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Distillations magazine

Unexpected Stories from Science’s Past

Inventions & Discoveries

Tools and technology that changed the world

Inventions & Discoveries

Cracking Down on Crude Oil

Faced with the prospect of a world without oil, French engineer Eugene Jules Houdry turned low-grade coal into gasoline.

Inventions & Discoveries

Breaking the Code

Two years after getting his PhD, future Nobel Prize winner Marshall Nirenberg set out to probe the genetic code despite having no experience in the fields at the forefront of this work.

Inventions & Discoveries

Communicating Underwater

Gutta percha, a natural plastic found in tree sap, allowed the expansion of the 19th century’s global communications network.

Inventions & Discoveries

Setting the Table

In the 19th century a young Italian outside the chemistry mainstream played a part in the creation of the first periodic table.

David Sarnoff
Inventions & Discoveries

The General

David Sarnoff wanted to be a journalist; instead he created commercial broadcasting and helped kick off the color revolution in television.

Inventions & Discoveries

A First Lady of Chemistry

Mildred Cohn fought prejudice to become a successful Jewish female chemist in an less-than-welcoming world.

Inventions & Discoveries

Science by the Scoop

The science behind a cool, refreshing treat—ice cream.

Inventions & Discoveries

Silver and Sunlight

In the early 19th century people dreamed of using light to paint permanent images.

Inventions & Discoveries

Artificial Clouds and Inflammable Air: The Science and Spectacle of the First Balloon Flights, 1783

The first balloons, both hot-air and hydrogen powered, drew spectacular crowds and set off a craze—balloonomania!

Inventions & Discoveries

Chemistry’s Outer Limits

Svante Arrhenius was one of the founders of modern physical chemistry. His later work cosmological work carried him beyond the scientific limits of many of his colleagues.

John Kendrew and Max Perutz with model
Inventions & Discoveries

The Secret of Max Perutz’s Life

A personal portrait of the Nobel prize-winning crystallographer.

An early advertisement for cellophane
Inventions & Discoveries

Sealed with a Wrap

Cellophane celebrates its 100th anniversary with a comeback, after losing out to cheaper imitations in the 1970s.

Inventions & Discoveries

Scientia Vitis: Decanting the Chemistry of Wine Flavor

Scientists have only recently begun to investigate the chemical components that give wines their distinct and complex flavors.

Inventions & Discoveries

Science and Celebrity: Humphry Davy’s Rising Star

Part experimenter and part entertainer, Humphry Davy was a 19th-century icon.

Inventions & Discoveries

The First Century of Chemical Engineering

The founding of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers represented the beginning of American technological dominance in the 20th century.

Inventions & Discoveries

Nylon: A Revolution in Textiles

The invention of nylon in 1938 promised sleekness and practicality for women and soon ushered in a textile revolution for consumers and the military alike.

Inventions & Discoveries

From Nanotech to Nanoscience

Technologies using nanosized objects have been around for hundreds of years.

Inventions & Discoveries

John Dalton and the Scientific Method

Dalton proposed atomic theory in 1808; an additional century passed before the theory was universally accepted by scientists.