“The Chemistry of Things” aims to unveil the chemistry hidden in our day-to-day lives and show how recent developments in science contribute to the welfare of society.

The confusion surrounding words such as “chemical”, “toxic”, “irritant” and “carcinogen” is common. There are often mistakes that convey the idea that chemistry contributes to all the ills of the modern world, that everything chemical is artificial or unnatural, as if Nature itself was not made of chemical substances and compounds.

But “chemicals” are all around us, in Nature and elsewhere. Water is a chemical, the air we breathe is a mixture of chemicals, salt is a chemical, our stomachs digests food with the help of several chemicals, digestion breaks down food into its various chemical constituents and these then enter the blood, where there are already numerous other chemicals.

But if chemistry is part of Nature and Life, it also is an integral part of modern society. Nowadays no-one imagines life without the security of chemical antibiotics, without the pleasure of the colours of chemical dyes, without the care provided by chemical detergents, without the convenience of the polymer plastic, or without the comfort of modern fibres. The truth is that chemistry is all around us and is part of our lives.

“The Chemistry of Things” is available on television, radio, newspapers, internet, social networks, and iPad.