.
well he's use to teaching in college where all the students not only want to be there but are paying to be there so they're probably a lot more engaged.
he's detached from everyday realities; the man's been an university researcher/lecturer for about 40 years.